Private/Closed Into the Pokéverse

[NotaViolinist]

"Well... no one's really mapped the caves very well," Aine said. "I think the systematic approach would be to turn left at every intersection possible, that way we'll know where we've been if we hit a dead end." She frowned slightly. "I think there should be markers indicating where to go, but I'm not seeing any. Maybe they took them down for some reason?"

"In any case, if we're going upward and it starts to get colder we're heading to the right place. Vanilla Town was freezing, the few times I visited." Pushing forward, the group started to walk down the winding tunnels. Stalactites hung far above on the roofs of the caverns, while somewhere deep in the cave they could hear a 'drip, drip' noise. Eventually, it started to get colder, just like Aine said, and everyone could see puffs of air as they breathed.

The cold prickled at Aine's skin as she walked. I should really have dressed warmer, she thought. At least bought a thicker jacket or something! As a grass-type gym leader she wasn't exactly equipped for treks in the mountains. They came to a flight of roughly carved out stairs that branched into an intersection. To the left was a passageway that curved to the right, and to the right was a short area with an opening to the outside. Aine frowned.

"That... I don't remember that being the exit, but..." She hummed. "I wonder if they made a shortcut to the town? Do you guys want to go check it out?"

 

[Pinch]

Bentley clutched the badge in his hands as he walked with the group through the cave. "We did it Duskull, our first badge!" He proclaimed enthusiastically, smiling, before slotting it into his badge case. As the group came about the exit, he chimed in with his opinion. "I think we should go through, what's the worst that could happen?" He said.

 

[Sunlight Isekai Overdrive]

Nito looked at Bently, shivering.
"W--What could be W-W-Worse? D--Don't Jinx us! It's A--Already cold enough as it is!" He said, putting Snivy and Bulbasaur in a Pokeball.

"I don't L--Like the cold, as Y--You can tell..." He looked towards Aine. "If it G-Gets us out of the C--Cold, Lets do it." Shivering, he walked over towards the Light.

"I've realized that Ms. Aine likes to use Grass-Types. Maybe I should ask her a few questions? Once I get out of this weather, I suppose." He thought, continuing on. To be Honest, He'd prefer the Sewers of Virbank City or Castelia.

 

[NotaViolinist]

They headed to the left, peeking out of the cave exit and blinking in the face of the blinding light bouncing off the layer of white outside. There was a large ledge overlooking the inner valley, with a big bare-branched tree standing tall in the center. Aine squinted through the powdery snow that was falling and saw a few buildings stationed in the valley below.

"There it is, we're almost there." As they made their way to the edge to look over the beautiful scenery, something in the tree made a whip-like sound and all of a sudden they were hanging upside-down!

"Oh, crap!" Aine swore, scrunched up in a large net along with Neon and Sean. Nito, Nathan and Bentley were trapped in a similar net next to them, hanging from the tree. "Who the heck put this here?! Someone get us out!"

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Neon looked around in his backpack ,and brought out his jacket.
Neon put it on.
Toxel started complaining about the cold, so Neon put it in it's pokeball.
Charmelon cranked up it's body heat so that the people around it were warmer.
Dreepy seemed unaffected by the weather, probably because it had no skin for the cold to bite at.
Beldum also seemed unaffected by the weather.
Scizor was cold, but toughed it out.
Riolu was sitting in Neon's backpack.
Then they got trapped in the net.
"AH! What the frickity frick?!"
Neon was in a weird position in the net, kinda in a pretzel position.
It was also a little crowded, because five of his pokemon were there as well.
Neon kicked at the net, but his attempts were futile.
"UGH! How did I even get in this position anyway?"

 

[LordBallGuy]

Nathan was fine in the cold since the Sinnoh region had a very cold climate he was pretty used to it.
"I'm pretty fine actually-" He was interrupted by Neon getting caught in a net.
"What the heck?" He tried to rip at the net with his, but nothing worked.

"Hey, Grotle!" Grotle turned around with a happy expression. "Could you help out a little?" Grotle agreed and began to bite down on the net.

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Neon got an idea.
Neon grunted.
“Uh, hey Scizor, I got an idea!”
Scizor turned towards neon and nodded.
“Alright buddy, you know what to do!”
Scizor nodded again, then used it’s powerful pincers on the net, quickly cutting it, freeing them.

