Sinnoh Region, Snowpoint City.
The sky and earth were a vast expanse of white, and glittering ice crystals blanketed the entire city in a dazzling sheen.
Silas tightened his down jacket around himself and walked toward the airport exit.
A small head poked out from his arms. Phione stretched out its tiny hands, its round eyes shining brightly.
"Phion~"
Silas reached out and gently rubbed its head, smiling as he explained while continuing forward.
"This is ice crystal weather. Isn't it amazing?"
Ice crystal weather was a unique climate phenomenon in Snowpoint City. What fell from the sky was not snow, but condensed ice crystals.
The entire world seemed wrapped in shimmering light refracted through countless crystals, extraordinarily brilliant and dreamlike.
Of course, it also came with certain hazards. Silas did not linger outside for long. Following the map, he headed straight toward the nearby Pokémon Center.
He had no intention of staying in Snowpoint City for too long. This was not his final destination. He only planned to rest for a day and purchase the various necessities required for traveling in the wild.
At the front desk, he asked Nurse Joy for a single room.
After entering the room, Silas removed his down jacket and hung it on a rack. The room was heated, warm and comfortable.
Bang, bang.
The moment Silas stepped inside, the Pokémon in the Poké Balls at his waist jumped out.
"Kang~"
"Morpe!"
"Vel~"
"Hey, Noivern, wait. Don't come out yet."
Just Kangaskhan alone already took up most of the extra space in the room. If Noivern came out too, there would be no room left at all.
"Noi!"
From inside the Poké Ball, Noivern let out a muffled, aggrieved roar.
"Be good."
Silas comforted it softly. The Poké Ball trembled twice before settling down, though Noivern still seemed a little wronged.
He opened his backpack and took out snacks for Kangaskhan, Morpeko, and Phione.
Then he pulled out a temporarily copied map and marked Snowpoint City's location.
In the center of the map was a red dot. That was the Temple of the Sea, Manaphy's dwelling.
The map in Silas's hands had been copied from the markings on a Relicanth, but it only showed an approximate location. Once he reached that stretch of sea, he would still need Phione to guide the way.
After staring at it for a while, Silas began planning the next stage of the journey.
"Next, I'll head to Chocovine Town below Snowpoint, then from there toward the Hoenn seas…"
Just as he was mapping out his route, his sleeve was tugged gently.
He lowered his head and met two pairs of sparkling eyes.
Phione grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the window.
Morpeko thoughtfully wiped away the frost that had condensed on the glass so Silas could see more clearly, then pointed outside.
"Morpe~"
Silas followed its gesture. Behind the Pokémon Center, in the small plaza, several snowmen had already been built.
A few people with their Pokémon were happily building snowmen. Among them was an energetic girl dressed in a Kantonian style school uniform.
Beside her were a Sneasel and a Snover.
It was easy to notice that the snow around Snover was falling more densely.
From the corner of his eye, Silas noticed the two little Pokémon pressing their faces against the glass. The longing in their eyes was unmistakable.
"You want to build snowmen too?"
"Phion~"
Phione immediately hugged him, burrowing its little head into his chest and acting spoiled.
"It's not impossible, but I need to finish my errands first. After that, I'll take you out to play."
"Morpeko!"
Morpeko nodded rapidly like a pecking chick, eyes shining with excitement.
"Oh, right. Morpeko, you still have your training to complete. If you don't finish it, you'll stay in the room and watch us play outside."
Seeing Morpeko so happy, Silas could not resist pouring a little cold water on it.
Morpeko's face immediately fell, but it quickly rallied.
With the promise of building snowmen dangling like a carrot, Morpeko began training at once.
With Kangaskhan watching over them, Silas felt at ease.
He organized the items in his backpack and made a list of supplies he needed to restock.
Soon, he finished the checklist. After greeting Kangaskhan, Silas left the room.
Medicines and food were essential among the wilderness supplies.
When he returned after finishing his shopping, he saw Morpeko running on a cylindrical power generator.
Despite its short legs, it ran incredibly fast.
Its front paws gripped the edge of the drum while its hind legs pumped rapidly. Its round body wobbled along with the rotating cylinder.
The drum spun with a whirring sound, almost leaving afterimages.
Silas set down the bags in his hands and checked the battery level.
Not bad. It had already reached ten percent.
He decided to leave some exercise for later and called Morpeko to stop.
"Don't you want to go build snowmen? Or have you changed your mind?"
"Morpe!"
Morpeko cried out loudly. It had endured the hardship and was determined to enjoy the reward.
The two little ones dashed toward him, unable to hide their impatience.
Silas did not dampen their enthusiasm. He put a small scarf and gloves on Morpeko.
It was still very cold outside.
"Phion, phion…"
"Don't rush. I prepared one for you too. It's blue."
Silas helped Phione put on its scarf as well. The little one spun in circles happily.
In truth, Phione was not afraid of the cold.
Silas gently patted their little bottoms and lifted them onto his shoulders.
"Be good. We're heading downstairs now."
The one human and two Pokémon went downstairs, greeted the Nurse Joy on duty, and headed to the small plaza behind the building.
Silas looked around and chose a less crowded spot.
"Noivern, Kangaskhan, come out."
As his words fell, two beams of light shot out.
Noivern appeared on the left.
It had just lifted its head, intending to let out a roar of excitement, when its body shuddered and it sneezed.
"Noi… achoo."
A common weakness among Dragon type Pokémon was sensitivity to the cold.
"Are you alright? Maybe you should stay in the Poké Ball."
Silas stepped forward with concern.
Noivern shook its head vigorously, then lowered itself and nudged Silas with its large head.
"Noi~"
(I'm fine, Silas. Don't worry~)
"Alright then. Put on the scarf."
The largest scarf he had was wrapped around Noivern, circling twice before it was barely secured.
Wrapped up like a rice dumpling, Noivern looked especially bulky.
In return, a wave of warmth spread through its body. It lowered its head obediently and rubbed against Silas's palm, as if thanking him.
Since Noivern had one, Kangaskhan would not be left out.
Silas had noticed the brief look of disappointment on Kangaskhan's face earlier.
He personally tied a scarf around Kangaskhan as well. It did not add much warmth, but it carried heartfelt intention.
Sure enough, Kangaskhan's low mood lifted immediately. It reached out and gave Silas a big hug.
With everything settled, Silas joined in building snowmen.
Phione and Morpeko busied themselves carrying snow back and forth. They shaped it into small balls, then slowly rolled them into bigger ones.
Big, at least compared to their own size.
The two little ones were having the time of their lives. Silas did not disturb them. Instead, he called Kangaskhan and Noivern to build a large snowman nearby.
While Silas and his Pokémon were enjoying the snow in Snowpoint City, back at the ranch, the Indeedee siblings were facing their first real test.
(End of Chapter)