"By Arceus it is cold!" Neville complained, rubbing his arms as he stood next to the private plane's stairs. Harry, having been the first one to get off the charted flight, merely smirked as he stuffed his left hand in his pocket, having already turned off the temperature sensors in his right hand; the system would warn him if it was in danger but there was no need for him to be in pain. His left hand was wrapped in a thick padded glove but with all his pokeballs now in his right hand, he had to leave it exposed.
'That had been an interesting day,' Harry thought to himself as he looked down at his right hand. The synthetic flesh covering it didn't look bad at all… unless held up to his uncovered natural left hand. Then it would be clear that there was something not quite real about it. To protect the mechanisms within it Harry had been outfitted with a new type of synth flesh; prototype really. It was more durable and could handle extreme cold and was waterproof while still being able to retract into the metal of his hand. The only problem was it had a waxy look to it, like he'd covered his hand in a glaze. He wasn't going to be dealing with a lot of people though and he'd take the odd looks if it meant being prepared for what they were about to face.
"Only going to get worse," Tonks said as she leapt down, giving Neville a good shake. "This is the southern tip of the region… wind chill is a bit worse here because of the ocean but it's only going to get colder as we move inland."
"Wonderful," Neville grumped. He hadn't been a happy camper since they'd decided on this trip. "I'm a grass type trainer!" he complained, not for the first time either. "I should be in the sun."
"There is some sun," Luna said, pointing up to the sky as she got off the plane. Neville looked up to see a faint light in the hazy sky. "At least I think that is the sun…"
"Not helping, Luna!" Hermione called out from inside the plane.
"I'm trying! It's not my fault Neville can't tell the difference between suns and alien ships here to invade. If only Will Smith-"
"I meant me! I asked you to help me get our bags out of the plane!"
"…right." Luna blushed and hurried back inside.
"You need to get your stuff still?" Neville asked, looking first at Harry then at Tonks.
The latter shook her head, releasing her Castform and stroking its head as it shifted to its Snow Form. Not a good sign when it was only crisp and cold but one that Harry wasn't surprised about. "Being an Auror taught me to pack light. Being a Hood taught me how to make what you brought count." She gestured at the small pack on her back. "Going to be a bit smelly by the end of this though…"
"That's different from how you are now?" Harry teased, having once entered Tonks room and smelled the funk of her clothes when she'd gone a week without washing them. He swore that her boots were so close to becoming a Poison Type.
"Prat," she said, sticking out her tongue only to suck it back in quickly when a gust of cold air flowed around her. "eesh, not doing that again."
Neville looked at his suitcase before glancing at Harry. "What about you?"
"Dursleys drilled it in my head to make do with what little you have," he said with a casual shrug. "I'll be fine." There was a crash and some yelps from the plane. "The girls though…"
"I'm going to help them," Neville said, quickly hurrying back inside.
"Think it was smart to bring him?" Tonks whispered. "Don't get me wrong… I like Nev… but he is right. He's a grass type specialist…"
"He has Sam," Harry pointed out, reminding her of Neville's Abonasnow. Thinking of Pokemon made him frown. "I'm going to check on the others, okay?"
"Right, right," Tonks said, waving her hand as Harry stepped away from the still idling plane. The pilots had been clear that they wanted to be gone the moment the kids were done deboarding, as with how cold it was they didn't want to risk shutting things down and causing the engines to ice up.
Making his way to a small bench that was enclosed in plastic that the ground crew used to smoke in (there were cigarette butts littered all around it and a few wrappers that had blown out of the nearby trash can that needed to be emptied) Harry pulled out his dex and checked all the functions. It seemed to be running good in the cold and turning on the Marauder's App he saw that the recent upgrades Remus had made to it were working good, allowing the device to function even in the cold and keep track of where everyone was. Jonas had warned him that moving through the frozen wasteland could be trouble, as when storms came up it was easy to get lost. People THOUGHT it was easy to keep sight with everyone because it was a flat plain. But… that was just what people visualized thanks to Pokewood films. In truth there would be valleys and high snowy hills and it would be rather easy to get loss. The Marauder App would ensure they all stuck together.
That in working order Harry flicked on the holocaster and waited for a moment for an answer-
"I can still get on a plane and be there in a day!" Leon said, not even bothering to say hello.