 

[Pinch]

"Croagunk! Melt the net away with Venoshock!" He complied, and began to spit poison at the net, slowly eroding it. In their commotion, a Fletchling noticed the boys struggling to free themselves and flew over to assist them, cutting the net with it's sharp beak. After finally freeing themselves, Bentley stood up and thanked the Fletchling, who promptly perched itself on his shoulder. "You wanna come with us?" He asked it, it chirped back in an upbeat tune signalling a yes. Bentley pulled out one of his empty pokeballs and tapped it to the Fletchling's forehead, catching it with ease. He tossed the pokeball and released Fletchling from it, "Alright use Peck on the net the others are trapped in!" He said, so Fletchling went over to the other net to help out the others.

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Neon smiled.
“Nice catch dude!”
Neon moved his hand, then thought better, then moved it back.
“I would high five you, but, ya know.”
Neon saw the fletching.
“Heh, thanks buddy, but I got it covered.”
Scizor cut through the net with ease with it’s big pincers, and they were released.
Neon landed on his feet.
“Great job Scizor!”

 

[Sunlight Isekai Overdrive]

Nito was Cold, and Annoyed as he landed on his ass.
Muttering to himself as he got up from the Net, as he looked around.

"Who In the Right mind would place something like That in a place like This" He brushed himself off, looking around the area. "Let's hurry up and get out if this cold, Yeah?"

 

[NotaViolinist]

"Oof-" Aine landed in a crumpled heap in the snow. Thank goodness Oddish was in his ball, she thought. But that net... it must have been hidden under the snow. Shaking the flakes out of her hair, she reached up and grabbed part of the net, pulling it down so she could examine it.

"Handmade..." she mused. "There's big gaps in this, too. It wasn't made for a Pokémon, at least that's what I think." She stood and brushed herself off, then noticed a small pathway leading down the side of the mountain, heading into the woods. "Ah, if we head that way I think we'll be able to reach the town. Let's watch out for more traps, shall we?"

The woods had a silent, almost magical atmosphere to them. The only sounds were of the whistling wind, their footsteps crunching in the snow and of the occasional bird call in the distance. Tall evergreen trees interspersed with medium-sized birches made up most of the composition of the forest, although there were also a good amount of berry bushes growing in the frozen dirt.

As they walked through the forest, they stayed alert and came across a few slender tripwires, along with another pressure-triggered net hidden under the blanket of white. "Who could have set these," Aine wondered aloud. "Team Unknown?" As she was musing, however, the snow caved underneath her and everyone fell into a large pit.

"Oh, come on!" It was a pitfall trap; a tarp had been placed over a hole and the snow had been allowed to cover it. Aine groaned. "Okay, someone get us out-" But before she could finish, the shadow of a person crossed over the opening above.

"Who are you? And why are you here?"

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Neon landed face first, as he always seems to do when he falls.
“OW!”
Neon groaned, then stood up, the pit seemed to be 15 or so feet, so there was no climbing out of here.
Neon looked around at his Pokémon, and they all seemed to have had enough for a bit, so he returned them to their pokeballs with a “take a rest”.
“Hm...”
Neon looked up and saw the figure.
“Who the heck are you? Also, can you please let us out of here. Unless you’re a bad guy, in that case, I’m gonna have to punch you in the face.”

 

[NotaViolinist]

Aine sighed; they'd get nowhere if they just shouted questions at each other. "I'm Aine, the gym leader of Thyme Town? These are some young trainers I'm accompanying." The figure stood there for a moment, then dropped a rope ladder down to them. Climbing up, they came face-to-face with a dark-haired young man, dressed for the elements in white camouflage.

"You don't look like Team Unknown..." he murmured. "I'm Criss. I'm a gym trainer at Vanilla Town's gym." He seemed suspicious of them still, Aine noticed, his hands constantly on the Pokéball at his hip. Turning, he beckoned them forward. "Head this way, I'll bring you to town." Aine took the lead, and he lingered near the back of the group keeping an eye on all of them.

As they descended into the valley, the air got slightly warmer from the crisp mountain air they had been breathing before. Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling noise coming from the direction they were travelling in. Criss frowned, brow creasing. "'S been happening more and more," he muttered. Pulling out a walkie-talkie, he began talking into it. "What's the status? Yeah, I'm bringing them in now." He glanced around the group before continuing. "Seb's there, right? I'll head up after we get there." He stopped suddenly. "What do you mean, it's awake?!"

