Amongst the cold

Caim and Deimos, after having had their run in with the Friendship rater, the one with the Togepi, had set out in order to explore once again. This time, they had decided to go somewhere more... interesting, they'd decided to head up the Snowy mountain within the area. The two wanted to get the potentially more difficult area's out of the way, as of such exploring the mountain made sense, also, Caim figured that it would be interesting to write about, the trip up the mountain that is.

The temperature up the mountain most certainly felt worse than down below, so this was one of the rare cases Caim had his jacket actually closed, instead of how typically open it was. Deimos however, he didn't feel all that bothered by the cold and the terrain, his species was used to rugged mountain terrain, so to him these conditions felt more so a walk in the park.

~A light snow begins to fall on the mountainside, a gentle breeze picking up and blowing the snow perpendicular to your path, blowing the snow directly in your face. Despite the cold conditions, your senses haven't shut off. You hear something moving through the snow and then there is a soft cry and the sound of something moving toward you. Then something slams into you from higher up the mountain, letting out a soft cry. "Snover!"~

Snover ~ Level 5 ~ Capture Rate: 2
Moves: Powder Snow, Leer, and Razor Leaf

As the two had kept walking, both Caim and Deimos had caught onto the cry and realized something was heading towards them, although Caim didn't know where the incoming Pokémon was coming from. Deimos however was far more alert, he spotted the Snover as it Slammed into Caim. Deimos's immediate reaction was to attack the Snover, With him initiating Stone Edge, the most suitable move to use here.

Deimos could sense the razor sharp stones forming underground, he could feel them surging upwards at high speed, soon to break free from the earth and snow that kept it at bay. The Snover however was completely unaware of the incoming attack, it even had the gall to stand it's ground and taunt by leering at Deimos due to him seemingly doing nothing, however it soon painfully learned the error of doing so.

The Snover, still standing still, felt the sudden barrage of razor sharp stones stabbing away at the Pokémon from below, doing an extreme amount of damage considering it's weakness to the powerful rock type move. By the end of the vicious barrage, it'd let out a pained cry, before collapsing face first into the snow, completely out cold.

Having pretty much not done anything out of shock, Caim had merely been standing there, watching as the situation resolved itself before his very eyes. Needless to say, he smiled towards Deimos, the Absol had came to his defense without hesitation and he had done so with brutal efficiency to say the least. "Thank you Deimos... I appreciate it, now then, let's keep moving" Caim spoke, his tone kind in nature and his appreciation for what the Absol had done plain to see.

~The snow that the snover had displaced moves slightly as something under the snow tries to get out. A cry of frustration is muffled by the snow as the creature stuck underneath realizes that it is stuck. There is a howl of anger, edged a little by fear. "Sneasel?" the creature questions, the fear getting more apparent.~

Sneasel is trapped under the snow!

Level 8 ~ Capture Rate 3
Moves: Scratch, Leer, Taunt, and Quick Attack

Considering the two hadn't moved on, it didn't exactly take long for the two to notice movement in the snow, and the cry's definitely reinforced this, something was trapped in the snow. Judging by the Pokémon's cry, he understood the Pokémon was apparently a Sneasel. It wasn't all that difficult to pick out fear in the Pokémon's cry, which struck a cord with Caim... fear... he couldn't just leave the Pokémon like this, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he did.

"Deimos, please help me dig the Sneasel out, it's afraid... I can't just leave it here, if anything we should bring it with us if we can... we both know what fear is like, if we can spare others from that, we should" Caim spoke, Receiving a nod and a rare cry from the Absol, as if it was trying to tell the Sneasel the two were going to try and help.

After a few minutes of Caim and Deimos digging away from the snow, they found and eventually managed to get to the Sneasel. Caim figured this was as good a time as any, so he took out an Ultra ball, and used it, aiming for the Sneasel... he was hoping that it understood.

Blade carried out 1 launched of one Capture Rate 1 :

Valka walked up a hill leading to the mountain. Already, she was shivering. This was the first time she ever had Spry in his Pokeball, for she cared more about his well-being than spending time with him. Surely he would freeze in an environment like this.

Val's coat was on and zipped tight, hood over her head to protect her from the wind and cold. Her hands were on her arms, rubbing them to create friction and keep warm. Despite the fact she had a long sleeve shirt, fleece sweatshirt, and a black shell on top of that. Black was supposedly the heat-absorbent color that takes in all sunlight and warms up. But this seemed to make no difference in this climate. All she could think about was how cold her feet and hands were. Her toes started to sting with the harsh chomp of the cold, and her fingers felt numb. The chill nipped at her nose as she entered the freezing embrace of such an icy mountain.

