A/N: Hey all, it has been a long while since my last story, but I have something-hopefully something new and fresh that everyone enjoys! As always, please take a read and leave a review! Enjoy!
Chapter One: Chionophobia
A typical day in Littleroot always consisted of fair weather and clear skies for the most part. Occasionally, there was the random, one-off occurrence where it would rain, but again, it was usually nice and warm. Farm land had always thrived, with fields of cornstalk, cotton, rice, and wheat stretching out as far as the eye can see. If one were lucky enough, they could also spot a herd of Miltank or Mareep roaming the vast plains surrounding Littleroot. Similarly, a lively flock of Taillow or Swellow could always be seen chirping loudly as they soared in the morning and afternoon sky, trying to avoid the dozens of water towers spiking from the ground.
Today, however, none of these had occurred when Thomas turned in his bed and looked out of an adjacent window on one early November morning. Instead of being met with the usual scenery, replacing it were dark skies that had been uncontrollably pouring thick, unforgiving snow down from the heavens. Immediately, Thomas had to do a double-take and see if he actually was not dreaming. After shaking his head and blinking twice, he was still greeted by the same sight, confirming that he was, in fact, awake.
The farmland that had gone for miles was blanketed in inches of snow, and even the treelines had been stained white instead of sporting their regular multicolored autumn leaves. Anyone in a similar situation to Thomas would think they were in a different place entirely. Thomas scanned the neighboring houses, noticing that their inhabitants had by this time stepped outside, almost expectedly holding their hands on their heads in the same disbelief he was going through.
The sight immediately woke Thomas, who suddenly jumped to full height from his bed. His longer brown hair disheveled, he looked around his medium-sized room which did not contain much. There was a closet across from his queen-sized bed that was unkempt and messy, and next to his bed, a dusty, brown nightstand, almost as untidy as the bed with various, unimportant belongings scattered over, remained. Proportional from the nightstand, a desk that only had a laptop and a chair was isolated in another corner. However, Thomas disregarded the untidiness as he stood to stretch.
"What the heck is going on?" he groggily muttered to himself, grabbing a lone Poke Ball from the brown nightstand. He also made sure to grab his phone from his desk too, removing its charger and instantly inputting his passcode.
After a few seconds of navigating the device's interface, he placed it to his ear and waited with his foot impatiently tapping the ground.
"Come on, come on," he said, "answer the phone, Lexi."
He plopped down on the chair at his desk, placing his Poke Ball and phone down. He put the device on its speakerphone feature, and after a few more rings, it went straight to voicemail. Figuring she was still sleeping, he did not even bother leaving a message, placing the device into his red and black, plaid pajama pants' pocket. He rationalized that she would call him later as soon as she woke up.
Taking another glance at the foreign weather coming down outside his window, he ran a thoughtful hand through his messy locks. Usually, he would have been outside training at this moment, but with the snow, that was less than a pipe dream. Sitting for a few more moments to collect his thoughts, Thomas abruptly got up, grabbed the two items he set down, and exited the bedroom to see if anyone could explain Littleroot's drastic climate change and its origin. Since his mother was out on a business trip and wouldn't be back for a while, he fortunately at least didn't have to be courteous about anyone still sleeping despite the craziness.
Not even bothering to get himself ready, though, he slipped on a pair of sturdy running shoes and a thin but insulated jacket, leaving the empty home. When he stepped outside, he had scarcely taken a step before he met a strong gust of wind that had blown snow into his face, resulting in a flinch. It was an unusual feeling. In his seventeen years of living, the people of Hoenn hadn't experienced much, if any, sort of snowfall as the subtropical climate of the region had basically made it impossible. Glancing towards the sky, he wondered how far the weather went, as there wasn't a single speck of clear, blue sky for as far he could see. To make matters worse, the snow was falling down in such an intense manner that bewildered Thomas. No reason for the weird weather phenomenon could pop up in his mind, so he went back inside, chewing on conflicting thoughts.
Thankfully, despite the harsh weather and wind, his street's power didn't shut down, meaning his home was still at one-hundred percent functionality. However, the unexpected event at hand threw quite a wrench in his plans for the day, so it was clear that he needed time to think. He'd decided a shower would be the perfect place to consider his options, so he returned to his room to collect his clothes for the day.