"Something wrong?" Aine asked. Criss scrunched his nose up as he listened to the other person talk, then looked up with a serious expression.

"Let's get to the town, quickly."

 

[LordBallGuy]

Confused about what was happening, he looked around, a little worried about what was happening.
"Criss, are you feeling okay?" He asked.

 

[Sunlight Isekai Overdrive]

The uneasy atmosphere made him Annoyed, so he sent Dracoss back out so she could rest on his Shoulders.

"It's just a new place, That's why I'm getting easily annoyed. Yeah. It'll ALL be back to normal." He thought, petting his small Grass Snake. "Even if it's not because of the new place, I'll gladly hang on to sanity for You." It was true that there was a small doubt that he was actually going insane, but even Dracoss could feel Nito's distress, as she moved her tail to Pat his head.

 

[NotaViolinist]

"I have something to deal with," Criss responded, ushering them forward. As they approached the town a bearded redhead dressed similarly to Criss appeared to greet them. "Seb, how's the situation?"

The redhead shook his head slightly. "Not the best. I'll take care of them, you head up." Criss saluted.

"Roger that." He gave the group a quick nod, then dashed off. The redhead looked over everyone, sizing them up.

"I heard you got caught in one of our traps," he said. "Sorry 'bout that. Not often we get visitors." He sighed. "We've been trying to keep Team Unknown away. I'm Sebastian, the rock-type gym leader of Vanilla Town."

Aine blinked. "But aren't the gym leaders missing?" Sebastian huffed, smirking.

"What, you think I'd just idle around and let myself be taken? As soon as the news started spreading I faked my disappearance and holed up here." He shrugged. "People aren't too keen about making the trek up here, so they just took the news for granted. That's why you can't let anyone else know I'm here, alright?" He took a look at Aine. "You're a gym leader too, how'd you escape?"

"We're from an alternate dimension?" Aine ventured. Sebastian chuckled.

"Fine, keep your secrets. You can camp out in one of our cabins for the night, and be on your way tomorrow morning." He beckoned them forward. "I'll show you the way."

As they walked through the snow-covered town, people stopped and turned to look at them. Obviously it was a rare sight to see new people. Icicles clung to the edges of the roofs, while large snowdrifts were cropped up where snow had slid off into piles. The place they stopped in front of was a modest log cabin next to the Pokécenter. Stepping inside, there were sleeping bags and a quaint kitchenette stationed next to an unlit fireplace.

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Neon stepped into the cabin.
"Ooh, schmancy.. I wonder how much money they wasted on insulation..."
Neon looked around, and flopped onto a chair in the cabin and got on his rotom phone to communicate with his family again.
Meanwhile, his pokemon were doing other things.
Riolu was meditating on the armrest of the chair Neon was in.
Charmander was laying down next to the fire.
Beldum was floating around without a care in the world.
Scizor was using bullet punch on the wall, and every time he accidentally destroyed the wall, Beldum rebuilt it with telekineses, so they wouldn't seem like bad houseguests.
Toxel was sitting on Scizor's shoulders the whole time.
Dreepy was poking Toxel repeatedly, just to mess with it.
Overall, everybody was doing their own thing.

 

[Pinch]

Bentley followed after Neon into the cabin, he was intrigued by whatever Seb and Criss were talking about. Whatever it was, he wanted to help, but he was sure he'd get to at some stage. Especially if it had to do with that damned Team Unknown, though as he walked through the cabin he was immediately drawn to the kitchen and began whipping up some dinner. He'd had to learn to cook for himself ever since he left, and practice in an actual kitchen would go a long way in improving his skills.

 

[NotaViolinist]

"That smells wonderful, whatever it is," Aine told Bentley. "I think we'd better turn in for the night." She turned to Sebastian. "Thank you for the hospitality."

"Sure thing. My cabin's behind the gym if you need anything. Criss'll come get you in the morning." He nodded and turned to leave. Aine shut the door behind him to block out the cold.

"Hey, can someone start up the fireplace? Let's keep warm as the night falls," Aine said. "I'll set up the sleeping bags."

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Neon looked at the food that Bentley was making.
“Ooh... I have absolutely no idea what that is, but it smells good.”
Neon nodded at Aine’s request to turn on the fire place.
“Charmeleon,Flamethrower.”
Charmeleon nodded and used Flamethrower on the wood in the fireplace, setting a fire.
“Nice.”
Neon’s phone began to continuously buzz.
Neon sighed and shook his head, but had a smile on his face.
“Geez, they never run out of things to talk about.”
Neon picked up the phone, then started speaking in some foreign language.