Caim and Deimos both stared at the Ultra Ball for a moment, watching the sphere rock back and forth as the Sneasel seemed to be trying to break out from within. Soon enough however, the rocking back and forth ceased... the Sneasel had been captured successfully... it the first new member of the team, a thought that was both reassuring, but also somewhat... worrying, without thinking about the Sneasel's feeling, they just captured it, likely leading to it being taken away from this place, potentially away from family... they had to talk.

In silence, Caim sent out his newly Acquired Sneasel, who took a moment to become accustomed to her surroundings... to begin with she wasn't sure what was going on, but as soon as she looked back at Caim and Deimos, she understood. Her focus turned to Deimos, letting off a cry asking if Caim was really trustworthy... or if he was actually a horrible trainer who didn't care. Deimos actually spoke this time in order to respond, he explained what he and Caim had been through together, he explained that Caim was truly concerned and couldn't look away while she was trapped, all within a few simple cries.

The Sneasel found herself listening quietly to the Absol, when Deimos had finished she finally nodded and let out another cry, in order to thank Deimos for the explanation. Now, she turned her attention towards Caim, however she didn't speak, she wanted to see how he'd react to her.

Caim looked towards the Sneasel and kneeled down, in order to get on eye level with the Pokémon, he had a piece to say, and he was for certain going to say it. "Look... I'm sorry we didn't consult you about capturing you earlier... I just couldn't leave you trapped like that, and I just acted in the way I felt was right... if you want to leave, to return to your life before all of this, I honestly understand and I won't stop you... but, if you want to stay we'd be happy to have you with us... all I ask is for an answer. To wither you want to stay or not Caim spoke to the Sneasel, being completely honest, he hadn't consulted the Pokémon at all about being captured, and it could have had a life here, it wouldn't be right to just take it away from that if it wanted to stay.

The Sneasel's response was simple, she merely walked to Deimos, She crossed her arms and nodded, from he he'd spoken, she could tell his words were genuine and had come from the heart, he seemed to be a good trainer, and for the moment, she trusted him... she wanted to stay with them.

Valka felt absolutely miserable. She wanted to run to a cave or shelter, but at the same time, she was too cold to move. The temperatures sucked the energy right out of her. She just wanted to lie down and sleep... Sleep forever, even.

She ran for some sort of shelter, attempting to get out of the windy terrain, which whipped sharp snow in her face.
"I sure wish I had some fire dragons to protect me from the cold..."

Valka wouldn't even bother to catch a Pokemon that wasn't of the egg group. Dragons were her love and life. She grew up being fascinated by them, loving them, in a town where they were looked up upon as epic. She always knew she wanted such creatures to raise and train, and the day she was given a chance to do so was.... Inexplicable. Her current goal was to seek and capture dragons... which she obviously wouldn't be able to do here.

Caim, understanding the meaning of the Sneasels actions, found himself smiling at the Pokemon. Both Caim and Deimos were happy to have a new member on the team, especially one of the same type, but that happiness was short lived. Caim felt the wind, and thus the cold, pick up. Although he'd been trying his best. To ignore it, he began to shiver somewhat, the cold was finally getting to him.

"I know the two of you are fine in this cold... But would it be okay if we head to some shelter for a while? I think the colds finally caught up with me" Caim asked his Pokemon, merely to receive two nods from his Pokemon. Taking a moment to look around, Caim caught site of a sheltered area, and headed towards it... He wasn't aware that a familiar face was there as well.

As Val would breathe in, her lungs would tremble uncontrollably. Already, she was shaking inside and out, even though it didn't shake off the cold. Why bodies reacted that way, she didn't understand. At least its reactions to heat made sense. Sweat absorbed heat and cooled down the body, but it seemed as if trembling had no purpose at all.

The freezing temperatures was beginning to shut down her senses, but she snapped out of the coma-like spacing out as she heard footsteps approaching.
What kind of crazy person could possibly be here?
She wondered, curling her knees up to her face and rubbing her hands on her jeans to keep them somewhat warm.

Caim, Deimos and the Sneasel kept heading towards the sheltered area, they were completely oblivious as to there being another individual present there. At this point Caim felt as if he was right about the cold having started to get to him, however he tried not to show it, not wanting to worry Deimos and their new Friend.

The Sneasel found herself trying to converse with Deimos, wanting to learn more about her new companions, all she received was a small nod from Deimos, not exactly answering her questions what so ever.

