THE CAMERON SAGA

PART 1: DEEPFREEZE

Anybody can take a picture, but few can truly capture the spirit of a moment. My father was one of the few that could. He was a well-known photographer across many regions, hired by all sorts of people to take photographs of them doing just about any activity. Sports, posing with Pokémon, everyday things, and he managed to make these normal, boring events feel...alive.

Many years ago, my father passed away after being severely injured in a tragic accident, and the radiant photos he left behind died with him. My name is Cameron, like my father I'm a photographer. Unlike him, I photograph Pokémon specifically. In many ways I'm a pale imitation of my dad. I've yet to give life to a photo as he did. Maybe I never will but that doesn't mean I won't keep trying. After all, I find joy in taking photos. And that's enough for me. Traveling the world isn't half bad either.

I was born in Azalea Town, a very small part of the Johto region...It's really an honor to be in a place like this. Despite how cold it is. As if sensing my thoughts, a rush of frigid wind hit me hard, chilling to my very core even with all my heavy lairs. I shuddered and wrapped my scarf tighter around myself, wiping the snow that splattered across my face with the side of my glove. I breathed in the crisp cold air and shivered. I gazed up at the immense side of Mt. Coronet.

"Quite the climb," I commented loudly and glanced at my traveling companion, a guide more than a friend but he was nice enough. Named Gritch, he was a wizened old man with a long, curved mustache and shaggy beard. Skinny as can be, Gritch looked utterly ridiculous with all his oversized, thick winter clothes on. Not that I'd say that to his face.

The old man nodded. "Sure is...but if you want to take your pictures or what not of rare Pokémon, this is one of the best places in the world to do so. This is where everything began in the Sinnoh region."

I nodded absent-mindedly, casting my eyes about, taking in everything I could. The constant snowfall was an annoyance as it made the world seem excessively bright, but my goggles protected me from most of its effects. It was so cold that the little bit of skin I had showing was beet red from the cold, not that I cared much. Gritch was pretty pink himself.

"The Arceus creation myth and all that, right?" I tried to keep the skepticism out of my voice as much as possible. I've never been a fan of Pokémon mysteries and mythology. Nothing was special about Pokémon or humans. There were no Pokémon gods, not to mention one that created the entire universe.

Apparently, I failed to control my voice because Gritch's face twisted up. "Boy, they are not myths... they are absolute truths! All life in Sinnoh began at the peak of this mountain... at the Life Pillar." As Gritch spoke his voice changed and became almost dreamy. He was smiling. Crazy old people and their crazy stories, I suppose.

I nodded absentmindedly. "Sure, sure. And you said the higher up you go the more dangerous and rarer the Pokémon?"

Gritch looked like he wanted to say more but I knew he wouldn't. He was being paid after all. To guide me around Sinnoh and answer all my questions. He was a professional, so this Life Pillar creation myth nonsense would end there. Gritch toyed with his snow laden mustache. "Mhm. Lotsa mons up there. I'm sure you'll find great models for your pictures."

That was good. I got more money for pics of rarer Pokémon in their natural habitats than everyday ones. "I'll try and reach the top then."

Gritch nodded. "A reminder, my boy. I'll only go about a quarter of the way. It's dangerous up there, even with strong Pokémon like yours."

I shrugged. "I'm alright with that, still." I smiled. "I appreciate the reminder, though. Let's make sure we have everything we need and start this shit."

I checked my bulging hiking pack and went down my mental bullet point list -everything that I need- and made sure it was all there. Some food, poffins for my Pokémon, sleeping bag, blanket, camera and backup camera... I nodded in affirmation.

"That's everything." I kept my main camera out, clutching it with my gloved fingers. Normally, I wouldn't dare to bring a camera out in weather like this, but this camera was special. And extremely expensive. It was snow proof, temperature proof, waterproof. Basically, every sort of proof there is. High tech stuff, small but amazingly efficient. With my free hand I snatched a Pokéball from my waist and tossed it.