Thomas then spent about thirty minutes in the bathroom, getting ready and distractedly thinking. It was longer than usual, but he excused it due to the water warming up. By the time he stepped out of the bathroom with his brown hair still soaking wet, Thomas was dressed comfortably in a brown long-sleeved shirt and a loosely fit pair of jeans. He clipped his singular Poke Ball onto his belt, and took his phone out of his pocket. Checking to see if there were any missed calls or messages, he opened the device and noticed he had a missed call and one unopened text, both of which were from Lexi.
"Meet me at the park in thirty. This is absolutely crazy," he read the text aloud.
Not wasting any time to text back, Thomas immediately placed the phone snugly in his front pocket. After a quick towel down of his now damp hair, he rushed over to where he took off his shoes and coat, slipping them back on swiftly. He was out the door in less than ten minutes of reading Lexi's text, and as soon as he stepped outside, a stronger gust of spine-chilling wind met his face.
"Maybe I should get a hat," he considered aloud.
This thought was very appealing considering the conditions, and correspondingly, he spent another three minutes struggling to locate any form of headwear that would protect him from the cold front and vicious snow. Settling on a stylish but warm black baseball cap, he stepped outside again and his head at least felt a bit more relieved than it had the first time he faced the treacherous weather. With no further delay, he moved on towards the park.
The usual trek was less than eight minutes. However, the snow accumulated to roughly eight inches now, and therefore, prolonged Thomas' arrival by almost ten minutes. Every step was like trudging through quicksand, and by the time he'd spotted the frosted plastic slides and nostalgic metal swing sets, annoyance was visible on every corner and crevice of his face.
Thomas and Lexi's customary meeting spot was right under the largest tree on the far eastern corner of the park. Despite all the irregular occurrences today, the large oak towered firmly over the other surrounding, smaller trees from where Thomas stood. Even though it resembled an oversized cotton swab, the tree remained firm while the others wisped in the wind. A small smirk ended up crossing his face at the imagery, but the slow march through the debilitating snow continued on nonetheless.
It did not take long at all for Thomas to reach the tree that had casted a fifteen-foot long circular shadow around it. With a thoughtful eye, he eyed the oak up and down and moved closer to its base, resting his back on the brittle, old bark. Moving a hand down to his belt to grasp the lone Poke Ball hoisted on it, he unclipped it and effortlessly threw it forward with a smooth flick of his wrists.
At the peak of the throw, the red and white spherical device bursted open, releasing a blinding, blueish-white light that seemingly flashbanged the general vicinity. In the illumination's wake, in front of Thomas, a short, stubby, yellow and black, plug-resembling creature emerged, a smug look on his face. After analyzing his surroundings, though, the smugness was substituted with confusion.
The Elekid struggled to hobble through the snow towards Thomas, but he was still pointing around frantically towards the endless sea of snow circling the pair of trainer and Pokemon. Despite the weariness the weather inflicted, Thomas could not help but snicker at his Pokemon and bent down to eye level with the Electric-type. Elekid started to cry out to his trainer, who could only provide a nod in response. Despite not understanding the cries, Thomas could still easily infer what Elekid was perplexed by. It didn't take an expert in linguistics and hand signals to realize.
"If I could give you an explanation for the weather, trust me, I would, but I genuinely have no idea why. It's really strange, but we'll probably get our answers soon enough–that's why we're here, buddy," Thomas said.
Elekid did not dispute his trainer, but he did cross his thick arms together. In a walk that resembled more of a waddle, Elekid scooted right next to his trainer in the uncomfortable cold. Placing a hand on the agitated Pokemon's head, Thomas gave a reassuring pat, attempting to soothe Elekid. However, despite this, Thomas could not manage to ease himself.
Taking out his phone once more, Thomas checked to see if Lexi had gotten back to him, and sure enough, he was met with three unanswered calls. Somehow on his journey to the park, he had missed her calls, but he supposed he owed it to the harsh winds and foreign snow that enfeebled his senses. Thankfully, she'd left him another text, so he was not in the dark. Opening it, Thomas read the message quickly and turned to the Elekid to his right whilst standing up.
"We have to go to the town hall," Thomas said urgently. "Apparently, the entire town is there, so we definitely can't miss this."
