Finally, I'm bothering to start a chapter before I upload the next. Act 2 is nearly finished as well.
As per usual, drop a review. It means a lot.
Chapter 20; most warm day in Canada.
Mission; a rescue!
Reward: 10000 Pokè
Description: an important friend, an Umbreon, has gone missing somewhere around the world. Location unknown, due to a random teleport. Any sources please report to the expedition society on the whereabouts of this Pokémon!
Venus sighed as she finished copying the mission. It was being posted around the major towns and urban areas of the world. Ever since she had discussed what happened with Ava, the Espeon had been… angry.
It was a week ago when she had appeared in the HQ, having been teleported there by Mew. Ian hadn't shown up at all, and a connection orb call with the major guilds hadn't reported anything. He was completely gone, a cold trail.
And Ava vanished 2 days ago as well. She had taken off in the middle of the night, presumably to find him. And Venus had no clue where to start. She had lost a rogue human, and his partner, in a time of relative peace.
All of this flew through the Mawiles head as she finished mailing the mission posters to the guilds of the world. Where had they gone?!
She would likely not see them for… a long time.
As a Lapras pulled onto the beach below Pokemon square, Ava hopped off. She decided to start her search on the air continent. As she headed up the stairs, she remembered the journey of the heroes of the meteor.
Nearly 30 years ago, the first human had stopped the first disaster, and now…
She saw it. The pale, worn down rescue team base. It was team Go Getters HQ, a large house, shaped like the head of a Treecko. She walked up to it, noting the elderly Typhlosion on the porch. "Hello there."
"Oh, hello there Missy. What're you here for?" He said, turning to face Ava.
"Is this the home of the first human?" She asked. The Typhlosion sighed.
"Course it is. Ol Brandts place. Me and him.. we were good buddies. Are you just here for a signature or sum shit?" The aging Pokémon sighed, standing up.
"No! Er, sorry, I'm not looking for a signature. Do you still do missions?" She asked, pulling out a piece of paper.
"Sorry Missy. Not usually. Been retired. Why?" He looked at the paper.
"Well… he was once human. And just… just last week he went completely missing." She explained.
"Another one huh? Well… I'm not doing anything other than getting any older. If he hasn't shown up in any towns over the past week, he's probably far out in the boonies. I can help you search the Air Continent, at least up to Mt. Blaze. After that, you're on your own kid." He explained. "I'm Ember. Course you heard of my Partner of ol Brandt. Hero number 2 of the meteor."
"Oh, you are? Wasn't that like 40 years ago?" Ava asked.
"30ish. I don't even remember. Whats yours?" He stood up, cracking his knuckles.
"Ava. You might have met my dad. He's also a human. Time Gears. Jonah." She said,
"Oh yeah, Jonah. Lucky kid. His partner never went missing. Good kid. And… you know what, let's stop dragging this out." He said. "We gotta get going." he quite quickly stood up from his chair, stretching.
"So… what happened to Brandt?" Ava asked as they started out of town, into the snowy road. It was the middle of winter on most continents other than Sand and Grass.
"Never heard? Back maybe 2 or 3 years after the meteor shenanigans, he went on a journey to Purity Forest."
"What happened there?" She asked.
"Dunno. He never returned. Best info I got to go on is that there was once a Celebi living there. Supposedly shiny. Not that I ever bothered to go there and find him. I couldn't. Not after what I heard about the dungeon."
"Oh… I'm sorry. What was his species?" Ava asked.
"We were still unevolved at the time. I was still a Cyndaquil, and him a Treecko. I heard some crackpot theory that he evolved, and met Celebi. Travelled to the future, and was never seen again. Easily fake though. Probably just… passed away."
"Hmm… neat. I- whoa!" Ava tripped, falling into a hidden spot of deep snow. "Fuck! I'm stuck."
Ember laughed, before using a fire wheel, which caused the snow surrounding the Espeon to melt, freeing her. "Hah. Couldn't you get out psychically?" He asked.
"I uh… not really. I only evolved about a month ago. I don't know how to use my psychic powers yet. And I know, I know, I should, but, well… stuffs been happening."
"Ah well. Tell you what little miss, head into Pokèmon square, and stock up. Including winter gear. Unless you have a lotta fur, it'll be hard to survive any farther north than here without help. We'll search most of the continent, but anything north of the volcano, in the tundra, you're doing on your own."
Ava smiled. "Thanks ember. It means a lot to get help from one of the heroes." She said,
"Of course. Glad to help. Meet me back at my place in a bit, then we'll talk."