"And you'll just fall further behind because we are going to be setting out in a few minutes and you'll be slower than us," Harry said with a soft smile. "It's going to be fine."
"I don't like this," Leon grumbled. "I should be with you. Hedwig too."
"Tell him he's a dumbass!" the Noctowl called out.
"She says-"
"I heard her," Harry said with a soft chuckle. "I mean it guys, it will be fine."
"But we aren't there to protect you!" Leon whined again.
Harry sighed. This had been a long running fight ever since Jonas had revealed at the Master Ball was 1) the key to defeating Voldemort and 2) taken by Mewtwo and 3) last seen somewhere near the very top of the world.
"We've been over this. Grass Type, Leon, grass type. You aren't built for this terrain."
"Hedwig-"
"is from Avalon, maybe, but this is different. Avalon is cold… but not this cold," Harry repeated. "Her wings will ice up in this region. I have the teleporter built into my hand that can call you guys if I'm in danger and I'll leave the mic in my glasses turned on so you can see and hear everything." Harry paused. "I might mute it so you two don't annoy me as I try and survive but the point remains…"
"That's not good enough," Leon complained stubbornly. "This is fucking Mewtwo! There are Legendaries scared of him! Celebi nearly lost it when Hermione told her where they were going."
Harry frowned at that. The little psychic type had damn well had a panic attack and tried to send them back in time when Hermione had broken the news of where they were going. When he'd finally entered the Speaker Realm… and spent the equivalent of 15 hours calming her down… to find out what the problem was Celebi had told him of the Psychic Network.
"It is like this realm," Celebi had told him. "Only every psychic at once is connected to it. It is a protection mechanism for all of us. It is similar to how certain Grass Types will release pheromones if attacked by a Heracross swarm, warning the other grass types to either flee, defend, or attack. Only it covers the entire globe. I feel every birth, which is like a firework going off. Every death, which is like a lightbulb turning off for the last time. All of it." The little psychic had then shuddered. "Years ago something like an atomic blast went off in the Network. It shook us all. It didn't matter what you were doing… you felt it. And it didn't dissipate… it just remained, thrumming like an engine or beating like a massive heart. Finally some of the mightiest psychic types worked together to lock away that part of the Network, so we wouldn't be all overwhelmed. That… was Mewtwo."
"It will be fine," Harry said with a smile, hoping he looked convincing to his Starter.
"You don't have your Magnus partner. You don't have your Speaking Partner…"
"I have other Pokemon," Harry assured him. "Orion and Firebolt are built to handle this kind of terrain and have type advantage."
"Against Ice. Against Mewtwo?"
Harry frowned at that. "Ludwig."
"He's a support Pokemon," Leon argued. "Yeah, the invisibility cloak will be nice to move around Mewtwo but if he can sense your thoughts…"
He had to admit that was a problem. Mewtwo, according to the research Barty Crouch Jr. had sent to Neville, was always monitoring the lands around the section of the region he had made his own. It was simply impossible for people to sneak up on him as he knew you were coming long before you were close. It was very likely that Mewtwo already sensed they were coming.
The only thing Barty had let them know was that Mewtwo seemed to like children. There were a few reports of the Pokemon suddenly appearing to lost trainers and giving them assistance. One stated that a trainer from Sinnoh had become separated from his group during a snowstorm only for a figure 'dressed in a cloak' to appear and offer him food and some fire to warm himself by. When the rest of his party had appeared the stranger had hurried off but the boy had said quite firmly that the last thing he saw was a tail flicking behind the stranger as he departed. There were other rumors like that, always the same. Adults… well, Mewtwo didn't appear to them at all but his actions sometimes were helpful, such as when a researcher had broken his leg only for a rescue team to find him an hour later thanks to a call he had placed for help. Except is radio had been broken.
Others though? They had been turned around, suddenly found themselves back on the shore… and the truly wicked were never seen again.
The group selected to go on the mission had been carefully considered. Harry of course. Luna because of her Veela powers, which Barty theorized would endear her to Mewtwo due to her calming mindscape (Hermione had confirmed that while Luna was still quite manic in her head when she went Queen of the Veela everything in her chaotic brain snapped into place and it became an oasis of calm for psychics). Hermione herself because of her own growing psychic powers. Tonks because she was the youngest of those with training that could protect them and thus is was hoped that she would be able to lead them safety to Mewtwo… and not be shoved aside.