 

[Pinch]

Bentley replied to the two with a thumbs up, finishing before long. He'd even found some Pokefood in the cupboard, so he made a serving for everyone's Pokemon. He then brought all the food to the front of the fireplace, before explaining what he'd cooked to everyone. "I'm not a hundred percent sure what to call it, since I kinda just threw it together from whatever I could find in the cupboard. It's definitely some sort of soup though."

 

[NotaViolinist]

"Thank you for the meal!" The soup was an odd combination of foods, but together they tasted very good. After, Aine helped wash the dishes with the others. "Now, let's head to bed."

After going through the stash of toiletries in the bathroom, Aine found a couple of things like toothbrushes and shampoo. They took turns in the bathroom and eventually everyone ended up laying on the ground near the fireplace. After the long day it was only a matter of time before everyone was out cold.

The fire began to slowly die down as the hours passed, making goosebumps rise on Aine's shoulders. Nevertheless, she had a good sleep... until she was awoken by a few sharp knocks on the door.

"Open up, I need to talk to you." Sebastian? Aine rubbed the sleep from her eyes and got up to open the door, shivering at the chill of the floor against her bare feet. The man was standing outside with a grave face. "Can I come in? I need to ask a favor of you all."

Once situated inside, he kicked the snow off his boots and stood facing them. "Something's come up. Criss went out last night and he hasn't returned."

A few gasps. "So... did it have anything to do with those tremors we heard?" Sebastian nodded.

"Around 2 weeks ago, after all the gym leaders disappeared, this abnormally large Steelix showed up and started living inside the mountain. It's been sleeping for most of the time; probably not used to the cold weather. Usually I send gym trainers up to battle it, to calm it down. But something's wrong, I haven't heard from Criss since midnight. The weather was too bad to head up right away, so I thought I'd ask you all to join me as reinforcements." He looked around the room. "Well? Do you mind coming with?"

 

[Pinch]

Bentley jumped at this opportunity. "You know it!" He said excitedly, before joining him outside. He was happy to finally be able to help, and his Pokemon seemed to be too, promptly following behind him, Croagunk with a spring in his step. Bentley couldn't wait to get up there, the Steelix would definitely be a challenge, but he was sure they would all be able to pull it off.

 

[Sunlight Isekai Overdrive]

Nito thought about it, but decided against it.
"I would, but I think I'll have a look around the town. I get uneasy not knowing where everything g is, if you know what I'm saying." He said, returning his Snivy to her pokeball, hiding her from the cold yet to come.
"If you don't mind, that is."

 

[LordBallGuy]

"Yeah, I guess I'll help. It would be pretty good training for my Pokemon so yeah, I'm up for it!"
Nathan followed Bentley and Sebastion to see this Steelix they were all talking about.

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Neon’s excitement was probably the most notable in the room.
“Oh-HOO-HOO-HOO! This is gonna be fun! I’m totally in!”
Riolu, who was sleeping in Neon’s backpack, stood up and nodded.
Scizor, who was sleeping next to Neon, quickly got up and did a quick snap of it’s pincers to prepare.
Toxel was...still in it’s pokeball, so it was oblivious.
Dreepy and Beldum were doing excited circles around Neon’s head.
Charmeleon happily nodded.
“Alright! Think my team’s onboard too! Let’s do this!”

 

[NotaViolinist]

"All right, Nito can stay back. We'll meet back here after we finish, alright?"

Sebastian tilted his head toward the door. "The sooner we leave, the better." After a quick change of clothes the group headed out into the harsh elements. It was still fairly early so there weren't that many people out. Sebastian gestured for them to follow and started heading down the road toward the side of the mountain. There was a cave opening there, with a ladder leading up into a hole in the ceiling.

Climbing up, there was a fork in the path. Sebastian led them down the right one, and it opened up into a large circular cavern. It was a bit dark, so Sebastian pulled out a flashlight from his pocket and shone it across the way. There was a crumpled mass sitting against the back wall, a Pokéball by his side.

"Oh boy," Sebastian said, carefully avoiding the center of the room in favor of treading along the walls. He reached Criss and started to check his vitals. "Looks like he's just unconscious. Took a hit to the head, I reckon." He pocketed the Pokéball and made to pick Criss up, but before he could do that the ground began to tremble. "Well, that's not good."

