Manny and Hanny flew north to Eterna, pausing to refresh their teams at the Pokémon Centre. After consulting the town map, they went east into Mount Coronet. Inside, Manny used his Bibarel's Strength to push huge boulders out of the way. They descended into a foggy underground lake, so Keira used Defog. After nabbing the many items scattered on the ground by using Rock Smash, Surf, Strength and the Dowsing machine application, they found the eminently useful hold-items of NeverMeltIce (which boosts Ice-type moves) and Soft Sand (which boosts Ground-type moves).

They then headed to the northeastern exit of the cave, onto the blizzard-blasted route 216. It was late evening by that time, and visibility was near zero.

To counter the wintry shroud of their path, Hanny mounted Zeke while Manny straddled his Rapidash. Due to her massive size increase, the boy knew he'd be even sorer than usual at the end of the route. It was better than freezing to death, he reasoned, though his thighs were screaming after the first hundred yards.

He experienced tremendous relief at the beat-up Snowbound Lodge, where he rubbed his legs by the fire while the resident hiker thawed off and refreshed their Pokémon. Manny dozed off in front of the fire, so Hanny decided to turn in for the night, too.

The next morning, braving the perpetual blizzard, they rode north onto Route 217. In a very random encounter, Maylene stopped them. She was not wearing winter gear.

"I would normally Fly to Snowpoint, but I'm walking there for training purposes. I'm used to the cold because I'm always barefoot and lightly dressed." She sneezed so hard she bent double. Her eyes were defiant, though, when she sputtered, "I'm not cold!"

She hiked north, her lips trembling into a dark shade of blue. Hanny and Manny looked at each other, sitting upon their living furnaces.

"I will never understand why some humans sacrifice their wellbeing in the vain pursuit of physical perfection."

"Neither will I, Hanny. As a species, we are a lost cause in that department."

Hannah nodded. "Thank goodness we have Pokémon to distract us from ourselves."

Route 217 was a vast snowfield. Trainers were few and far between, but there was a shack halfway through the area, outside of which the Hidden Machine Rock Climb lay half-buried in the snow. After obtaining it, the Trainers went inside to find a hiker who had lost that same HM outside his hut. He rewarded them for their honesty with the Icicle Plate, upon the back of which was engraved, "Three beings were born to bind time and space."

"Years ago, I found it buried under the snow," the man boasted to Hanny.

"You mean it wasn't on top of the snow?"

"Nope."

"Shocking!"

"I figure it to be of ancient origin, even as ancient as when Sinnoh came to being."

"You figure, huh? Well, I guess we have to believe a big expert like you."

"You sure do, little lady."

To the northwest of his shack was another shack, inside of which was a young, thin woman with a faraway look in her deep-set eyes.

"Visitors… a rare sight. A gift…" she whispered, handing them a Spell Tag which powers up Ghost-type moves. They quickly left, creeped out by the human wraith.

Further north was the Acuity Lakefront. Mint was at the top of a climbable rock cliff.

"You guys are way too sloooooooooow. Y'all can't climb the rocks until y'all get Snowpoint's Gym Badge. I'm gonna fight Team Galactic right now!"

"Wait for us!" Manny shouted to deaf ears as the boy tore off.

Sighing, the pair rode east into Snowpoint City, resting at the Pokémon Centre to count the Pokémon Hanny had acquired during their ride in the blizzard.

"Snorunt, Snowver and Sneasel!"

"Don't forget the sibilant Swinub."

"Psh, as if I'm going to use any of them."

They found Maylene in the dining area, thawing out. They sat down with her and she said, "I hope I see Candice soon, but I'm staying put until I warm up." She sneezed hard, hitting her forehead on the table, almost upsetting her steaming mug of tea. "Ow. Candice is a user of Ice-type Pokémon. She's so studious! She wanted to practice against me to learn about the Fighting type, because Ice matches badly with the Fighting type."

They had lunch with the Gym Leader, partaking of her aromatic masala chai that warmed them to the core.

Maylene was almost cheerful when she said, "I know you guys! You'll teach Candice not to take herself seriously!"

"If by 'teach' you mean 'beat up her friends and steal her shiny', then yes," Hanny said, sipping from the hot cup. They thanked her for the tea, then excused themselves. Hanny led Manny outside.

"I'm going to the clothes store."

Manny blinked.

"What for? Nobody ever changes their clothing, ever."

Hanny gave him a withering stare. She stomped off, hands tucked under her armpits. Manny shrugged and headed for the Gym.

"Hey, Champ-to-be!"

"Hey, Caretaker. Why is this place colder than outside?"

Manny was instructed to slide down the icy hills and through the valley of the Gym, where giant snowballs blocked his path. He was to use his momentum to break the snowballs apart.

"Um, no. My face is already numb, and I've only been inside this Gym for one minute."

He called Rapidash to his aid.

"You can't do that! There are rules!" Caretaker protested.

"Screw the rules, I have Pokémon!"

Rapidash breathed Flamethrower over the ice valley, turning the Centre of the Gym into a convenient arrangement of stairs and platforms that Manny traversed in a few seconds. The Gym Trainers on either side of the valley sent death glares that he gleefully ignored.

At the top of the Gym was, of course, its Leader. She was a teenager with black pigtails who wore a white, long-sleeved blouse resplendent with its blue bow, a very short brown skirt, blue and white striped socks and brown shoes. There was a blue sweater tied around her waist, as if she didn't fit the schoolgirl cliché strongly enough.

"You want to challenge Candice? Sure thing! I was waiting for someone tough!"