Valka's outer coat, although black, was so covered with the blowing snow she practically blended in, looking like a dark icy rock. Even her shaking might appear as an illusion to any passerby, as the snow blew and could make it look like anything was moving. The icy, ever-moving wall of blowing crystallized water made it nearly impossible to see anything before her.

Val stretched out her legs and her arms out. If she stayed still for too long, she could even freeze herself. Just as she would never want that to happen to herself, she would never wish that upon another soul. Spry sat warm but slightly uncomfortable in his pokeball, sheltered better than his trainer. She only just half-heartedly noticed a figure approaching.

As they kept walking, Caim could feel the cold start to catch up to him even more... He hadn't exactly made much trouble with it to start out, but he could definitely feel the effects now. Slowing to a stop just outside the shelter, Caim looked towards his Sneasel companion. "So... Is this area always like this?" Caim asked the Sneasel, who was met with a nod and a cry to say yes.

Caim smiled at the Pokemon's response to show his appreciation, before turning to the shelter again. "Ok, thank you for answering that... Now let's get inside, I'm not exactly as resistant to the cold as you two" Caim spoke, before turning back and heading inside.

Valka randomly flinched back as a person walked in. She knew someone was coming, but it still surprised her. Her mind felt like it was shut off, u working, and stubborn at that. Things just stopped making sense. A large white and black dog-like monster pokemon came in after the figure, and so did a tiny cat-person. Val still could not function, and didn't know whether to hug it and try to keep warm. Or to be afraid. Her eyes were half-shut, her eyelids almost frozen shut.

It was as if this ever-winter was an animal, looking for kills and prey, swallowing up the mountains in its icy embrace. It slashed at people and pokemon, biting their faces and hands, leaving behind the icy teeth marks that caused them to swell and become sore. This monster seemed to have smited Val across the head, causing some weird kind of amnesia and illusions, or misinterpreting reality. That's why she reacted so awkwardly.

As Caim walked inside, it didn't exactly take long for him to notice the half frozen individual who seemed to have been using the shelter prior to his arrival. Thanks to her flinching he knew she was still conscious... Although it was quite clear that the cold had taken quite the effect over her. Deimos and the Sneasel walked in after Caim, with Deimos being more focused on his trainer, and the Sneasel more curious about what he was going to do.

What was he going to do... He couldn't just leave her like this, but, was this all purely due to the cold? Caim was worried that she'd been attacked by a Pokemon as well... And if she wasn't, how long has she been up here. Eventually making up his mind, Caim sat down next to the girl and gathered his courage. "Are you going to be okay? You... You don't look all that great... Right now anyway" Caim spoke, hoping that he'd at least get somewhat of a response from her.

She continued to shiver and looked shakily and slow towards him.
"H-h-hi. I jjjust don't liike the c-cold. I th–ink I'll be.—fine."
She turned her head creakily back to its normal position, her eyes tiredly closing, wishing to drift into a sleep where feeling cold was blocked out. No wonder some pokemon hibernated in the winter. They got to be all fat and warm while most others freezes their tails off.

She wished strongly for warmth. Even if it was just imaginary.
This was a bad idea....

Caim quietly watched and listened as she responded... It was quite clear the cold was having a vicious effect on her, far worse than it had effected Caim. Caim felt as if he couldn't just leave her half frozen like this, so he began to think about what he could do. After a few moments he glanced towards the Sneasel. "Are there any area's at this mountain which would be warmer? You know the area best so if there was anywhere, you'd be the one that would be most likely to know Caim spoke to his Sneasel.

Valka continued to shiver and looked to the smaller figure, which she finally realized was a Sneasel. A dark and ice type. It must live on this mountain, and therefore know it's way around. This mountain was huge though, so what if it didn't know the entire place, and therefore no warm spots? What if there weren't any anyway?

Val somewhat understood the shaping of the earth, and how, for some reason, hot springs gathered in cold places. Then again, those springs might only be cold water, but SO warm compared to the air temperature. Ever stay out in the freezing cold for so long that when you run cold water on your hands, it feels scalding?
"Hopefully ther–s a hot spring..."
Even just the thought of heat started to make her feel better.

When the girl mentioned a hot spring, Caim began to try and mentally picture what location one of those could be placed in... It made sense technically, Geothermal spots do have a habit of being in mountains, and a common utilisation of such things was for energy or hot springs.

The Sneasel nodded at the mention of a hot spring, it knew of a place which somewhat matched that description, it wasn't the largest of hot springs, but it'd likely do. "Could you please lead us there? She really seems as if some actual warmth would do her good... More so that freezing would" Caim spoke to his Sneasel. Her response was simple, she smiled as well as she could, let off an affirmative cry and then turned to lead the way.