A steel-crusted maw burst from the earth, followed by a hardened, segmented body. The Steelix roared as it turned its attention on the group. "We have to fight!" Sebastian yelled to them, sending out his Midday Lycanroc. "Just focus on keeping it distracted for a while!"

 

[Captain Pokémon]

“Oh here we go.”
Neon considered his options.
“Okay then, let’s go Charmeleon!”
Neon sent out Charmeleon, who growled at the Steelix.
“Charmeleon, you know what to do!”
Charmeleon nodded and used Flamethrower, damaging the Steelix.
“Yes! That’s it! Now climb up the Steelix and use Fire Fang!”
Charmeleon climbed up Steelix, and it’s fangs lit on fire, and it bit down on Steelix repeatedly.

 

[Sunlight Isekai Overdrive]

He waved them goodbye, and wandered the town himself. He was becoming more accustomed to the cold as he went on, but didn't feel safe sending any of his pokemon out. The only one who would do fine in this is Purrloin, and be wasn't sure if she was going to like the cold very much.

Sighing at being alone, he looked at the other cabins. They were similar to what the crew had. They looked warm, which reminded him that he wasn't dressed for cold weather. He walked back to the Cabin, and looked at what types of food they had to work with.
"Maybe I can make something Unova-style."

 

[LordBallGuy]

"Oh man" Nathan was kinda worried because of large size, but he knew we could win.
"Alright Buizel, I choose you!" He threw his Pokeball out on the battlefield, with Buizel coming out in a fighting stance.
"Alright Buizel, use Water Gun!" Buizel fired a powerful jet of water making the Steelix recoil from its power.

 

[Pinch]

"Croagunk, use Brick Break and try to lead it away from us!" Croagunk attempted to use Brick Break on the Steelix, and allowed it to follow him a little further into the cave, leaving it's back turned for further attacks. "Alright, now Duskull you use Will-O-Wisp!" Duskull fired multiple purple flames at Steelix, which would probably burn it if it managed to hit.

 

[NotaViolinist]

Steelix thrashed its tail, sending Charmeleon careening off into the cave wall. "Oddish, use Mega Drain!" It wasn't very effective, but the attack managed to distract the Steelix long enough for Lycanroc to get in a solid Quick Attack. The steel-type reared back, baring its fangs as it tunneled its way back into the earth.

"Stay sharp," Sebastian warned. "It could come back at any moment." He hefted Criss over his shoulder in a fireman carry and crossed the room swiftly. "We've got to get out-"

With the screeching sound of metal against rock the Steelix erupted from the back wall, heading directly toward them. "Watch out!"

 

[LordBallGuy]

"Hold on, I have an Idea!" He sent Grotle out to fight "Grotle use Protect!"
Grotle charged at the Steelix, getting closer to it. The Steelix rammed into Grotle but Steelix bounced off of Grotle.
"Amazing!" He returned Grotle "Don't worry" He turned to everyone "I gotcha ya covered"

 

[Captain Pokémon]

Neon rushed over to the pile of stones that was now Charmeleon.
“Shoot! Charmeleon!”
Neon brought out Riolu.
“Riolu, brick break.”
Riolu karate chopped the stones, shattering them.
Charmeleon was laying there, unconscious,
Neon returned Charmeleon to it’s Pokeball.
Neon frowned.
“Riolu, let’s do this.”
Riolu nodded.
“Alright Riolu, use Blaze Kick!”
Riolu rushed over to Steelix with surprising speed, and it’s leg lit on fire, and it kicked Steelix hard in the nose, causing Steelix to rear back.
“Alright! Now, brick break!”
Riolu jumped up high, then brought it’s fist down hard on Steelix, doing some huge damage due to the super effective move combo, a blaze kick combined with brick break.

 

[Sunlight Isekai Overdrive]

He sighed at the Ingredients he had.
"Beans.. Beans.. Beans.. and... I suppose We'll just have some beans." He muttered, looking at his pokeballs. The only Non-Grass types he had were Purrloin and Pidove, which only one of them knew Sunny Day. He turned to his thoughts to his Bag. He only had Potions, Berries, and a few other items in there. Not including what might've been destroyed when they arrived, plus the net. Sending out Dracoss, he poured the beans into a pot, shaking it before putting it in the fire.
" Help me find a pot-holder, will you, Dracoss?"