A large, sturdy Pokémon appeared with a flash of bright light, the Pokeball floating back into my hand right after. A gargantuan, white creature greeted me with a big hug. My Abomasnow, Snowman, was always happy to see me. The bipedal Pokémon picked me up in its huge arms and I laughed.

"A-alright set me down now," I laughed as Snowman squished me into his chest. At my words, he obeyed. I was placed lightly on my feet, and the Ice/Grass type Pokémon stood in place and waited for an order.

I smiled and patted him on the arm. "No specific order, bud." I pointed at the entrance to the Mt. Coronet cavern. "We're going to be traveling to the top of that mountain. It's dangerous. Wanna help me out buddy?"

Snowman gazed around, grunting his name. Then it looked at me and nodded its massive head. That was a yes. I smiled in appreciation. Snowman was my father's Pokémon before he passed away, but he loved me very much. I loved him too. Afterall, we basically grew up together. I knew him when he was just a weak little Snover.

All of my Pokémon belonged to my dad, actually. When he died, he left me an Abomasnow, an Altaria, and a Smeargle. I always made sure they knew they didn't have to stay with me if they didn't want to. I wasn't a Pokémon battler and my father had been, so his Pokémon were fighters. So being released was always an option. A choice my dad's Blastoise, Dragonite, and Bastiodan made right at the beginning.

"Out you go, Cloyster." Gritch sent out his own Pokémon, and the frigid, round ice Pokémon greeted him with a strange, cold hiss of its name. It didn't even spare a glance for me. Afterall, the cold bastard hated me for trying to take a picture of it at the start of this little journey. Some Pokémon were camera shy, I guess. Or in his case, camera angry?

Now that we both had Pokémon to escort us, Gritch and I began our little adventure. It was rather painless. Some wild Pokémon gave us the stink eye, even fewer attacked. Most didn't want to mess with big, scary Pokémon who were fully evolved like Cloyster and Snowman. So, it was peaceful, in a way. I don't usually take pictures of caverns or any form of terrain really, but for some reason I liked the interior of. I took shots of everything I could, knowing my camera had the storage to hold as many images as I wanted.

Gritch kept silent, mostly. He seemed surprised that there weren't many Pokémon around.

"Is that unusual," I questioned, and Gritch looked at me.

"Extremely."

I playfully pushed Snowman, who huffed happily at the contact, and grinned at the old guide. "Well maybe, but then again, a Pokémon would have to be really stupid to approach a bad looking Pokémon like Snowman." My Abomasnow puffed out its chest proudly, drinking in the praise apparently. I smiled at the sight, then frowned when Gritch's grim expression didn't change.

He didn't voice whatever concerns he had running through his head. I decided not to bother him. We kept traveling in silence. I gave Snowman a couple poffins because he was bored, and offered some to Cloyster who just ignored me. After about a half an hour or so, we reached an exit to another part of the surface. Snow poured hard up here, and in seconds my coat and hat were coated with the stuff.

Snowman huddled next to me, attempting to shield me from the downfall. His big old hands actually managed to keep most of it off me. It was visibly darker outside. I wondered how much time had passed. It was almost evening.

We must've traveled farther than I thought we did. My aching feet confirmed that. I glanced at Gritch. "Want to take a break, old man?" The old man barely noticed my words. Only when I said "Gritch" loudly did he glance at me.

"Huh?" He grunted, narrowing his beady brown eyes.

I sighed. "A break. Want to take one?"

I expected him to say yes. The lazy old bastard usually requested frequent breaks whenever we went anywhere, but this time was apparently an exception. "No. I'd like to head back down as soon as possible." I gazed at Gritch's face. His anxiety was clear.

"What's wrong Gritch," I asked, "something on your mind?"

The old tour guide scratched at his stubble. "Hmm. Let's call it old man's intuition. I have a bad feeling." I raised an eyebrow, and Gritch huffed angrily. "It doesn't matter. Let's go."

"Alright. I am gonna take a piss though." Gritch nodded, shrugging. I wondered why he wanted to head back down so badly, but figured it was just some dumb paranoia involving Arceus or something. And I didn't care to ask. I grabbed the "pee bottle" from my bag and headed off behind a big, snow-covered rock. The bottle was designed for...well, peeing. Specifically in cold weather. I undid my pants and stuck the tube attached to the bottle inside, and my dick inside that carefully.