Jasmine had WANTED to go but when they'd put her through a stress test to see if she could remain calm enough to actually converse with Mewtwo…
~TWO WEEKS AGO~
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Jasmine screamed as she raced across the lab, the remains of a table leg clutched in her hand as she chased after the startled shrink that had been brought in to check on her mental stability.
"What… what question did he ask that set her off?" Clair asked weakly.
Jonas sighed and looked at his notes. "How would you respond if someone said you should 'smile more'."
"That would do it," Harry muttered as Jasmine let out a war cry and raced forward, only to brain herself against a wall when the shrink ducked in time.
~MC~MC~MC~
"Remember when we were discussing Pokemon you should pick up?" Leon said, drawing him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah yeah yeah," harry complained.
"Bug, Dark, Ghost. That is what Mewtwo is weak to and you only have one of those and it's a support type."
"And you would be weakened by the cold and offer no advantage in defeating him," Harry pointed out. "Listen, I get you are worried but I'll be fine. I'm worried about you…you're the one that has to go running about Avalon."
"Nocturne is a known foe. Not so with Mewtwo."
"Then lets agree to both be careful and leave it at that," Harry said, glancing behind him to see that Hermione had unloaded the last of the supplies and was getting them organized. "Alright, I need to go Leon. I'll talk to you later."
"Keep us up to date!" Leon said riht before Harry deactivated the holocaster and moved to join the others once more. The plane was already moving into position to take off and Tonks had walked off to arrange for their transportation for the next leg of their journey, giving Harry time to look about the airport.
It was a small little thing, just a few runaways and a squat tower near the shoreline. There was a small hanger attached to the tower that had currently one small airplane in it, being looked over by a man in overhauls who didn't look cold in the slightest. Harry guessed that when one spent all of their life in the freezing temperatures they got used to it, much like the Alolans got used to the heat so that it never bugged them. There was no snow on the runway but that was expected as it was carefully maintained by the groundscrew; it had to be as it was the only fast way to get in and out of the region. There were scores of boats and docks around of course but they took a while and teleportation didn't work when one had to cross an ocean as wide and long as the northern one. The ships were the way they got a bulk of their supplies but the planes were how the rush orders were brought in.
Harry looked out over the water. There were Krabby boats chugging along, ready to bear the brunt of the cold northern storms in order to get food for regions all over the world. When they were done they would pull up to shore again and head into one of the coastal towns and villages that littered the southern tip of the region in order to find a warm bed, a warmer meal, and a cold drink that would put warmth in their veins.
"What do you think?" Hermione asked as she looked around. She was seated on one of 4 steamer trunks that she had gotten for them, each of which had the supplies they would need to survive their journey north.
"Hard place," Harry said. "But I like it. It's a place where they don't have time for games." He smiled. "I could live here. Set up a little store, sell rope and rigging to the fishermen, go down to the pub for a drink one a week. Spend my nights at home by the fire."
Hermione considered that. "There aren't enough libraries."
"You have a dex."
"Sometimes feeling the book in your hard is the most important thing," she said with a sniff.
"Book snob," Harry teased before looking around. "Sensing anything?"
"No but I'd be shocked if I could. If Mewtwo is as powerful as they claim he is he should have the strongest mental shields in the world. I have decent shields myself… have to have them to stay sane… but with Mewtwo he would want the best of the best considering his history."
Harry frowned at that. 'Team Rocket… why must the damn teams always ruin everything.' Of course that wasn't entirely fair as if Team Rocket hadn't meddled there would be no Mewtwo to begin with but… they still stuck their noses into explorations they shouldn't and that only led to problems.
"What about you, Luna? Getting anything?"
The Mistress of Veela focused for a moment, eyes going whitish green. "The locals are just rolling their eyes at us. Another bunch of teenagers thinking they can conqueror the lands. But further out?" She squinted, as if trying to see through the buildings and mountains to the very top of the world. "A sense of… mild curiosity."
"Mewtwo knows we're here then," Harry said. "And I doubt politely asking him will get him to transport us to his home. He's going to want to test us, to see if we are worthy."
