Snowflakes danced in the air, covering the world in an endless white.
Amidst this snow-covered expanse, Paul pressed forward toward the mountain, accompanied by his Pokémon.
Ninetales maintained Sunny Day to create a clear zone, preventing snow from falling within its range. Ursaring continuously used Foresight, keeping a close watch for any lurking Froslass. Meanwhile, Metagross carried Paul on its back, propelling them rapidly up the mountain.
Paul's objective was simple—retrieve his backpack.
"Wooooh…"
"Aaaahhh…"
A series of eerie wails echoed through the storm, and the already fierce snowfall intensified. The miniature sun Ninetales had created was quickly smothered by the raging ice and snow, and visibility was reduced to near nothing.
Ghostly silhouettes flickered through the storm, weaving between the falling snowflakes, their chilling presence were growing stronger. It was clear—they weren't merely trying to scare Paul off. They intended to drive him down the mountain by force.
A deep growl erupted from Ursaring, and in an instant, a powerful red light surged across its body, sweeping outward in a several-hundred-meter radius.
Suddenly, all the lurking Froslass hiding in the blizzard were exposed, their spectral forms forced into view.
Even a few Glalie lurking deeper in the storm were dragged out of hiding.
"Gravity. Thunder"
Paul, shielded within Metagross' psychic barrier, gave his command in a low, cold voice.
"Wooo~"
Ninetales conjured a massive Gravity Field, instantly blanketing the entire area.
Under the intensified gravitational pull, every Froslass and Glalie was forced down, crashing onto the snow-covered ground.
"Buzzz!"
Electabuzz, which had been charging itself with Motor Drive ever since they began their ascent, was now at full power.
A blinding Thunderbolt streaked across the mountainside, enveloping the entire area in a crackling storm of electricity.
The Froslass and Glalie blocking their path were all struck by the electrifying blast—collapsing one after another into the snow.
Paul didn't slow down. He stepped over the fallen ghosts and continued his ascent.
At the mountain's peak, a group of Froslass was engaged in a heated discussion.
"Eeno! Eeenoooo!"
"Eenoooo~"
They debated over what to do about Paul.
Should they fight or surrender?
If they chose to battle, they held a home-field advantage—an entire mountain full of Ice-types, strengthened by the surrounding howling northern winds. They could unleash a blizzard together and bury the human in snow.
But one Froslass, her body scarred from past battles, spoke against it.
It insisted that they should return the backpack. Fighting Paul would only lead to more casualties among their kin.
"Eeno!"
The leader of the Froslass, however, glared in defiance.
If it weren't for humans mining away their Dawn Stones, they wouldn't have been forced into stealing Evolution Stones to survive!
And relocating? That wasn't as easy as it sounded.
Their entire clan depended on this mountain. They couldn't simply leave on a whim!
The injured Froslass opened it's mouth to argue further—But in the end, it remained silent.
Seeing no further objections, the leader began strategizing.
Surely, the war party sent to stop the human would buy them enough time to come up with a plan…
"Raaaaaah~!"
A powerful roar shattered the Froslass' frantic debate.
All the Froslass and Snorunt inside the cave froze in shock.
How…?
The leader's eyes widened in disbelief.
No human had ever reached them so quickly.
Even if a trainer had managed to see through their tricks before, they were never strong enough to defeat the entire defense force.
But today—
They had lost.
Too fast.
Before they could even form a proper counter-strategy, the enemy was already at their doorstep.
"Eeno!"
Without hesitation, the leader gave the order.
It waved her hand, rallying the other Froslass and Glalie to retreat from the cave and head outside to intercept Paul.
As the others rushed off, the injured Froslass remained behind.
It turned to the Snorunt huddling deeper inside the cave, whispering a few words of reassurance before flying toward the storage corner.
From a pile of stolen goods, it dug out Paul's backpack.
It was completely emptied.
Useful and useless items alike had been carelessly tossed aside. Only a few Dawn Stones and an Icy Rock remained, sitting atop a small heap of Evolution Stones.
The original plan had been simple:
If the human never returned, the Pokémon here would eventually shove all the useless items back inside the bag and discard it.
But now—
There was no time.
The Froslass quickly began reorganizing the backpack, neatly placing Paul's belongings back inside.
