Pokemon Heroes: Sinnoh Saga [Book 1]

Chapter 75: Out of the Darkness into the Woods

"The crippling, chilling darkness of Mt. Coronet was a stark contrast to the blinding, blistering snow covered valleys and foothills of Northern Sinnoh. If it wasn't for the snow goggles we'd all have gone snow blind for a while after finally leaving that cave. The hardest part of the trek was the foothills. We had to be careful. The terrain changed elevation constantly, up and down hills, and because it was always covered in several feet of snow, we never knew how deep the crevices actually went. Several times we almost fell into a deep hole of soft snow that would've collapsed as soon as we stepped on it. Once time, Lucario did, not paying attention. It was his eyes that allowed us to get through there mostly unscathed. Then we reached the woods..."

It has been almost unworldly bright throughout the foothills of Northern Sinnoh.

The snow reflected the light as if the whole world was made of mirrors and light bulbs.

It was blinding.

The snow goggles helped.

And the reflection of the light off all the snow and ice helped warm the group a little—keeping moving helped more.

Regardless of the sun and the reflection, it was still well below freezing up here in this part of the region.

Then they reached the forest, and things got dark again immediately.

The tall, heavy branches coated in ice and snow blocked out a lot of the light. Things got colder down on the snowy forest floor.

The group had built a giant igloo, with a fire pit outside for cooking. The igloo in combination with the warm clothing the group was wearing would provide warmth.

They didn't want to risk the fire on the inside of the igloo, as the fire would have to provide heat at the same level and temperature as the ice would lose heat to the outside elements.

That was too much calculating and monitoring for their liking.

Jeremy and Niya volunteered, surprisingly, to cook the dinner together.

The woods were dark enough during the day, but the evening was approaching the wooded parts of Route 216 were even darker than the caves of Mt. Coronet.

There were dangerous Pokémon living in these parts, far more accustomed to the environment—specifically, hunting in this environment.

Lucario proved to be a good look out. Even when he was resting or sleeping he could sense anyone or anything approaching.

While Niya and Jeremy cooked—Jeremy was attempting to modernize his family's chicken recipe for this frozen climate and was having varying amounts of success—Sam and Alyssandra remained inside the igloo with their lanterns, sitting and talking.

They were discussing the happenings over the last couple weeks. From Iron Island, to the battle with Byron, to the scramble at Lake Valor.

"Your battle against Byron was...almost legendary," she smiled, "The closer you get to the league, the stronger your Pokémon get...I don't want to say the more desperate they get, but the less you're willing to leave to chance. The battles get faster, stronger; you're doing more damage to the field. You can see that every move is meant to put your opponent out of commission as soon as possible."

"That's how battles are at this level," explained Sam, "Apparently I've been told, anyway...at the Pokémon League, sometimes, you get one hit knock outs. They're the top of the top though, at that level of strength I can't imagine anything else."

"So, your battles might not be that long against the Elite Four?" asked Alyssandra, "Or even Valentina?"

"Maybe...alternatively, my Pokémon might be evenly matched with there's, and at that point it's just a war of attrition," shrugged Sam, trying not to think about being defeated by the Elite Four in a few swift seconds.