"That old chestnut, huh?" Neville said with a dry chuckle.
The group fell silent.
"Ginny would hate this," Hermione said softly. "Not enough tech in the region."
"She'll complain about not being able to come though when we tell her," Harry said.
"Harry…" Neville began but Harry shot him a dark look and his friend snapped his mouth shut.
Ron and Ginny were still alive. He knew it, deep in his heart. None of their Pokemon had appeared and at least one of them would have sought the Pride out if they were out there. No traces of bodies, no taunts from Nocturne about capturing them… they were alive. Just like Snape and the professors as well. Forced to hide away until it was safe to pop their heads out again. He didn't know where… maybe one of the Forbidden Islands. But they were out there and he wouldn't hear otherwise on the subject.
Tonks finally ambled up, rubbing her hands together. "Alright, so you want to good news or the fun news?"
"No bad news?" Hermione asked.
"Nah, that will come later and it will be bad news or worse news. This is good and fun."
"The good," Harry said.
"I arranged transport for us."
"And the fun?"
Tonks grinned and gave a whistle. Harry tensed as he heard clomps coming from his right and turned quickly, only to relax when he saw that it was just a team of Pokemon… though ones he wasn't familiar with. They were gray and white in color, with thick fur and large antlers and stern knowing eyes. They were pulling a red sleigh that could easily hold all of their group and their steamer trunks and at the front was a Delibird who waved happily at that.
"Wyrdeer!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing forward to meet the team of Pokemon as they came to a stop. "I read about them in Lost Pokemon of the World! I thought they were extinct!" She reached up and, when the lead one nodded, she began to stroke his neck, Luna joining her.
"Meet the Rapid Racers, the best sleigh team in the entire region. They and their boss Mr. Nickels, have agreed to transport us north."
"Thank you, Mr. Nickels," Harry told the Delibird.
'Oh, he's just our mascot,' Harry heard in his head and he turned to find the lead Wyrdeer that Hermione was petting staring right at him. 'It completes the whole 'Santa and his crew vibe we have going on. We are trying to get an Impidimp to move up here to be part of our support staff, fit the elf requirement, but they are fickle Pokemon.'
Harry blinked.
"Ah, sorry about that Mr. Nickels," he told the lead Wyrdeer.
'It happens. I'm actually rather surprised you aren't more startled by all this.'
"Hermione is a psychic, I have an Alakazam, and I'm a Speaker. Talking to Pokemon as equals? Not that big of a deal."
'Wonderful,' Mr. Nickels told them. 'Now, get loaded up and we will be on our way.'
The sleigh proved to be a fine piece of craftsmanship. The back fit their steamer trunks easily, so that there would be no risk of them falling out. While open at the moment the sleigh had a miniature forcefield generator, similar to the exploration vehicles some photographers used to explore harsh terrain.
'It was actually Mr. Snap, the scientific photographer, that suggested it to us,' Mr. Nickels said as Harry loaded his bag into the sleigh and sat down next to Giggles, the Delibird who seemed to be delighted in, well, everything. 'The forcefield doesn't distort light so you'll see everything naturally but it won't let anything in or out save for sound and images. You won't feel the cold… don't take off your coats though, as it will save energy to not run the heaters and allow us to continue on for far longer… and the wind won't be a problem. We also have Giggles turn on a far larger one during the night that can allow us to sleep easier.' Nickels laughed. 'we don't mind the cold but sometimes it is nice to know you are protected and don't need to set up a guard.'
"Just how dangerous is it out there, honestly?" Luna asked.
'As dangerous as any other place in the world, if I am to be honest,' Mr. Nickels said. 'I am sure even in the most modern of cities there are threats. We will encounter Ice Types, naturally, that will want to claim us as an easy meal but Giggles ensures that we avoid them. And our natural psychic powers protect from much of the wildlife. It won't be an easy trip but I don't expect to take losses, if that is what you are asking.'
"Did Tonks tell you where we are going?"
'She did.'
"Do you have any thoughts?"
'Only that I truly hope that this is not being undertaken as a lark.'
"It isn't," Harry assured him.
'Well then… we shall see how it goes!'
And with that the Wyrdeer all stomped their hooves in time. One two three, one two three, one two three four!
With a burst of speed they were off.