"Got it!" Ava dashed off towards Pokémon square.
The hamlet had grown substantially since the meteor incident all those years ago, and due to the town's location relative to Capim Town, it made the place a valuable trading post and stopping point for many Pokèmons journeys. It had fared much better than post town, due to the better climate and terrain compared to the mist continent, and overall, was a well off town.
As Ava reached the square, she looked around. Many Pokémon, a few of which were dressed up in thick scarves akin to her own, or full on winter coats and boots went about. Of course the town had its own Kecleon shop, storage, dojo, and mail centre, but had also gained a library, a town hall, and a cafe.
Ava took note of the multitude of Pokèmon everywhere. A Ludicolo here, a Hatterene there. There was even an up-and-coming rescue team made up of a Litten, Shinx, and Meowth. They seemed to be excited for a new mission.
'Really? He didn't even bother to put them in treasure town…' she thought, rolling her eyes at the author as she headed towards the Kecleon shop.
"Ah, hello miss! What can I get you?" The purple one asked Ava.
"What kind of winter gear and rations do you have? I'm making an expedition north to the tundra." She explained.
"You sure that's a good idea? Your funeral… We got coats, boots, hats, scarves, none of which have abilities yet, and a good supply of tack. Tastes like Tauros-shit, but lasts forever!"
"Uh, I think I'll take a couple pounds of that, a quad coat, and a set of boots." She said, thinking it through. "Does the tack keep off berry-disease? You know, the one when you don't eat enough berries for too long?"
"It does! Its made with a mix of wild bouffalant meat, and Oran berries! Salted and smoked to last. The entire purchase will be… 2000 Poké!" Kecleon smiled, grabbing out a sack as he started to pack it.
Ava's mind went blank for a moment as she thought about the cost, before realizing it was too high. By about 200 poke.
"Um, could I maybe get it for 1800 Poké?" She asked, hopeful the stingy shopkeeper could cut her a deal.
Kecleons were not known to be generous shopkeepers, known more likely for cutting your throat than the prices of their wares, so this was a gamble at best, and dangerous at worst.
"Of course! I can see it might be important for you!" He said, eyeing his brother to make sure he didn't notice. "Don't tell him."
"Thanks. And of course." She said, noticing at this point something felt off about the normal type.
Kecleon handed her the sack, and looked at her. "Get! I got other customers, you know!" He said, slipping the poke from Ava under the counter, as opposed to the normal Kecleon method of storing it in the back.
Ava eyed him one more time, but left, heading back towards the rescue team base.
"So you ready then?" the Typhlosion asked.
"Yep." Ava confirmed.
"I'll help you search the main routes of the continent, but the tundra to the north is your job. If you ever run into trouble, stop by Mt. Freeze. If you can make it to the top, Ninetails is there, and should be able to help you if you run into any problems." the Typhlosion explained. "And try to avoid the dungeons. Many are unmapped"
"Alright. Let's get going." Ava said, as the 2 of them started off into the cold continent.
1 week earlier….
A flash of light appeared, and in a tundra far to the north, he appeared. And like it hadn't happened, the psychic energy of a teleport vanished, leaving the Umbreon alone. Quickly scrambling to his feet, he looked around.
White. More white. Some trees… all long since having died.. It was cold, and wind howled around the Eeveelution, quickly making him shiver as he thanked his fur coat.
"What the… brrrrrrrr…." he trembled in place as snow began to quickly cover his black fur. He quickly dashed to one of the trees around him, in a vain attempt to hide from the freezing wind.
"God, did Mew dump me off in a fucking blizzard?" he said, shivering as the small pellets of ice flew into his red eyes. It was hard to see more than a few feet in front of him. Clutching his small survival pack next to him, he contemplated his choices.
Obviously, he couldn't just leave. He was stranded. He would have to find a den, or a cave, or something. An ally. A way to soldier on until he, well…
Ian sighed. He really had no clue what to do. Adjusting his stance so his body didn't sink into the snow more than an inch or 2, he started to trek slowly with the wind, so it didn't blow into him.
It had been hours… hours of white, with the occasional tree. He had left the forest a while ago, and while the blizzard was clearing up, it was still hard to see very far. He was in some sort of field, within the distance, a great peak, just barely outlined in the sky. He had a hunch.
'If… if I'm right… that's Mt. Freeze. If… if Ninetails is there, I'll be able to survive. Or if I could find… something… Absol maybe…?' He thought, as he crunched through step after step of deep snow. He had stopped caring about how much he sunk in. His fur was just barely thick enough to stave off hypothermia for a while, but he needed something soon.