With an affirmative, understanding nod, Elekid did not protest what his trainer said, but he noticed that Thomas looked somewhat shaken by the message. Before the two started their journey to the town hall, though, Thomas' brown eyes gazed upon the dark skyline, which was still showering seemingly endless amounts of snow, engulfing the land. Looking down from the sky and analyzing the area around him, it was easily seen that the previous inches turned to feet of snow. He could not help but scowl in an extremely aghast, dreadful manner before beginning to drag himself through the disabling snow. Motioning for Elekid to follow suit, the Electric-type instantaneously complied. His Pokemon, however, did not seem to share all his trainer's concerns as he took initiative and began to speed up, indefinitely beginning their still slow trek to the town hall. Seeing no better option, though, Thomas, in spite of his annoyance at the absurdity, disgruntledly matched Elekid's pace.
After they had picked up their pace, the walk to the town hall was not a long one for Thomas and Elekid. Even though the snow delayed their arrival by about roughly five minutes, they were all the same perplexed by the asinine sight before them. Normally, the jaunt from the park consisted almost entirely of farmland and small town houses, but while the houses could still be seen, they were iced with sparkling white on the roofs as well as having their doors obstructed by intense amounts of snow. The hundreds of acres of farmland that Littleroot sported had resembled a frozen plain, where the crops or the Pokemon that inhabited there could not even be observed since they were either dead or in hiding, respectfully. This was no doubt the biggest problem the small town now faced.
The town hall was the largest building in the rural city, so when the trainer and Pokemon duo finally arrived at the structure's street, the massive structure immediately stood out. Due to its size, it doubled as an evacuation center in case of emergency, but the last time it had use of that purpose was during an apocalyptic level disaster roughly twenty-five years prior. In this, Legendary Pokemon Kyogre and Groudon were awakened and, with their weather-dominating powers, potentially spelled disaster for the entire world. Now, though, there was an entirely different situation at hand.
Finally arriving at town hall, Thomas and Elekid, who have been inside or passed this building every day, could not even recognize it. The stone pillars that had supported the triangular roof, while not snowed in, were cold to the touch, as Thomas pressed a hand on one of them. The brown, wooden roof itself looked to be enlarged by more than a few inches than usual thanks to its white blanket, with said snow constantly falling off. This made it seem as if the town hall had experienced more snow than the rest of the town.
The duo made their way over to the large wooden double doors. Pulling out his phone once more before entering, Thomas figured it was best to let Lexi know that they were here. After he shot her the text, he turned around one last time to look at the frozen wasteland that Littleroot had become. He really did not know what to think, as this was the first time he had ever seen Littleroot in a situation like this, but nonetheless, Thomas pushed the two doors open.
Immediately after entering the building, Thomas noticed benches and pews overflowing with the townsfolk of Littleroot. There was a certain quiet and peacefulness outside, but this did not carry over to inside the building. People were yelling out their grievances, and shouting out overall very hostile words that had seemed to echo off the large walls, amplifying the noise. Having different sonority thresholds than humans, Elekid had to cover his ears with how loud it was inside the room.
Thomas contemplated returning Elekid to his Poke Ball for a moment, but decided against it. Instead, he bent down to eye level with the Pokemon, and Elekid immediately met his gaze. Thomas set a hand on his partner's small shoulder and squeezed reassuringly, to which Elekid accepted the calming gesture. With a wholesome, small smile, Thomas offered words of encouragement..
"I know all this is very hard to deal with for you," he began, keeping a firm hand rested on Elekid's tiny, yellow shoulders, "but we have to stay strong. Obviously, there is something very wrong going on here, and we need answers. Maybe we won't find them here, but it's definitely a start, yeah?"
This seemed to ease Elekid, putting the Electric-type into much higher spirits after his Trainer's small words. Despite the noise amplifying further with the outraged crowd becoming restless, given there was still no speaker present at the moment, Elekid still stood up straight, pounding his chest emphatically. Even in all the confusion, Thomas could not help but let out a light chuckle at the Pokemon's antics.
Some things just never change, for better or worse. Thomas mused.
As the craziness continued on, Thomas remembered that he still had not found his friend. The building was beyond full capacity, with roughly over two hundred people jam-packed inside the structure. Thomas and Elekid scanned each pew, with Elekid even taking further initiative to walk around some of the nearby benches. Thomas, similarly, searched around, but with no luck, he secured an isolated pew and sat down in the back. Seeing this, Elekid ran back to his trainer and wasted no time to plop down on Thomas' lap. The trainer paid no mind, instead retrieving his phone to see if Lexi had gotten back to his text. Seeing no reply, he scowled but neglected to update her. Thomas was sure she was around, and in all the chaoticness, it was fair to assume that she had been held up. Returning his phone to its designated spot in his front pocket, Thomas rested back with his arms crossed against the firm wooden pew.