Cold weather always made me need to pee, and Sinnoh was nothing but cold temperatures for the most part... I sighed with relief as I emptied my bladder. There was no sound other than the steady trickle, and the powerful wind blowing. It was peaceful.

I could see so much of the mountain from here. It was seriously beautiful... I was gazing absentmindedly up the mountain, when something white and blue flashed in the corner of my eyes. A Pokémon stood before me, gazing at me with glowing eyes. The suddenness of it all made me fall backwards, dropping the bottle onto the ground, eyes wide.

"What the?!"

"What is it, Cameron?" I heard Gritch question.

I gazed at the Pokémon before me. It was a canine Pokémon, and it stood on four long legs. It had a beautiful mane of pure white and dark blue face coloring. Ruby eyes glinted from its face, and they stared deep into mine... I swallowed as I fully recognized it now.

An Absol. The long, sharp appendage on its head made that obvious. It had its head held high and proud.

Gritch gasped when he came around the corner, apparently horrified. "What in the world!? I knew it was something strange keeping the Pokémon away. That right there... a bringer if Ill luck. Even other Pokémon don't want to be around it."

Ah, that old tale. Absols supposedly brought ill fortune on anyone who saw them. My dislike of the myth shook away whatever lingering fear I had. I zipped up my pants and pushed myself up, gazing down at the beautiful Pokémon. I reached out toward it, but it backed away. It backed away further when Snowman finally came around the corner, huffing and puffing. The huge Pokémon quickly grew alarmed, stomping forward and in front of me with surprising speed for something so ginormous.

The Absol hissed, the horn on its head glowing with warning. Then it looked me in the eyes one last time and dashed away, leaping up the outcrops leading up the mountain. I just managed to fist my camera out and raise it, quickly taking a shot. The image was...breathtaking. Absol's form was clear, even among the vivid, white snow. It was mid-leap. I lowered the camera, panting. Why had Absol shown itself to me? A small part of me wondered if the myths were right and if I was about to get involved in some horrible accident. I pushed away the doubt quickly, and instead focused on getting myself mentally prepared for moving on ahead.

Apparently, Gritch was having none of that. "I'm going back down," he stated, crossing his arms. His Cloyster hummed its approval.

"What do you mean? You haven't done your job, you old bag of dirt!" I glared at him. He met my gaze, shaking his head.

"I'll quit the job and give you a full damn refund if I hafta! I aint climbing any more than I already have. That Absol was tryna warn ya! You should appreciate its kindness and head back down as soon as you can! I'm sure that pic you got of it is enough." I sighed, shaking my head.

"You head back down. I don't care." Gritch held my gaze. I expected him to back down. To agree to climb with me, at least a little bit more, albeit begrudgingly. He was a good man who kept his word. Very loyal, even if he was a bit of an ass. But he just turned away. Truly spooked, I guess. I couldn't be too mad. If he was terrified, he had a right to leave, and I of course wouldn't want a full refund. I still had so much of Sinnoh to explore.

"I'll see you when I finish up here!"

"I sure hope so! Let's meet in Celestic City...if you make it out." The expression on his face made it clear he didn't think I would. I sighed as he disappeared back into the cave, his gigantic Cloyster following close behind. That left just me and Snowman. "You ready to go, bud?" The giant Abomasnow nodded his grand head and began to shuffle along.

We continued to travel. On and on and on. It felt like we weren't making any progress at all. And the farther we went up the colder it got, it seemed. Maybe that was natural, but something felt...off. Like it was too cold. Rather than just snowing it was an absolutely frigid blizzard. Like something was causing it. I could barely see, even outside my goggles, it got so bad. Snowman didn't complain but even he seemed...off. Like he was anxious.

