Pokémon Platinum (Currently being rewritten as Pokémon: Platinum Chapter)

Chapter 35: Winter

[Chris' POV; Three Weeks Later]

I shiver and tighten my scarf. Dawn is leaning against me, trying to bundle together. She's also shivering. Riley is trudging along behind us. Eve is in her pokéball, nice and warm. Riolu is too.

The bitter cold of the six inch deep snow is terrible. Ice cold water seeps into my shoes, freezing my feet. The snow hasn't stopped falling for a day now. Roark looks at me. "We need to get out of this. We'll die from frostbite before we even get to Hearthome City."

I nod. "We need to find a cave or something like that."

Dawn looks around. Barry lets Combusken out. "I need you to help find a cave."

He nods and walks along the side of the road. I let out Darkrai. "Can you help Combusken?"

He nods. "Of course."

They go to look. We keep trudging through the snow. I see an opening to a cave when Barry collapses. I turn back and pick him up, having to use my Aura due to the cold. "Get to that cave!" I yell over the wind, which is starting to pick up.

Dawn and Riley start running towards the opening of the cave. Roark looks up. "Oh Arceus! It's a blizzard!"

I grit my teeth. "Darkrai! Combusken! Get Barry to the cave. You guys are faster than I am!"

Darkrai floats over and grabs Barry. They make it to the cave in a matter of seconds. Roark and I run through the freezing air. He stumbles and falls. I grab his hand and try to help him up. He doesn't respond. "Dammit!"

I surround myself in Aura and pick him up. I run through the frozen hellscape and into the cave, where the others await. I set Roark down next to Barry. I create an Aura Sphere in my hand and throw it towards the entrance. The sphere hits the ceiling, caving it in, but still leaving some openings for air. The light is about the same. Dawn lets out Infernape to light up the cave. Infernape sits down and rests. The cave isn't too big, but there is enough space for everyone to be comfortable. "How long do you think we'll be here?" I ask Riley.

He looks at me and shakes his head. "A Sinnoh blizzard can range from a few hours to all season, Chris."

I gasp. "No."

He nods. "We may be stuck in here for a while."

"First things first, we need to make sure everyone's okay, then we need to figure out our food situation."

Riley nods. "I'll take a look at those two. Take off your shoes and clothes. We need to let them dry. Luckily we have Fire-types. We will be able to stay warm and keep our clothes dry. Water-types can also be useful. We can make hot water and melt snow for fresh water."

"We bought quite a bit of food before we left Pastoria, so we should be able to last for a few weeks. If we ration it, maybe a month," Dawn says.

"We need to prepare for the worst case possible. We will ration the food. We all pitch in to keep each other alive."

Riley starts tending to Roark and Barry. Dawn and I walk down the cave. I see a branching path. "Riley! Dawn and I are going to explore and make sure it's safe!"

"Okay. Don't be gone too long! Save your energy!"

We explore the cave for nearly a hour. By the time we get back, Riley is waking the two of them up. Barry woke up first, then about ten minutes later, Roark starts to stir. Barry is sitting near Combusken, having changed his clothes. We're all barefoot and waiting for our shoes to dry, with the exception of Roark. He brought a second pair, what he calls his "mining shoes".

I sit next to Dawn and Infernape. We let out all of our pokémon since there's no point to leaving them in their pokéballs. Eve walks over to me and lies down. She rubs her head against me. "Can't we walk through the snow while the Fire-types heat up the area?"

I start petting her. "They can't handle all that stress."

"Oh. So, what now?"

"The only thing we can do is wait."

[Cyrus' POV; Team Galactic HQ]

I look out my window. The blizzard rages on. Crobat flies over to me. "What did the reporters say about the storm, Cyrus?"

"They said that it'll probably last for nearly a month and a half."

"That means Chris and his friends have to go through that."

"A grunt on our side has been keeping an eye on them. She reported that they went into a cave to escape the blizzard."

"And what about her?"

"She said she ran into the cave ahead of them. No one noticed her in the commotion."

"At least she's safe."

"I'm only worried about what would happen if they meet each other. I've ordered her to dress in her normal clothes. I told her to bring extra food just in case. Seems it will come in handy."

Crobat flies to the desk. "I want to see them again."

I nod and press the switch on my desk. The television rises out of the front and turns on. The surveillance footage from the lab appears on screen. Charon is typing on his computer. He starts laughing. Crobat watches the Lake Trio. Charon is calling someone on his phone. My phone starts ringing. I pick up. "Yes?"

"It's Charon. I've gotten a lucky break!"

"What is it?"

"I can get the Red Chain done in two months!"

My eyes go wide. "Good. Proceed with it."

I hang up and hit the desk. "Damn it!"

Crobat flies up and looks at me. "What's wrong?"

"Go to Saturn."

I grab a paper and write a coded message on it. "Give him this."

He nods and takes it. He flies out the door and I sit down. I watch Charon chuckling on the screen in front of me. I put my hand on my desk. I grit my teeth. The desk starts rotting under my hand as my Aura flares around me. "'We need to get into contact with them. Call them tomorrow night.' Hurry, Saturn. Time is running out."

[Samantha's POV; Unmarked Cave]

I look at myself in my mirror. My brown hair looks amazing after getting the blue wig off. I'm wearing a black sweater and underneath, a grey shirt. My sweatpants are black, like my sweater. I take a deep breath and prepare to make myself known. "I won't fail you Cyrus," I whisper to myself.

He packed enough food to feed a group of people for a month if they ration it. I smile and put my mirror back into my bag. I look at my Team Galactic uniform on the ground in front of me. I look at Charmeleon. "Flamethrower, please." Charmeleon scorches the uniform to dust. "Thank you." Charmeleon smiles at me. I inhale and slowly exhale. "Let's go."