"Y'know, despite all the weirdness, I find the snow really relaxing. It's a nice change of pace from all the heat and dryness."
Immediately turning to his right to acknowledge the speaker, Thomas instinctively raised an eyebrow at the younger girl sitting next to him. Like him, she wore an insulated coat to ward off the cold. Her raven hair falling below her shoulders, she sent Thomas a soft, white smile, and while in shock at her declaration, he found he could not return it. Elekid, from his position on Thomas' lap, noticed his silence and delivered a light punch to the brown-haired teenager's gut. Thomas wasted zero time to let out a groan, causing the girl next to him to laugh.
After allowing himself a few moments to recuperate, Thomas grimaced at his Elekid, who innocently smirked at Thomas. With an eye roll, Thomas matched the girl's hazel eyes, albeit a little embarrassed, but still managed to find something to say in the awkwardness. In all the chaos, it seemed that Thomas was brought into his own bubble with this strange girl, but it helped brighten up his mood with everything that has transpired.
"Sorry about that, Elekid gets a little excited sometimes," he said, turning to the aforementioned Pokemon, who was still silently snickering at his own antics. Shaking his head once more, he turned to the girl as she managed to let another laugh escape at the problematic Elekid. Noticing the dilemma, Thomas pointed out, "He loves the attention. Please don't feed him."
"I'll keep that in mind for next time," she responded, with a softer chuckle this time. Running a hand through her hair, a slight smile remained on the girl's face before she decided to ask, "So, what's your name? I've lived here all my life, and I don't remember ever seeing you."
Thomas sat up a little taller.
"I'm Thomas," he said, confidently meeting her gaze, "I live over on Redwood, but I was homeschooled. That's probably why you haven't seen me." Elekid, obviously noticing that Thomas was missing something, lightly nudged his trainer on the leg. If the girl noticed this gesture, she didn't show it. Thomas, understanding the meaning behind Elekid's antics this time around, added, "What's your name, though? I guess there's no need for us to be strangers, right?"
"I'm Megan," she answered, not deterring her hazel-eyed stare. Sticking her hands in her black pants' pockets, Megan gave Thomas an almost quizzical glance not soon after. This was followed by her saying, "I'm over on Terrace, not too far from you at all." She pulled her hands out of her pocket and placed them on her lap. "I'm sorry, but I am still shocked that I've never seen you in town. Littleroot is such a small place, and I literally see the same faces everyday, so even in all this mess, it's still nice to meet someone new." Another genuine smile flashed Thomas' way, and this one was reciprocated.
"Likewise," Thomas simply said. He kept his hands clasped in front of Elekid, who was watching the exchange almost like a coach would at a sport's game. "It's always nice to see a new face." Thomas' mood did shift, however, when he recalled her icebreaker. Megan noticed this, shortly raising her eyebrow in response. Thomas did not want to create any suspense, so he decided to remove any tension from the conversation, by saying, "I don't want to think too much into this at all, though I am a little curious. I want to know why you felt like the snow was a good thing." Thomas spoke measuredly, not wanting to provoke his new acquaintance.
Megan seemed a little taken aback by this question for a moment, with a small purse of her red lips but did not deflect. After a second, however, she abruptly nodded, which confused Thomas a little as the gesture seemed awkward, but Megan clearly knew what she wanted to say. On the sidelines, Elekid, his vast, white eyes flickering between both Megan and Thomas, seemed completely glued to their conversation.
"No worries," she started. "Umm, honestly though, I understand that the snow here is a bad thing, but I thought it was a funny thing to say to lighten up the mood. You looked really stressed out when you sat down." Thomas' affected a light blush in embarrassment, but still kept his eyes locked with hers. Megan seemed unfazed by the strong eye contact, and while she was keeping things casual, the dark-haired girl could not help but notice that there was something else racing in Thomas' mind. Deciding to keep the conversation in a light-hearted direction, she added, "And plus, I really cannot stress how unbearable the heat is here. It's so humid, sticky, and gross which sucks because Hoenn is so beautiful."
A wave of internal relief coursed through Megan when she saw that Thomas gave her an unserious eye roll, but she decided to play defensive with her arms crossing around her white jacket. Thomas, shaking his head once more, grinning at the girl's overexaggerated theatrics.
