Chapter 31: Snowy Gets the Cold Shoulder

"Aw, he's so cute!"

"Come here cutie, let me give you a big hug!"

The trio had just returned to Vermillion City with their new friends in tow. As soon as everyone saw Sobble, they were showering him with attention, making the little water type smile as he was being coddled. Lillie giggled, pleased that he was happy.

"You'll feel right at home here, Sobble!"

"Sobble!"

But not everybody was happy about the new addition. Snowy felt unloved, and nudged Lillie hoping for attention. But Lillie was too busy with Sobble to pay her any attention. Dejected, Snowy wandered off. Not that anyone noticed, however…

A while later, Lillie was showing Sobble the park area with all the other Pokemon. Just like everyone else, the Pokemon were showering the little water type with love and affection, making him happy. Lillie smiled, before she realized that her shoulder felt suspiciously lighter.

"Snowy? Snowy?!"

Try as she might, she couldn't find the Alolan Vulpix anywhere. She began to panic, but luckily her friends managed to help calm her down.

"Don't worry Lillie, we'll find her!"

"Yeah, she couldn't have gone too far!"

"If we all look, we'll find her in no time!"

Lillie took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"Thanks guys. I don't know what I'd do if I lost Snowy."

"Alright, our best bet is to split up. Goh, you take the west wing. Chloe, you take the East Wing. Lillie, you check the North Wing, and I'll check the South Wing."

"Right!"

An hour later, Chloe had just about searched the entire East Wing with no luck. She was just about to turn around and head back when she heard faint sniffling coming from around the corner. Curious, she turned the corner to find Snowy curled up in a ball, frozen tears running down her face.

"Snowy?"

The Ice Type briefly acknowledged Lillie's presence before turning away from her to continue her moping.

"Come on, we need to get back. Lillie's worried sick!"

Snowy's ears perked up at her trainer's name, but she didn't move otherwise. Yamper, who had been helping Chloe search for the Ice Type, nudged at her to get her to move, but Snowy just batted him away with her tails.

"What's the matter? Don't you want to go back to Lillie?"

Snowy just shook her head. It was at that moment that Chloe understood everything.

"It's because of Sobble, isn't it?"

Snowy nodded, turning around to face Chloe. Chloe smiled warmly and gently wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"Don't worry, I know how you feel. See, when my brother Parker was born, I was jealous of all the attention he was getting from my parents. Honestly, it started to feel like I didn't exist anymore."

Yamper rubbed against her leg to comfort her. Chloe smiled and picked him up before continuing her story.

On a dark and stormy night, Chloe was walking back to her room after getting a glass of water. As she passed by a window, a streak of lightning crashed down outside, making her jump and nearly spill her water. Just then, she heard some soft crying coming from a nearby room. On entering, she found her baby brother sat up in his crib, crying. Chloe sighed, understanding immediately what was going on.

"The storm woke you up, huh? Yeah, I don't like them either."

Chloe gently picked the infant up and cradled him in her arms. Slowly, Parker calmed down, his tears going away as sleep took over once more. Chloe set him back in his crib, pulled the sheets up to his chin, and placed his teddy bear in his arms before walking out. But just before she left completely, she heard Parker his first words:

"Chloe."

"I know it's not easy adjusting to a new member of the family, but it does get easier. And in time, you'll be glad to have them around."

Snowy nodded, feeling better.

"Now come on, let's get you back to Lillie."

Snowy smiled, and leapt into Chloe's waiting arms.

"That's better. Come on, Lillie's worried sick.!"

"Vul!"

They made their way back to the park, where Ash, Goh, and Lillie were waiting. Upon seeing Snowy in Chloe's arms, Lillie ran right towards them, scooping her Vulpix up into her arms. Snowy smiled, and nuzzled against her chest.

"Snowy! Thank goodness you're alright, don't ever do that to me again!"

"Vul!"

"Now come on, let's get you something to eat."

A while later, all of the Pokemon were eating dinner. One of the lab associates had snuck Sobble an extra treat, which he appreciated. Snowy was still jealous, but remembering Chloe's words decided to ignore it.

Sobble, however, glanced over towards his teammate, and down towards his cookie. Smiling, he hopped over towards the little fox and offered it to her as a peace offering. Snow smiled, and the two broke it in half and enjoyed it.

Later that night, Sobble tossed and turned, having the misfortune to choose to rest in one of the warmer areas of the park. Snowy wandered over, and wrapped her tails around him to cool him down. And as she watched him drift off to sleep, Snowy thought to herself that maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.