It even returned the Dawn Stones and Icy Rock, carefully setting them in their proper place.
Outside the cave, Paul had released all of his Pokémon.
The battle had begun.
His Pokémon weren't just strong—they were honed warriors, each trained in stat-boosting techniques and rich with battle experience.
By the time the battle started, most of them had already powered up.
Against a horde of Ice-types known for their fragile defenses, Paul's Pokémon tore through their ranks.
Electabuzz, fueled by rage, had reached its maximum charge.
Just one Thunderbolt—and an entire group of Froslass collapsed simultaneously.
The ghostly tactics Ice-types relied on had been completely dismantled—Foresight and Gravity had eliminated all their tricks.
The battle was utterly one-sided.
Every Froslass and Glalie that appeared—was immediately defeated.
"Still not planning to return my backpack?"
Paul scanned the defeated leader with his Pokédex, his voice was calm.
"Eeno!"
The leader glared at him with burning hatred.
Paul wasn't bothered.
At this point, he was already at the cave entrance.
All he had to do was block it off and search for his backpack himself.
In the meantime, he might as well check if any of these Pokémon had decent potential.
"Mediocre stats. Uninteresting."
He glanced at the Pokédex screen before losing interest and moving on.
"Wooooh~"
Suddenly, a strange and eerie cry echoed through the air, causing all the attacking Glalie and Froslass to halt their assault.
Noticing this, Paul's Pokémon refrained from striking further but remained on high alert, ready to take action at the first sign of hostility.
Amid the swirling distortions of space, "Nurse Joy" emerged from the cave entrance, carrying Paul's backpack. She stepped forward alone, carefully placing the backpack on the ground. With an apologetic bow, she spoke:
"I sincerely apologize, Trainer. Please, let this end here."
"Woo~"
Ninetales activated its Extrasensory ability, levitating the backpack and delivering it to Paul.
Paul took the backpack and immediately opened it for inspection. He was relieved when he found that the badge was fine.
He then took the badge out and placed them in his inner pocket for safekeeping. After checking through the rest of his belongings—finding them slightly disorganized but otherwise undisturbed—he shifted his gaze to the "Nurse Joy" standing before him.
"Are all Froslass as proficient in illusion techniques as you?"
If not for his keen observation skills, he might have been fooled back at the abandoned Pokémon Center. Even Electabuzz hadn't noticed that "Nurse Joy" was actually a Froslass, proving just how powerful her illusions were.
"Not all of us. Aside from my mother, I'm the only one in our clan capable of achieving this level of illusion mastery."
"Nurse Joy" turned her gaze toward the Froslass lying on the ground and shook her head slightly.
"I see… That explains why you were chosen as the leader. You do possess something special."
Paul mulled over the information before speaking again:
"Show me your true form."
Rather than the illusionary "Nurse Joy" fading away, a previously invisible Froslass materialized beside her.
At first glance, this Froslass appeared similar to the others, but upon closer inspection, it bore two distinct features: an ice crystal headpiece adorning its forehead and a pair of notably clearer, brighter eyes compared to its kin.
Paul aimed his Pokédex at the Froslass, scanning it for detailed information. A few seconds later, the full data was displayed.
After reading through the entry, Paul suddenly asked:
"Would you like to become my Pokémon and grow stronger alongside me?"
Froslass was visibly taken aback by the question. A conflicted expression surfaced on its face as it glanced around at its fellow Pokémon. After a long moment, it lowered its head in silent reluctance.
"Nurse Joy" bowed slightly and spoke:
"My deepest apologies. The clan is still facing a crisis—I cannot leave just yet."
Paul remained unfazed. He replied calmly:
"Evolution Stones aren't that easy to deplete. If you're struggling to mine them, the issue is likely due to increased excavation difficulty and higher risks deeper inside the caverns. If you search carefully, I believe you'll still find plenty remaining."
With that, Paul reached into his backpack, took out several Dawn Stones, and tossed them toward Froslass before turning away to leave.
"Thank you for your advice."
As "Nurse Joy's" illusionary figure slowly faded, Froslass picked up the Dawn Stones and watched Paul's retreating figure as he left with his Pokémon without hesitation.
"Eee~Noo~"
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