"Why not move to Sinnoh then? The climate there seems much more suited for you. Actually, why not just bring the snow with you? Hoenn has zero need for it, and Sinnoh can afford it."
Megan playfully gasped in return, holding a dramatic hand to her heart. Thomas only shrugged before Megan said her piece.
"That was a little rude, Thomas, not very gentlemanly at all," she told him, with a sarcastic pout. Wanting to mess with him a little further, Megan added, oversaturating the sassiness, "Is this how you talk to all the new girls you meet? I don't think you'll have a lot of success if that's your game."
Thomas did not seem deterred at all at her words. Shooting directly from the dome, he said, smirking, "Who said it was game? All I'm saying is that the snow sucks, and any snow-lover here is in the wrong region." Wanting to put the ball back in her court, he, in a whimsical tone, made sure to add, "I think you're the one taking it a little too personally, Megan."
Thomas' confident smirk remained firm on his face, which surprised her to a small extent. She moved her eyes over the Elekid, who seemed to share his trainer's expression although it came off as a little more smug. Turning back to Thomas, though, she met his deep brown eyes, and after a few moments of just staring, absolutely no comeback came to mind.
"You got me," she admitted, with a joking frown. "I think I should just move to Sinnoh then, never to be seen ever again, withering away in Mount Coronet."
"That's a bit overdramatic," Thomas said. His smirk finally dissipated, and instead replacing it was a genuine smile of his own. "Even though you're a snow lover, I guess Hoenn has room for, at the most, one of you."
It was now Megan's turn to poke fun, as a smirk of her own slowly manifested itself. Following, Thomas' face shifted to more of an amused look as he waited for her response.
"Make sure to tell that to Glacia, but I really don't think she'll care too much," Megan said with an emphatic wink. "In fact, I don't think she'll care at all."
"When I become Champion, I'm sure she will." Thomas said, with his own dramatic gesture: a strong pound of his chest. Elekid, seeing this, felt the need to perfectly mimic him. Megan could not help but burst out laughing at their tomfoolery. A slightly offended look on his face, he made sure to ask, "What now?"
Laughing even more, Megan told him, "I think you're turning into your Elekid, quite honestly." At this, a quiet chuckle could be heard escaping from Elekid's mouth, and Thomas wasted no time to immediately turn to him, mouthing something to shut him up. Chuckling softly to herself at Thomas, she waited a second before her expression turned a little more serious. "Also, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm the one who'll be Champion," she declared.
Thomas searched her eyes for any sign of playfulness or jest, but he spotted none. Nodding, he understood that Megan genuinely believed she was a better trainer than him. He couldn't imagine her having any badges, considering she was just ending school in Littleroot most likely, and he had no idea if Megan owned any Pokemon or not. Thomas, however, still wanted to keep a strong demeanor, so his smirk slowly returned to his face. This caused Megan to roll her eyes, as Thomas let out a humorous, disbelieving scoff.
"The only way to settle something like this is with a battle, y'know," he said, turning to Elekid. At the mention of a battle, the Electric-type pumped his fists in the air, which both Thomas and Megan smiled at. Like a little kid, his enthusiasm was infectious.
"Agreed," she said. The two kept their eye contact locked despite not saying anything at all. Feeling like she needed to take an initiative, Megan, with a lower tone of voice that seemed much less confident, added, "Now is definitely not the best time, so how will we set this up?" Subtly, Megan lowered her gaze to where Thomas' phone was clearly imprinted in his pockets.
Following her glance, Thomas did not need anyone to tell him what she was referring to. In record time, Thomas pulled his phone out, but he smirked again once more. Megan, clearly an embarrassing moment herself, covered the rosy blush that crept around her tan cheeks.
"If you wanted my number, you could have just asked," Thomas bluntly pointed out.
"Who even said I was asking for your number?" Megan asked immediately after, but Thomas just sighed.
"I'm sorry, but you being as red as a tomato tells me otherwise."
There was an awkward silence between the two, and Megan delayed no time at all before turning away. Thomas still kept his gaze in her direction with a satisfied look on his face. He didn't say anything, simply waiting for her to shoot back. He had a gut feeling that she would crack. It was about another ten seconds of this awkward interaction before Megan even responded.
With a sigh, she turned back to him and said, "Just hand me your phone. You win, but I am still so beating you. Count on it."
Snickering, Thomas only said, "I'll let you believe that."
