Ash's Story (Part 6: Unova)

Chapter 76: Frozen Resolve

Alice-POV

Ash left with Zoroark, and the road immediately felt quieter.

He had not taken every part of himself with him. Pikachu stayed on my shoulder for the first stretch, and Absol walked close to my side, white fur moving in the cold wind. Zekrom flew ahead with Hilbert, its thunder-sharp presence guiding us toward Giant Chasm.

That should have made me feel protected.

Instead, I felt the shape of Ash's absence beside every step.

I had chosen this road too. I had told Eve that protecting me meant trusting me. I had told Ash I would believe his answer until he returned with Reshiram. Now I had to prove those words meant something when he was not there to stand in front first.

Pikachu's meaning came softly against my cheek. "He trusted this side to you."

I touched his head with two fingers. "Then I cannot walk like I am only waiting for him."

Absol looked toward the cliffs ahead, horn lowered slightly. His meaning came like a cold warning. "Danger is not ahead only. It is under the snow."

Golly heard me repeat that and immediately tightened our formation. Chandelure floated beside her now, no longer Lampent, its violet flames dim and watchful against the cold.

"Absol's warning is actionable," Golly said. "We proceed with spacing. Nobody rushes beyond line of sight."

Hugh made a rough sound. "Team Plasma is already ahead of us."

"And if you break your leg in a hidden snow hollow," Golly answered, "you will not be ahead of anyone."

Eve walked beside me, quiet but tense. She was watching me instead of trying to move me, and the difference mattered more than she probably knew.

Iris kept Haxorus close while Cilan checked the wind with a serious expression. This did not feel like normal cold. It felt as if the Giant Chasm had remembered Kyurem before Kyurem returned.

The outer path narrowed between frozen stones. Snow gathered in thin, unnatural sheets, even where the sky did not promise it. Something small trembled near a half-buried rock.

I stopped and lifted one hand. "Wait."

A Vanillite hovered there, frightened and shivering, its icy breath puffing in broken little clouds. That should have been strange for an Ice-type, but the cold around us was wrong enough to frighten even Pokémon born from snow.

For a moment, part of me remembered wanting another Ice-type partner. Then I pushed that thought down because wanting a Pokémon was not the same as earning trust.

I crouched slowly. "It is all right. We are not Team Plasma."

The Vanillite recoiled when a distant metallic sound echoed from deeper in the chasm. Its snow crystals scattered in panic.

Pikachu hopped down without sparks, holding both paws out. His meaning came gentle. "Small snow, not enemy. We stand between."

A Shadow Triad memory flashed through me before I could stop it: people appearing silently, stealing choice from the air. I understood why Vanillite was afraid.

A Plasma device half-buried in the snow pulsed once nearby, sending a hard wave of unnatural cold toward the little Pokémon.

"Absol, cut the device free!" I called.

Absol moved like white lightning, slicing the snow around the device without touching Vanillite. Pikachu struck with a careful Iron Tail, breaking the outer casing. The pulse faded, and the wrong cold loosened.