Valka got up, ready to follow the two to wherever it would be leading her. Who knew how far it could be from this particular place. Maybe even all the way on the other side of the mountain. If she could make it, no matter how far, it would be worth it. Even if they were simply "steam geysers", that would do, as long as it provided some source of heat.

She got up and stumbled out, tensely walking past and turning around to indicate she was ready to head out. She wished she had some sort of blanket to pull over her coat.... Even though that wouldn't trap heat any more than her coat already did, it tended to make her feel warmer for some reason. Just feeling more secure seemed to trick her mind out of feeling cold and uncomfortable. But it wasn't like a blanket would just be lying in the snow.

Caim now got up and moved over as well, being ready to get moving. Understanding what was occurring, Deimos also moved over, he didn't plan on being left behind what so ever. "Sneasel, could you please lead us there? I'd greatly appreciate it if you could" Caim said to his currently unnamed Sneasel... he really should deal with that at some point.

The Sneasel looked back and nodded, and then set off, heading out of the shelter and towards where the 'Hot spring' was located. At this, Caim had a sudden thought... the girl clearly had been struggling with the cold quite a bit... and Caim himself was managing to put up with it somewhat better than her... what could he do to help her put up with it while on the way? letting off a sigh, Caim took off his jacket and looked towards the girl. "Since you seem to have been struggling much more with the cold than I have... here, you'll probably end up making better use of it than me for the moment" Caim spoke. He'd already taken what belongings of his were in the jacket and put them elsewhere, so it's not like if she ran off with it afterwards she would have gained anything valuable anyway.

(Name your Sneasel Maria! /shot XDDDDD)

Valka saw the Sneasel lead the way happily, a tint of pride affecting her smile. Valka followed the small pokemon all the same, as this was her only chance at gaining back her "sanity". The cold made her brain feel like mush. You might think it would make it feel frozen, but it seemed to do the opposite.

Not paying very much attention as she was using too much on thinking of the cold, Val felt another coat overlapping her arms and back. If she were able to think, she would've said "No, no thanks, I'm fine. I can make it without." but her suddenly disabled function to do so kept her from saying anything, so she simply pulled the coat over her back and held it in her hands. The distance traveled, Val couldn't tell.

After she took the jacket, Caim merely nodded and then began to walk after the Sneasel, with Deimos walking alongside him as he did so. 'The Sneasel... I really should come up with an appropriate name for her... she seems nice enough to be honest... but what would also fit with the current name of my team members... perhaps Dusk would do, today would be the dawn of our journey, but with every dawn, there shall be a dusk... I'm probably over thinking all of this' Caim thought, trying to decide on a potential name for the Sneasel. Dusk seemed as if it would work, but he'd have to consult the Sneasel sooner rather than later regarding this.

The Sneasel merely kept on walking towards the destination with the 'hot spring' that the girl who Caim was helping was hoping for... Caim seemed nice enough at this point, the way he was acting made him seem trustworthy enough... but was it an act or was this what he was truly like? only time would tell.

Valka walked with a blank expression, as if no thoughts traveled through her head. She looked less miserable than before, but just plain tired. Not tired of walking, though, but that inexplicable other kind of tired. That of which you only receive when you just want to stop. Stop something, stop anything. Stop feeling cold. Stop getting into trouble. Stop going to the wrong places.

Their progress seemed to be bringing them nowhere. This snow-covered mountain seemed to be the size of the world, but everyplace looking almost exactly the same. Whenever they would pass a notable rock, another would be just ahead. The same towering wall was always beside them, some ups, and some downs in climbing. It was the lack in change and difference that begun to bore Val. That's why she was so tired-looking.

Where as Caim was just following while thinking about a name for her, Deimos was much more... Active, so to speak. He was near completely focused on trying to sense any changes within the earth or sky, wanting to know if a natural disaster would be coming or not... He wanted to make sure that they would be safe.

As for the Sneasel, she kept walking, not seeming bothered with how much everything looked the same... It was something she'd gotten used to, having lived up here for quite a while. Eventually, she could see her destination in the distance. She slowed down for a moment and pointed towards it, and then began to walk towards it. It seemed to be a natural formation, a cave to describe it best, the geothermal spot, this 'hot spring' must be inside, which probably would be better, it means one would be somewhat more sheltered than if it was out in the open.

Caim now felt the cold even worse, he was starting to struggle a bit with the cold, but he tried his best not to show it, not wanting to worry Deimos or the Sneasel. 'Maybe I should have kept my jacket instead of giving it to her.' Caim thought, although he decided to keep these thoughts to himself.