With an icicle dangling off his fur, he spotted something in the distance. A figure, just barely visible away from him. As if it knew, though, it was gone as soon as he had seen it.
'What the…' "H-hello!?" He called, to no avail. Nothing came in response, and after a moment of waiting, he continued, getting an odd feeling.
Something in the wind was off. It seemed to shift directions all around him, ruffling his fur, and causing him to shiver as he pushed his tail up in an alert state. "Show yourself-!" He said, fear apparent in his voice.
An odd wind chime-esque sound seemed to echo around him, and in front of him, a Glaceon seemed to almost materialise in the blizzard. And another one. Another… Before the Umbreon knew it, he was surrounded on all sides by his ice type cousins. Ian quickly took a stance as soon as he noticed them. "Stay b-back!"
They simply growled. It seemed these Eeveelutions had formed a wild pack, and were hunting… he was the new meal.
"Dammit… I need fucking combat training… fucking writer needs to add more action scenes to the fic." He thought, as the first Glaceon, the alpha, attacked!
It leapt at him, claws unsheathed. The feline ice types fangs were bared, as Ian dodged out of the way, quickly ducking under the second which had leapt at him from behind. Both seemed to disappear into the snow again, not leaving a mark in the snow, as he stared at the third and fourth. Both were slowly approaching with a low growl, before reaching him.
The first feline ice type slashed at him, and Ian parried with his claw, trying to bite, before one of the ones from earlier tackled him in the side, knocking him away, as it tried to pierce him with its claws. He managed to knock it off, as the other one from the start landed on his back, using its claws on his back, slashing him as he quickly drew blood. Ian yelped, and threw the 2 off of him, quickly getting up, noticing a red patch in the snow.
He had hardly gotten to attack! They were ruthless… but in front of him. All 4 were starting to approach again, and Ian stood his ground, before…
He spun around, trying to sprint into the opposite direction. He got about 10 feet, before his leg was clawed by one of the Glaceons, sending him careening face first into the snow. He quickly spun around, his left rear leg with a large gash in it, and pawed the Glaceon in the face right before it tackled him. The attack threw it to the ground, and the others waited back, trying to help their alpha.
Ian quickly tried to get up, and dash away. He left a trail of blood from his leg, as he managed to get about 100 feet away, quickly hiding behind a tree, with bated breath. His tail was alert and stiff. They would find him soon, and he was limping now.
'Jesus… okay okay okay… I gotta… I gotta get out of here. There's gotta be a den or something here… fuck….'
He continued to limp away, now heading into the face of the snow. It blew into his face, limiting his sight as he slowly continued his trek. The bleeding stopped, but he had left a large trail behind him, and he was weak. Hungry. He needed something soon.
Nearly 30 minutes later, the Umbreon managed to find a small hole in the snow. He checked it, quickly finding that it led to a small den underground. It was padded with dead leaves and twigs, but… it worked. He quickly jumped in, wincing as he landed on his leg. He nearly collapsed, catching himself. He shivered, as he hurriedly dug through his back of supplies.
He pulled out a frozen apple. His last bit of emergency food reserves. "Damn it…" he said, biting into the fruit. It was freezing, but not inedible. He finished it quickly, clearly hungry, as he yawned. Outside, the light level had been gradually decreasing, leaving him without enough light to do much more than see his food. He laid down on the cold floor, curling up into a sleeping position. His fur was tangled, and covered in snow. His tail end was frayed, the yellow ring seeming faded in the snow. None of his rings were glowing.
He soon fell asleep, on the verge of tears. He wanted this hell to be over. Done. He just wanted to go home… wherever that was. The human world? With Ava? Frosted Village? Even he didn't know anymore. Just anywhere but here, in this frozen wasteland.
What's going to happen to our hero, if he even is one…? Only time will tell. Time… and a little bit more snow…
SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP I KNOW IT TOOK LIKE 4 MONTHS
I wanted this out way, WAY sooner that it did come. I was trying to get more into writing this spring, but I got busy with school, exams, and an unhealthy amount of discord roleplay.
On the bright side, we're entering act 3 out of 4 in full force now. My end goal for the fic is to have at least 100k words, 30 chapters, and (hopefully) at least one piece of proper art.
Since summer just started for me on Friday, i should be theoretically able to write more this summer. And one more thing, I'm NOT abandoning this fic. At all. It WILL finish, unless it kills me.
Please review, like, fav, follow, whatever the hell you want, it pushes me to keep going whenever i see the email appear for it.
See ya