His Snivy jumped in joy, using vines to hoist itself onto the counters, looking through the bag. Nothing seemed to be broken or squished, but he looked at the Xtransceiver on his wrist. Of course, he never planned on using it outside of a camera, he should use it sooner or la--

Dracoss threw a pair of Pot-holders at Nito as he was thinking, and the two shared a laugh.

 

[NotaViolinist]

Finally, Sebastian yelled, "Lycanroc, Roar!" The bloodcurdling howl Lycanroc let out startled the Steelix, making it retreat back underground to escape from the noise. After a moment the tremors stopped. "She's gone," he said. "Let's head back."

Carrying Criss, Sebastian led the group back out of the cave and back into town. When they arrived back at the cabin, they found Nito cooking once more. "Hope it wasn't too boring without us," Aine joked, nudging him with her elbow. Oddish greeted Dracoss happily.

"Grab a first aid kit from the cabinet and an ice pack from the freezer," Sebastian requested of Nathan. He set Criss down on an unused sleeping bag and put a rolled-up shirt under his legs to elevate them. Then he took a strip of bandages from the first aid kit and started tending to the wounds on Criss's forehead.

Around half an hour later, Criss jolted suddenly and sat up, patting at his pockets frantically. "Seb, where's Rica?" The redhead immediately went over and tried to calm him down.

"She's here." He handed over the Pokéball he had picked up in the caves. "Lie down, you're injured." Criss obliged, clutching the Pokéball to his chest. "These people helped me save you." Criss glanced over at the group.

"Thank you." He sighed. "Normally when I head up it only takes a couple rounds before Steelix gets bored and leaves, but she was pretty irritated today. She looked larger than normal too."

Aine perked up at that. "That sounds a bit like the Skarmory we fought earlier, huh?" Sebastian frowned.

"Aggressive and unusually large Pokémon... something's clearly wrong." He stood and fished around in his pockets. "Here, I know it's unconventional but you proved yourself to me in that battle. This is the Mountain Badge."

 

[Cmeriwether]

Ariana Montgomery and Mudkip were sitting on a nearby crate, trying to piece the information together on her missing husband, none other Than Elite Four Firey. She continued compiling her notes as some events were happening, and hopped off the crate. She continued towards Aine and Criss, and introduced herself, "I'm Ariana, I've been sitting on the crate putting together information on the disappearance of an Elite Four Member."

On the outside, she had put a brave face, but truly she was not well, heartbroken, on the verge of grieving. Finding out Firey was missing took a toll on her emotional health.

 

[NotaViolinist]

Sebastian turned to Ariana. "Eh, which one would you be looking for? Jesse was here earlier, but he left after hearing his sister was found." At Aine's quizzical look he clarified, "Jesse's the steel-type Elite 4 member. A bit loud, but a nice guy. He's Tazzy's older brother."

"Oh! I'm glad he heard the news," Aine replied. Turning to Ariana she held out her hand. "I'm Aine, and these are some trainers I'm accompanying. Sean, Nathan, Nito, Neon, and Bentley. Are you heading to Caraway City as well? We'd love to be able to travel with you, especially since that Steelix is still somewhere in that cave."

 

[Cmeriwether]

"Not him, looking for my husband, Elite Four Firey, Mixed Type," Ariana explained, fiddling with her wedding ring, responding to Sebastian.

Mudkip kept her as calm as possible, well for a Mudkip. She then turned around to Aine and responded with, "The last known location of my husband was Around there, he went missing around the time of Team Unknown's appearance."

 

[NotaViolinist]

"Oh, I think I met him maybe once? It was a long time ago." Aine gave her a polite smile. "Well, it's an honor to meet you. I'm a gym leader myself, but nowhere near as good as an Elite 4 member."

Criss lifted his head from where he had been petting his Pupitar. "Sorry to bust in, but I heard a winter storm was coming soon. You guys should head out if you want to avoid being snowed in."

Aine nodded. "Maybe you can bring the food along," she suggested to Nito. Then, turning to Sebastian, "Which way should we head?"

"When you go back to the cave, turn right instead of left. Then follow the trail down until you reach the underground lake. Just across the way should deposit you directly near the top of Cycling Road. There it's a straight path to Caraway." She nodded and scooped Oddish up, putting him back in his Pokéball.

"All right. Thank you so much. I hope you feel better," she told Criss. Then they headed out into the cold once more.