Dewgong and Grovyle

The trip had been long and difficult, passing through the warm seas. He didn't like the warmth at all. Any time that the waters went over forty degrees Fahrenheit, he felt sluggish. There had been points where it had been close to eighty, with no relief in sight. But he kept on, swimming along the route given to him. It was easier now that this river had grown cold. Above him, there was a thin layer of ice. It was a good sign that his goal was near.

He was Arden, a mighty Dewgong and hero of the arctic seas. He had explored the deep depths and the high glaciers. If someone went missing, he was one of the first (if not the first) who went searching not matter where the Pokemon was thought to be. He had discovered many treasures, or recovered them from thieves. And this looked to be one of the great, if not the greatest, adventures of his life.

And to think that he hadn't originally been the one asked to search.

Three months ago, a thief broke into an ice palace made to honor Articuno. He could have taken a great many treasures, but only took one: the Everlastice. There were rare treasures known as Nevermeltice that enhanced the powers of Ice, but they were found by adventures willing to go deep in icy dungeons. Only one Everlastice had ever been discovered.

He had helped catch the thief, a Sableye who didn't seem right in the head (what with all the giggling it did). While the Sableye did admit to stealing the Everlastice, he said that it had already passed out of his paws, headed south. After locking the Sableye up in a prison of ice, the best of the local explorers gathered to decide what to do about the missing treasure.

Arden had remained behind, patrolling the ice palace in case of more trouble. A good friend of his, a Wailord, had gone south to investigate the matter. Her kind traveled between the tropical belt and the arctic belt already, so she was used to it. However, the leads she got led her to the mouth of this river, which she could not navigate. Not knowing who to trust there, she came back north and asked a Huntail to travel up the river. He had gotten up to this point and then had gotten stuck. The Everlastice seemed to be on land, where the Huntail could not go.

And so, it fell to the Dewgong to come this far south and retrieve the stolen treasure. The presence of ice in the river was proof that the artifact was around. He was going downriver at the moment. Earlier, he had encountered the edge of the ice layer. The Huntail had said that he searched all over the riverbed, but found nothing. Looking up at the ice, he found the place where it was thickest. Arden swam up and struck it with his horn to break through. it wasn't nearly as thick as some arctic ice sheets, breaking up immediately. He then emerged from the water and into a thick forest.

The trees were still full of green leaves, although snow and icicles sat on the branches. A foot of fresh snow cover lay on the ground; he would blend in readily. Looking over the frozen river, Arden could see that the cover wasn't as thick there. Figuring that he should stay on his side to find the Everlastice, he began scooting across the land with his flippers.

It was much harder for him to move here. The snow was loose and had no hard pack underneath it. Instead, it had rough and uneven dirt, tree roots, and small plants. The trees were closely packed together, sometimes to where he couldn't slide between them. There were paths, but they seemed narrow and crooked.

As he went along, he looked around for other Pokemon. This place would be full of Grass types, which were a special danger to him. But if he ran into another civilized Pokemon, it would most likely be friendly and willing to cooperate. A couple of hours into his search, though, he hadn't run into any other Pokemon. He didn't even hear any others, as it was near silent. The snow cover had gotten deeper, making it a bit easier to move. But not as easy as being underwater or on slick ice.

Then, he encountered falling snow. It had to be close now, he thought. He looked around for the edges of the snowfall, then headed right for the center of the storm. While it was tame compared to what he was used to, he knew it would be trouble to these Pokemon who were unused to it.

There was a crunch of snow behind him, as if someone had dropped into it. Arden twisted his upper body about to look, but a flash of green moved from that spot. It jumped over him and landed in his path. Noting how fast this Pokemon was, he went on guard just as she struck him with a whirling leaf. That eased the pain of the attack somewhat.

She was reptilian in form, with green scales on her thin build and long dark green leaves on her arms and tail. More importantly, she was wearing a strange necklace. It was a simple cord that held onto a pendant of shimmering crystals of ice. All together, they formed a shape like that of a snowflake, six-pointed with many intricate small fronds mirroring each other. That was the missing treasure.

Unfortunately, she didn't look to be in a kindly mood. "So you've finally come to invade our jungle?" She brought her arms up, flaring out the leaves in an aggressive fashion. "The others may hide, but I will stop you and your kin, even if I must fight alone." She then leaped up onto the side of the tree and clung there.

"Wait, hold on please, miss," he said, trying to make a show of peace by lowering his head.

"I'm not going to be fooled by your wicked words," she hissed. "I am Sonja the Grovyle, daughter of the jungle's master. And I fight for justice!" She then bounded off across the path and into another tree. This time, she went into the leaves, seemingly vanishing.

Arden looked around. While he couldn't see her, every now and then, he heard the shaking of a snowy tree branch, with the occasional crash of ice. If it wasn't for the winter weather, he'd have no idea where she was until she threw her leaf blades at him. He decided to keep on guard. "Listen, I have no intentions of harming you," he called out after guarding another attack. "I am Arden the Dewgong, hero of the arctic seas."