I still snapped shots of the environment, but not as much as before. I had my camera raised and pointed toward one of the many cave entrances and that's when I saw it. I got so terrified I dropped the camera. A flash of vivid, ice white eyes and a sinister smile. It disappeared into the snowstorm as quickly as it appeared. My heart hammered in my chest, and I knelt and fumbled around. What...what was that? Heart pounding, I glanced around.

"Snowman! Did you see that? I think it was a Pokémon!"

The Abomasnow shook his head. "Abom," He grumbled, clearly nervous.

"You're saying you want to go back to your Pokeball?" I questioned, shocked. I could see it in his eyes. Snowman slowly nodded. I guess he was as spooked as Gritch. Maybe I really should head back... "Okay. I'm heading back down anyway. Return, Snowman."

I tried to keep my voice steady, but I was scared. Those terrifying eyes kept flashing in my head. Was it a figment of my imagination, created by the horrid snowstorm? I stared ahead. Everything on this giant rock looked the damn same. Endless cliffs, endless cave entrances. Truly a labyrinth. I headed back the way I came, grabbing my backpack straps, moving my legs steadily. That's when it happened. The Pokémon appeared again. I guess it came closer because Snowman was gone now. My eyes widened when I realized what it was...what!? Froslass weren't supposed to appear around here! But there was no mistake. I got a good, clear look at her. The strange, hollow figure. The strange smile and kimono-like body...its vivid, frosty blue eyes were absolutely terrifying. And they were locked on me.

I know a fair bit about Pokémon. And I know the one reason why a Froslass would ever show itself to a trainer. A human, in general.

It was going to steal me away.

It appeared a fair distance in front of me. It's soft, strange voice was crystal clear even with the heavy wind and snowfall. "Frosss... " It was almost sing-songy, and that made it all the more terrifying. Hollow and cold and... beautiful. I reached for my Pokeball and quickly grabbed one. I don't know what specific one. I was about to release my Pokémon when suddenly- My eyes widened, and I couldn't stop a scream from tumbling from my throat.

A razor sharp, medium-sized shard of ice shot toward me. I flinched, recoiling. I was dead...But the blow never came. Instead, I heard a shattering sound. My eyes widened as I felt something crumble in my hand. Wait...I gazed at the Pokeball. Wait, no... that's not possible. At least it shouldn't be. I'd never heard of something like this happening! I realized it was Artie's Pokeball that this Froslass had shattered. Where did he go then?

I'd never heard of Pokeballs being destroyed. Not like this. Where...where was he?

"A-Arte!?" I held the bits of the Pokeball in my hands.

"Hehe, Lasss~" I glanced up, eyes narrowed. I met the terrifying gaze of the Ice-Ghost type that was now hunting me.

She was closer now. Drifting, her strange kimono flowing beautifully in the winds. "Get the fuck away from me!" I screamed. "What did you do to Artie, damn it!?" I grabbed another Pokeball. She moved faster than I did. Before I could even grab it, the Froslass shot another spear of ice. I saw the ultra-thin, small icicle coming. And... I was a coward. I should have blocked it with my hand. Protected Snowman's Pokeball. Afterall, I didn't know the effects of their Pokeballs being destroyed. But I instinctively pulled away. His Pokeball shattered just like the other one. She'd somehow made sure the icicle didn't go any further than the Pokeball, so I wasn't hurt. Why not just kill me, damn it!? Why was she taunting me like this!?

"F-Fuck off! Snowman!?" It was fine. They weren't gone. Not forever. Rationality failed, and in moments I felt tears dripping down my cheeks. She destroyed my last Pokeball before I could even reach for it. And just like that.. I was alone.

The Froslass giggled mysteriously, covering her "mouth"' with her hand. She was mocking me. " Fros ~" Her lilting, taunting tone made me unbelievably pissed! Why was she playing games with me!? And just like that...she disappeared. Back into the snowstorm she came from. I couldn't control my emotions.

"Damn you!" I screamed. "Just kill me! You didn't have to do that to my damn Pokeballs!" I panted heavily; my voice muffled by my scarf. I stood there, terrified. I was right. It was getting even colder by the second, the blizzard getting more intense. It was so bad...that I couldn't even clearly see what was in front of me. Everything just looked...white. The only thing I was able to find was my camera, still on the ground. I dropped, grabbing it, and stood up. Fuck the perfect shot, I was leaving! But...