However, before Thomas could even hand her his phone, he noticed something very, very wrong. His world sinking, he saw that he had five unanswered texts from Lexi, which was extremely concerning to him. A singular sweat dripping from his forehead, he smoothly wiped it off while simultaneously clearing his notifications. Megan noticed that something was a little off, but as Thomas handed her his phone, she saw a seemingly, very angry blonde, dressed in a black jacket and light blue jeans, approaching the two. Before Megan could even point her out, the blonde practically sprinted over.
Seeing that Megan was looking behind him, Thomas turned, following her gaze. In the midst of all of this, Elekid hopped off his trainer's lap and hid under the pew, knowing that things were going to blow over. His trainer paled, eyes opened wide in shock at the blonde mere inches away from his place.
"H-hey, Lex-"
She pressed a red, gloved index finger to his mouth, shutting him up instantaneously. Thomas didn't even dispute the gesture while Megan looked on in complete confusion. As this was transpiring, faint chuckles could be heard from under the pew, but nobody acknowledged them in the revived tension. A few nearby onlookers, who were still waiting for some form of authority to address them, did turn to look at Thomas' dilemma but remained uninterested, considering that they had bigger problems.
Their glances didn't seem to phase Lexi though, as she was only fixated on Thomas. Not even batting Megan, who didn't seem interested in getting involved, an eye, Lexi crushed his soul with a gut-wrenching glare that sent shivers down Thomas and, by extension, Elekid's spines. With the looming suspension her mere presence added, Lexi, pulling her shushing finger away from Thomas' mouth, felt there was no reason to further delay what she had to say.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you all day long, Thomas!" she began. The boy in question, under unfathomable amounts of intimidation as Lexi bent directly over in front of his face, only sat and waited for her to finish. Her tone getting louder as she continued, "And when I finally find you, you're sitting here, carelessly flirting!" Finally, Lexi acknowledged Megan with an aggressive finger point, although she was still glaring daggers at Thomas. Megan looked slightly offended by Lexi's gesture but held her tongue. "Your priorities never cease to amaze me."
"Lex-"
"No!" she immediately interrupted, her voice this time around echoing across the large room. Not even caring if people were listening, Lexi assertively continued, "I always hear you out, always listen to you, this time, you're gonna hear me out." Thomas nodded, allowing the angry blonde to air her feelings out. "I know it's been hard to get a hold of me today, but it doesn't seem like you understand the situation at hand at all. The town is in shambles right now, and if you were not too absorbed in getting ditzy girls, who only care about themselves, yo-"
It was now Lexi's turn to be interrupted. Megan, who had been listening in on their conversation, but said nothing out of respect, knowing that it was not her place, could not idly let Lexi diminish her. Returning her glare, Megan, still holding Thomas' phone, shot up from her spot on the pew and addressed the blonde, who was taken aback by her sudden outrage.
"Did your parents not teach you any kind of respect? Because it's seriously wrong to insult someone when they're literally right in front of you," Megan aggressively pointed out. "You sound so, so entitled, standing on some small moral high ground, and yet you don't even know me!" Lexi instantly turned away from Thomas, engaging her blue eyes in ocular warfare with electrified, brown ones. Wanting to really get Lexi agitated, though, Megan, voice not wavering, decided to add, "You really know how to make yourself sound like a bitch, too, if that means anything."
Thomas remained quiet, though his eyes widened in shock at the short girl's sudden fiery demeanor. Clearly, Lexi was also angry, and considering he had been the recipient of many angry monologues in the past, he figured it was best to throw in the towel for this one as Megan seemed very interested in picking up his slack. Elekid felt like it was now safe to come out from under the bench, so now between Thomas' legs, Elekid gave his trainer an extremely amused look. Thomas simply rolled his eyes at the Electric-type's ability to be so immature in a tense situation, but the girls did not bat an eye, being too fixated on their fight.
Lexi, with a scoff, eyed Megan up and down and asserted, "You're not involved in this at all, and in all honesty, you should just sit down and be quiet."
Megan only laughed in Lexi's face, and it did not abide well with the fuming blonde. Her face turning red with anger, Lexi could not find any way to respond to that. Megan made sure to add, "Well, you're definitely proving me right."
Instinctively, Lexi's eyes twitched immediately as Megan's words settled in her head. Lexi knew it was best to stay level headed with a deep breath, but even so, she made sure to not back down. Her stare unrelenting, Lexi further held her ground. "I don't know who you're calling a bi-" Lexi made sure to learn over Thomas to point directly in Megan's face, but before she could even continue adding fuel to the fire, Thomas lightly directed her away "-hey!"