"One side's hero is another side's villain," Sonja pointed out.

"But we don't have to be on opposing sides," he countered. "I want to help you; I need to speak with you about your necklace and get it back."

"Then you're a thief too!" She dropped back in front of him, prepared to attack at close range again.

"I haven't fought back yet, jungle princess," Arden said sternly, preparing to guard (although he seriously needed a healing berry right about now). "But I will if you keep attacking me. isn't that proof enough?"

She did hold off on attacking, but gave him a look that clearly said that she didn't like him. "Usually only cowards and weaklings don't fight," she said. "Fine, what do you have to say for yourself, ice creature?"

To make his point, he flicked some snow aside with his left flipper. "I know why your jungle is covered in snow now. You're supposed to be in summer, right? Maybe even never seeing snow. That's because that necklace you wear brings snow with it."

"Are you sure about that?" She clutched the shimmering snowflake. "It just looks pretty."

"It is nice, but have you been able to escape the snowfall ever since it started? And it must have started when you got it, at some point around then. The snowfall will keep following you while you wear it."

"Th-that's just bad luck," she stated, shifting her poise from aggressive to defensive.

"The stone is called Everlastice," Arden went on. "Last year, I discovered it in the depths of a labyrinthine glacier dungeon. When I got out, I brought it to a Jynx to find out what it was. She said that it was a unique treasure, unlike anything that had been discovered. It brings about a state of winter wherever it goes. When it's up north where I come from, you don't notice much difference, as it's always snowy. But here when it's supposed to be sunny, it will make the jungle be in winter, permanently. At least, permanent until the Everlastice is taken out of your jungle."

Sonja glowered. "So you are going to invade, and made it winter so that it's easier on you."

He shook his head. "No, absolutely not. I'm a hero, not an invader. Many of us agreed to keep the Everlastice with us, so that other places weren't affected badly. But then a Sableye thief stole it from being on display. We caught him, but he had already passed off the stone. I came down here tracking it because I'm the only one strong enough to get down here, and I am able to navigate the river and the land. How did you get it?"

Stubbornly, she didn't say anything for a minute. Then she grimaced. "There was a Sableye merchant who came into town. It was a strange day, as that was when it had first started snowing. Everyone thought it was magical, with large fluffy white flakes falling from the summer sky. And this merchant, he set up a tent on the main street and sold all sorts of foreign objects. And he said he would normally not sell this necklace, but thought I was pretty enough to deserve it."

Arden nodded. "I see. Some group may wish to cause trouble for your jungle, but I wouldn't know who. I'll take the Everlastice back to make the snow return north with me." When she still seemed reluctant, he felt a bit annoyed, but added, "I could trade for it if you really want. I have a mother-of-pearl pendant on a necklace that is just a pretty accessory; my Jynx friend says that it doesn't have any enchantments or the like on it."

He shifted his weight so that he could dig in his sidebag with his right flipper, then brought out the mother-of-pearl necklace and tossed it between them. He had no use for it himself, so he had kept it around for trading purposes. Quite often, the things he found in dungeons were of more use to others than himself. But that made for a good income.

On seeing it, her attitude changed. It was a misshapen circle, but one side had a silver gray background while the other had a creamy white. On both sides, there were iridescent reflections that appeared when any light struck them. Some of the girls back home might be jealous to learn that he had traded it away, but he didn't have a true sweetheart. No big loss.

"That's quite kind of you," she said, picking up the mother-of-pearl necklace. She then took off the Everlastice necklace and passed it over. "Okay, I'll agree to that. Thank you."

Arden smiled. "And thank you, Miss Sonja." He put it back into his bag. "I'll be going now so that winter doesn't stick around. I probably won't be returning, though; this area isn't suitable for me."

"I guess not. Have a safe journey home then." She put on her new necklace, then bounded away into the trees.

Listening to her move off, the Dewgong turned around and headed back towards the river. The warmth of the waters shouldn't bother him now. But he would have to move quickly back north, so that the Everlastice didn't trouble more Pokemon for now. "I do pity whoever has to deal with a spoiled one like you every day," he said softly.

...

Emerald entry: Leaves grow out of this Pokemon's body. They help obscure a Grovyle from the eyes of its enemies while it is in a thickly overgrown forest.

Dewgong Fire Red entry: Its body is covered in a pure white fur. The colder the weather, the more active it becomes.

I'm sure most people agree that the most awesome Grovyle is probably the Mystery Dungeon one. But, I didn't want to use him, so I made one that was unlike him. Otherwise, this was a bit tricky, as according to the Pokedex, Grovyle lives in 'a thickly overgrown forest' and Dewgong lives 'on ice floes'. I considered Siberia for a compromise, but ended up with this instead.