The Journey Continues

Lost in the Woods (Halloween spook)

A cold gust of wind blew through the Winding Woods, on the outskirts of Snowbelle City in the Kalos region. It was the middle of winter, and the snow-covered pine trees cast a dark gloom over the floor.

Serena tread through the forest, her feet sinking deep into the snow with every step she took. She was looking for Ash: after losing to gym leader Wulfric, he had ran off into the wilderness without any of his companions. She was worried about him, both for his mental and physical well-being - it wasn't like him to take a loss this badly.

She hiked the mounds that laid the groundwork for the trees' roots, which as a collective made up the foothills to the larger mountains surrounding Snowbelle. Being in the middle of a large glacial valley, the winds around the small city were funnelled into a relatively tight area, leading to strong bone-chilling speeds. In a place like this, it was exceptionally easy for a blizzard to start, which only made Serena worry more.

Eventually, she reached a clearing, and lo and behold, her friend was there, sitting on a log, looking deep in thought. He didn't even notice her arrival, his senses seemed to have been frozen by the weather.

"Ash?" She called out, hoping it wasn't a local Zoroark just pulling a prank on her. He lifted his head up, his ears at least still working.

His eyes widened in surprise at seeing her. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Looking for you! You ran off without saying a word!"

His vision darted to the floor in shame. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I just need some time to process where it went wrong."

"I understand, but it's dangerous to go out here alone! What if you get trapped in a snowstorm? Please come back with me, we'll find a way forwards."

"How am I supposed to move forwards if I can't bond with Greninja? He's gone off who knows where, the least I can do is sit here and wait for him."

Serena looked at him in shock. How could he say such a thing? She shook her head, molding a snowball from the ground beneath her and throwing it, hitting him square in the face and knocking him off his log. "This isn't the Ash I know! He would get up, and he'd go looking for his Pokémon!" She groaned in frustration, not being able to deal with his attitude. "The Ash I know would never give up!" With that, she turned around and stormed off.

Ash laid there for a minute, ignoring his back slowly getting cold as he processed her words. He sighed, "I should go." He had a Greninja to find.

Serena had found herself walking back just as quickly as she arrived, now fueled by a mix of frustration and worry for the boy she cares so deeply for. More than that, though, she was fueled by an unyielding sense of cold.

It started snowing. She could feel snowflakes touch her nose and melt on contact with her body temperature. She quickened her pace.

The wind picked up. The snowflakes now fell not from above, but from slightly to the side. As it picked up further, they started falling from what was more like diagonal, slamming into her side profile. Before she could do anything about it, she found herself in the middle of a blizzard.

She stopped in her tracks, coming to the realisation that Ash was still out there, alone. She had no guarantee that he would be okay, but at the same time no idea whether she'd be alright either.

The snow intensified as the wind howled between the trees. She could barely see 3 feet in front of her.

She quickly came to the decision that she had to find Ash, that they'd have a better chance at escaping this unscathed if they had each other there. The trees were all the same and the visibility was poor, so she went in the direction she hoped to be where she had just come from.