When she was brought back to a safe distance away, Lexi turned her attention back to Thomas, a slight, disapproving look on his face. With an eyebrow twitch, she, furious venom laced in every word, said, "I don't understand why you're pulling me aside, to be completely honest, because you obviously don't care about what's going on outside right now!" By now, Lexi shot a side-glanced look at Megan, who had sat down with an irked expression shortly before, and continued to both listeners, "Because of the snow, everything is falling upside down, and the town, as a whole, is going to suffer! Seriously, have respect."
Both Thomas and Megan gave Lexi a perplexed look, but Megan was the one to perk up, "That's a little hypocritical, bu-"
Megan's passive-aggressive words were promptly interrupted by a loud, booming echo of the doors bolstering open with a strong, chilling wind uninvitingly following. The trio and Elekid instantly turned their heads, thereby noticing almost everyone sitting and standing around them had moved away, towards the abrupt noise. In the process, the clamorous town hall and its inhabitants made a drastic convergence to a hushed silence that could make the tiniest wood creak bounce off the walls. Thereafter, a group of six well-dressed security men orderly entered the room, their individual footsteps reverberating brashly, and after a few moments, slammed the large doors behind them. Their formation made it seem like they were shielding someone from the crowd, but no one could tell for sure.
In this, Thomas, with good intention, scooted over and guided a reluctant Lexi to sit next to him. It took a second for her to accept his gesture, but by the time the guards were marching in her direction, she sat down, with Elekid following suit by jumping on Thomas' lap.
There was a sudden awkwardness cast over the town hall. Specifically, the three teenagers felt this more so than anyone else, with all of them still reeling from the argument that had transpired. Lexi, her back uncomfortably shifted towards Thomas, was seated at the edge of the bench, and Megan, a slight purse in her lips, still had her arms crossed firmly. Thomas, though, sat idly with a reflecting look on his face. The teens, with nothing left to say now, simply waited for the security men to finish their slow march to the stage at the front of the large room.
When the guards had finally reached the stage, they quickly dispersed to stand below the elevated platform, with one in particular blocking off the stairs. In their scatter, an older, gray-haired small woman, dressed sharply in a professional, white, modest dress that covered most of her legs and arms, was revealed and handed a bulky, warm dark coat to the guard posted at the base of the small stairs. The towering guard moved out of the way, allowing the unknown woman to start a slow trek up the stairs. It took a few moments for her to reach the podium that was overlooking the masses of people beforehand.
As the lady analyzed the crowd, Thomas looked to both Lexi on his left and Megan on his right. He noticed that Lexi was completely avoidant and didn't make an effort to even acknowledge his or anyone else's presence; it was clear she needed time alone. Megan, not unlike Lexi, remained avoidant, but it was clear she was deep into her own thoughts as she remained fixated on the ground, not even paying attention to the lady. Thomas, confused, looked at Elekid and let out a faint, almost inaudible sigh. His troublesome Pokemon only responded with a light, unknowing shrug and decided to position himself in an enjoyable position on Thomas' shoulders, so he could look at the speaker. Shaking his head at Elekid's helpfulness, or lack thereof, Thomas drew his attention to the old lady; there were many questions that needed closure or any form of explanation.
A sudden, raspy voice crack, however, snapped Thomas back to Littleroot's plain of existence. The mysterious woman then grabbed the microphone and adjusted it to her height. With everything in accordance, she, a soft, resolving tone behind her words, began, "People of Littleroot, my name is Elizabeth Marrow, and if you do not already know, I am second-in-command to your mayor and leader, Mr. John Bark, and I'm sure most–if not, all–of you have questions that need answers.
"To start, I want to preface that I am not here to sugarcoat anything. The people of Littleroot have been a pillar and staple of what it means to be a citizen of our great, historic nation for many generations, and because of that, I will make sure that all of you are met with nothing but absolute transparency since we, as a town, are reaching untouched waters."
Elizabeth's words resonated with each member of the crowd and created a sense of anticipation. Thomas, in specific, spent the whole day, scrambling to find any reasoning for the unexpected snow, so for someone in a position of power to finally address the town's predicament, it provided a small feeling of satisfaction. His attention fully undivided on Elizabeth, he sat up and waited for her to continue which was not a long wait.
