A Brand New Adventure

Frosty Forest

Heading further North together on sore paws, Dominic and Isabelle first welcomed the colder air but soon began to detest it. Persian had no defense yet also no weakness to the frigid temperature. Houndoom was doing better; his temper had cooled along with the air and his inner fire kept him warm. Both were yawning despite themselves. When Izzy slipped on a patch of ice, crashing into the ground, they called it a day. The sun was setting, showing the slightest glimpse of an aurora in the sky. Neither Pokemon cared for it at the moment. Curled into each other, they slept under snow-capped trees.

They awoke late, for the sun was weak here and they had been beyond exhausted. It was bright when they did wake because, though the sun was pale, everything was covered in ice and snow, which reflected the light well. They were both chilled to the bone, and took a few moments to find the courage to pull apart.

"We should get going," Dominic said no sooner than they'd stood. "We'll be warmer if we keep going." Neither of them really wanted to - the idea of putting an already cold paw into the snow all around them was reprehensible! - but he spoke sense. They moved on slowly.

The forest was thick, though in some ways that was a blessing. As they got in through the outskirts of it the overhead cover became thick enough that much of the ground was free of snow. It fell in large drifts and occasionally slumped from a tree overhead, but large swathes of the ground was clear, barren dirt. There wasn't much undergrowth either, for the earth was solid with frost and few things could grow.

In other ways, it was a curse. Some routes seemed to lead to a dead end, or twist round back on themselves. They wanted to travel north, toward the heart of the forest, but often the only way to do so was to skirt a ways around the edge of an area. There were few other Pokemon; occasionally a Furret would dart off between trees too narrowly together for Dominic to pass through, and once they heard the snuffling of a Piloswine searching for food.

They met a Lairon, too. The large, fierce steel-type came lumbering out of the sunless gloom with his head lowered, but Dominic's flame attacks soon sent him skittering backward. In defeat, he was even willing to give them advice on how to continue on; "Head West," it said, still eyeing them like it wanted another good opening. "Then there's a fallen tree by a frozen stream, and you can follow that. That will take you to the heart of the forest."

Even though they had little reason to trust him - he followed them a while, until it became clear that Persian was much too good at keeping an eye on him even when he was all the way back in the shadows - they didn't know where else to go. It was mid afternoon and they were tired, and hungry, and above all a kind of dull, numb coldness had settled in their limbs.

As they got deeper into the forest, the temperature dropped. The sun left and took its unnoticed yet deerly missed addition to the temperature with it. It was already cold but now there was a slicing arctic wind that penetrated their fur and seemed to cut at their sides. Flurries of snow picked up and swirled around them.

Out of the night sky something enormous swooped down. It had long, outstretched talons and for a moment Dominic thought it was covered in frost, for it looked icy and blue. The creature resolved to be a bird, at least three meters across. It wasn't covered in ice; it was ice, or so it seemed.

Persian reacted first, ramming Dominic to the side. "Articuno!" she hissed, just as the claws of the massive bird tore up the ground on which they'd been standing. The two heroes rolled and staggered to their feet. Reflexively Dominic send a gout of flame toward the bird, who was now towering over them, but Persian again had better sense. She stamped on his paw.

"Articuno, we just wish to talk!" she implored. The bird pulled his head back and then pushed it it forward, spraying shards of ice across the area. Dominic and Persian skittered aside to take cover behind a log, though the former had a long icicle wedged in his hind quarter. He snarled in pain, so Persian kept speaking.

"Articuno, please!" The bird stepped forward. They could hear it, and feel the temperature drop further. Persian was shivering. "We came from Moltres. We just want to ask about the--"

Another voice came out. It was too far away to be from Articuno, and besides it was deeper than they would have expected. "Stop, Articuno. Enough. These Pokemon have come to your forest in peace."

"Peace?" came the screeching reply. Articuno's tone was furious. "There is no peace, not with the weather wild and my forest in chaos."

"That is not their fault!" The voice was deep, booming, and commanding. He sounded certain. "They have come, as they said, from Moltres. Not to harm, perhaps to help."

Articuno screeched again, making their ears ring. "Then they are your problem." Her beak snapped, and there was the whump, whump, whump of her massive wings lifting her up. She was gone by the time Dominic and Persian dared peek out from their hiding spot.

When the majestic bird left the vicinity, the air lost its arctic sensation. It was still cold, much colder than Isabelle was comfortable with, but she no longer felt she would perish on the spot.

"Thanks, buddy," Houndoom said, padding reasonably good-naturedly over to the Absol, who stood tall and proud. "You did us a solid."

"I am simply a follower of justice and act according to its laws," the Absol replied with a slight bow of his head.

"Ehm, okay? Does that mean you do not think we're the cause of ... well, all this?" Persian asked. She had tried to sit down to relieve the weight off her paws, but it had made her bum cold, which caused her to quickly regret her decision.

"No, indeed not. Your idea, that of these birds causing it, is closer to the truth but not entirely there yet either. They're powerful, yes, but not as powerful as you think they are. At the end of the day, they're just Pokemon as well. They can reproduce and perish just like we can."

"Then, pray tell, what is causing this?! I am sick of running all over the region, running errands, dashing back and forth between Pokemon to figure out a problem they don't do anything to solve! All they, at Pokemon Square, do all day is hide in their homes, cower, and point at anyone but themselves!" Persian hissed with bristled fur. "How do you think we feel? We come here, with no recollection of the reason why, and are met with suspicion everywhere we go. We've been chased away from Pokemon Square! We're without a home now. I am exhausted, my paws hurts, and I just want to go home!" With a whimper, Persian laid down in the snow, saddened beyond words. Houndoom brushed his snout against his, warming her cold nose with his hot breath.

"Let me join you on your quest. I will move to Pokemon Square. I will talk to the villagers. I will make them answer my questions. I am just as eager to solve this as you are. Point me to a place I can live and I will meet you there."

Dom nodded, gratefully. "There's a part, deeper in the forest, where the lights like to dance. Will O'Wisps, I think they're called? Ghost-types frequent the place, calling it the Darkness Ridge. More importantly, two brothers - a Ninetales and a Vulpix - live there mostly alone. Their house has room for you. Those two... they've got a reputation in town for being thieves. They've estranged from society after their parents disappeared. They could use your help. While scavenging for food, they've gathered a lot of information, too."

Absol nodded. "That sounds like a wise plan. As for you, I suggest you seek out Queen Ninetales. She's an authority around here. If she says you're not a danger, everyone has to obey her. Her word is law, around here. I'm confident she has somewhere you can go and rest." After that, he leapt off, disappearing into the snow-capped trees.