I stared all around me. Which way was the exit again?

I was lost. Well and truly lost, walking in complete circles. Mt. Coronet was already a natural maze, and the blizzard and heavy wind combination made it impossible to keep track of where I was going. I was going to freeze to death- of that, I had no doubt. I was going to die in this weather, or I was going to die when Froslass decided she was done playing with me.

The mischievous Pokémon was having a blast toying with me. She made that perfectly clear: giggling and smiling at me. Tormenting me in general. If her goal was to disorient me, wear me down, and scare me she'd succeeded. I didn't even know how long it's been since she first destroyed my Pokeballs. A half an hour? Five hours? All the time blended together because of my complete and utter terror. Every second felt like my last. I was on thin ice, waiting for Froslass to finally make her move and go in for the kill.

I had a feeling it was going to be soon. She was showing herself for longer periods of time now. At first, she'd only appear out of the storm for a few seconds, now...she would emerge and just stand there. For a minute or more at a time, staring and smiling.

That's what I hated the most. Her inhuman eyes and that nasty, evil smirk... cold and calculating.

Shivering, I shakily opened my backpack. I didn't have anything for this type of situation. Who could predict something like this? Froslass' aren't even supposed to be on Mt. Coronet, but that did explain why so many Pokémon were absent. This Froslass had invaded and was causing a disruption in the ecosystem here. Perhaps she'd even killed many of them. I wondered why she was here. How could she have even gotten here?

Tugging open the flap, I begged and prayed that Arceus -or any god- would send me something that could help. A Pokémon savior- perhaps that Absol that'd tried to warn me. Gritch - coming back with a rescue team after realizing I'd been gone for too long. Anything. Obviously, nothing happened. It was just wishful thinking, and I knew that.

Yelling in frustration, I threw my backpack to the ground. At this point, it was an unnecessary weight. The blankets were no help, and neither was my sleeping bag. I couldn't even find a cave to sleep in, anyways. "Damn it," I screamed, my eyes burning. I'd already cried once already; I wasn't going to let this fucked up Pokémon bring me to tears again. I inhaled a rush of frigid air. Then exhaled.

"It'll be okay," I whispered. "I'm too young to die. It'll be okay."

I heard a giggle in the distance. "Laugh all you want," I snarled at her, "I'll survive!"

Froslass's only response was another chilling laugh.

I shuddered with dread and did the only thing I could. I kept moving forward.

My feet ached. My entire body did, but especially my feet. I was cold all over, miserable and wet...

I fell to my knees in the snow. "Fuck!" My legs quivered and throbbed with pain. That's when she appeared. About half a meter away. If I reached out and stretched, I could touch her face. She was even more horrifying up close. A slender, graceful figure with burning yet frozen eyes. Strangely beautiful. She smiled when she saw the expression on my face, reaching out with one hand.

"Lass~" She teased, waiting for me.

Did she expect me to take her hand? I stared at it. She wiggled her fingers, nodding slowly.

So now was the time. That she would kill me. I suppose there was no point in resisting any longer.

"Fine," I smiled, "you can kill me. I don't care anymore." I just prayed that my Pokémon were all safe in the PC. Sighing softly, I reached out. She stared at me, still smiling, and drifted closer. Froslass were supposedly so cold they could kill with their touch. This was how I was going to die. Would it be painful? A slow, freezing death? Or would it be instantaneous, the shock alone killing me...

Trembling, both from the cold and terror, I touched her fingers with mine and-

My expectations were utterly subverted. I didn't die from the sheer cold. I didn't even feel pain. It was strange, Froslass were known to be so cold they were deadly. Yet, this one was strangely warm. Her mouth twisted into a nasty grin, and she pulled me upward. Ah, she wanted me to get up.

"Why?" I whispered as I got to my feet, trembling slightly. "Why didn't you kill me?"

She didn't say anything. She just turned away, gently drifting through the air, and began to lead me away.