Manny gave the girl a look as though she had just transformed into a Jynx before his very eyes. "You did not just refer to yourself in third person. Also, aren't you cold?"

"But I should tell you: I'm tough, because I know how to focus. Pokémon, fashion, romance… It's all about focus! I'll show you just what I mean. Get ready to lose!"

"Oh Lord, you did refer to yourself in third person, and talked about Pokémon and romance in the same breath! I'm going to have fun with you."

She first sent out a Sneasel, who managed to Ice Punch Keira before she KO'd it in one hit with Close Combat. Piloswine came next, who also fell to a single Close Combat, but without the dignity of getting off one attack. Abomasnow came next, but it too possessed little speed, and fell down from one Close Combat like its brethren, humiliated by its utter inability to attack the swift Keira. Candice stood with arms akimbo.

"I'm going to break the ice and bring out my last resort Pokémon!"

Manny covered his face with both hands, his mind crushed by the dead weight of that awful pun.

"Froslass, go!"

That woke him up.

"Keira, return!"

Manny wracked his brain, trying to remember Froslass's types.

"Ice and something! Oh, whatever. Rapidash, GO!"

"Froslass, use Psychic!"

"Rapidash, Flame Wheel!"

Rapidash was rocketed into the air by the telekinetic attack, but twisted her body so that her hooves smashed into the ceiling instead of her head. With a titanic kick, she dove, a meteor falling to earth. The second Psychic attack never hit. Candice was blasted clear off her platform by the shockwave of the impact. Sitting up, she smiled at Manny though she was woozy.

"I must say, I've warmed up to you! I might even admire you a little."

"If you don't stop those awful puns, I will burn your Gym to the ground."

"Froslass, return!"

The stunned glacial ghost became energy.

"You did really well, Froslass, I'm proud of you!" Candice said, then scrambled to her feet, dusting snow from her tiny skirt. She smiled at Manny, saying, "Wow, you're great! You've earned my respect. I think your focus and will bowled us over totally."

Without further exposition, Manny received the Icicle Badge and TM Avalanche.

"I wonder whether I should be colder and more distant to other people in order to reflect my Gym's elemental type?"

"Please do! Dress warmly while you're at it."

While Manny trekked back to the Pokémon Centre, he passed Hanny whom he did not recognise in her thick layers of winter gear, which included goggles and hoodie. All he knew was that half an hour later she was standing at the entrance, a shiny Icicle Badge on her mitten. She didn't have her headgear on, so he recognised her this time, and waved her over.

"Should we go help Mint, now?"

"Shut yer trap. I'm cold, and need warmth. Only you and that blonde psycho walk around in this weather with just a scarf."

Manny punched the sky. "Our metabolism is MAXIMUM! By the way, how did you listen to the schoolgirl without setting her Gym on fire?"

"I had earmuffs on."

"You're smarter than I am."

"I know."

888

So it came to pass that after thirty minutes of hot cocoa and snuggling with Zeke, the Cold One became the Warm One, and deigned to walk with the mortal boy to check up on his friend. They had their thralls Rock Climb to Lake Acuity.

There they found a scenario that not even the Warm One predicted: the purple bowl-cut psycho, Commander Jupiter, had actually defeated the blonde psycho! Despite the fact that almost two hours had passed since their arrival in Snowpoint, the battle appeared to have just concluded. Jupiter was so smug that the simpletons she called her minions were smug as well.

"Oh? Are you finished already? Your Pokémon aren't bad, but you're laughably weak. You honestly thought you could save the Pokémon of the lake? And become the Pokémon Champion? Dream on, little kid. But, eww, it's so cold here, let's go back to the Veilstone HQ."

"Yes, Mistress," her minions droned.

She walked past the crestfallen Mint, encountering Hanny and Manny. She didn't recognise the walking pile of snow gear, but identified the boy. "Oh? Don't I know you? We met in Eterna City. Listen. Team Galactic is going to do something huge for everyone's sake. That's why you should keep out of Team Galactic's way. Don't come whining about poor Pokémon and other trivial junk like that. Don't waste your time coming to our HQ in Veilstone. Now, if you'll excuse me."

They allowed her and her entourage to pass, because Mint's scrunched-up face looked ready to cry. Manny and Hanny pondered the possibility that they had broken into some alternate reality, because Mint was looking at them but not talking.

"Yeah, that's right! I couldn't do anything against Team Galactic!" was his sudden outburst. He turned towards the lake, his shoulders drooping. "That Pokémon called Uxie… It was suffering…" He turned back to them. There was fire mixed with the tears in his eyes. "I'm going to get tougher… It's not about winning or losing… That's not good enough… I have to be stronger… It's not enough to just WANT to be the most powerful Trainer ever… It takes honest effort, and a determined heart."

Manny rested a hand on Mint's shoulder, squeezing. He looked at Hanny. "We can rebuild him. We have the technology."

"We can make him better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

"Manny, where did you get a talking Abomasnow?"

Hanny kicked him in the shin.

"OOOOOOOW! OW OW OW! Oh my gosh, it's Hanny!"

"We are going elsewhere to train. I think my left lung has frozen solid," Hanny coughed.

The three of them took Mint's words to heart. Flying south-southeast, they spent the night in Pastoria. The next morning they hiked to Valor Lakefront. They entered the Seven Stars Restaurant to have a word with its owners, Roman and Kylie. Throughout that day, the three Trainers had a monopoly on the restaurant patrons who desired a battle to work up their appetites. In exchange for this privilege, they paid the owners fifty percent of that day's prize money.

At sunset, Roman and Kylie promoted the vice-manager and announced that they were going on vacation for one month.