"The first issue I want to address is the obvious elephant in the room and ultimately is the main reason why everyone was brought here," Elizabeth abruptly stated, bringing everyone's focus towards her again. Once everyone in the large room was looking at her expectantly, she made sure to continue, saying, "It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that the snow is not an event that typically happens in Littleroot or anywhere in Hoenn, for that matter. In fact, the last, recorded snowfall to occur was ten years ago at Mount Pyre, and in that instance, it was only measured to be a few inches."
Thomas immediately recalled this small detail. His mother had made such a big deal about it all those years ago as the event remained one of Hoenn's biggest, non-threatening anomalies for years, but right now, everyone's concerns still remained centered on the current weather situation.
However, Elizabeth didn't waste anymore time dwelling on past events as she said, "Compared to the foot and a half outside right now, the snow ten years ago seems utterly insignificant. Additionally, it appears the snowfall started at, roughly, two in the morning and appeared quite literally out of thin air; there was no detection of it on any weather forecasting radar."
Taking a pause, Elizabeth allowed the audience to sit on her words. Thomas did not know what to think about this at all, and in such, he turned to the people next to him. It appeared that Lexi did not have any recollection of their previous argument as she was entirely enthralled in what the old woman was saying. Likewise, Megan, who seemed indifferent to the snow earlier, now had a nervous expression on her face as she was absorbing Elizabeth's words. Even the small Elekid, still on top of Thomas' shoulders, had displayed a little worriment at Elizabeth's words.
This really is something else, Thomas couldn't help for a brief moment.
However, during this, Elizabeth continued, "Additionally, it is important to say that we are not the only town experiencing this drastic snowfall. It was brought to my attention, by various other people in power in neighboring provinces, that the snow is extending as far as Fortree City currently, so as a region, we are all experiencing similar issues." Taking another short moment, Elizabeth eyed the crowd with an analyzing look before continuing further. "Also, it needs to be stated that our climatology experts over at Hoenn's Weather Institute project that the snow is going to continue without end for another five months."
Instantly after her statement, the crowd, who were all initially quiet and receptive towards Elizabeth's words, made a shift. Quiet murmurs that voiced confusion could be heard from all directions, but it did not take long for them to become louder. In less than a minute, the entire dynamic of the town hall turned for the worse. Previous whispers changed into rowdy complaints, and it seemed like every member of the audience had at least one to share as Elizabeth was bombarded by them.
"All my crops are going to die! That's how we make money!"
"My kids have to go to school!"
"What does this mean for the Ever Grande Conference?"
Thomas lost track of all the different complaints and questions that visibly overwhelmed Elizabeth as she had to take a brief, small step back from the podium to collect her thoughts. The sheer volume of all the questions seemed to make the entire building shake, but all Thomas could do was watch on. He turned over to Megan, who was shaken by the freshly hostile environment. Taking a brief over-the-shoulder glance at Lexi, Thomas noticed that, despite everything happening, she still displayed no interest in associating with him as she was still slightly turned away, so he decided to comfort Megan.
Giving her a slight nudge, Megan immediately turned over to Thomas. Her brown eyes were dampened, and from that, it could easily be inferred by the wet patches under her eyes and a frown that she had been crying. Thomas, his expression slightly thoughtful, was a little surprised by her reaction, given her previous words to him; however, it was a fair thought to believe that no one expected the snow to last that long, so Thomas understood.
With a whisper, he said in an uplifting manner to the raven-haired girl, "We will all get through this." Flashing a cool smile her way, Thomas felt relieved when Megan reciprocated with a weak smile, but he still couldn't quell his inner concerns. To make matters even worse, the crowd's rowdiness made it difficult for him to center his thoughts.
Megan, though, noticed that Thomas, whose eyes had remained unfocused, was lost in his own world, and as he did moments before, she thought it would be rude for her not to provide comfort. Placing a soothing hand on his leg, she was planning on telling him something similar to boost his morale. Before Megan could even allow the words to escape from her mouth, a brutal, eerily familiar noise snapped both their attentions to the front of the room. Likewise, everyone in the town hall instantly had also snapped their heads to the raised podium.
As sorrowful reality settled, the almost entire audience screamed in utter horror when they saw Mrs. Elizabeth Marrow slumped over the same podium she was talking from, a pool of blood seeping from in between her eyes. It was clear she was dead on the spot, and all Thomas could do was sit from his spot in the back of town hall as literal chaos ensued.