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In the Hearthome Pokémon Center, Dawn and her team of pokémon slept. After a dreary hike in from Solaceon Town through the slush and cold, the familiar warmth of the league's ubiquitous trainer accommodations was a welcome feeling. It was a well-deserved rest.
Twilight turned to dawn, and Prinplup stirred. He had scarcely managed to rub the sand from his eyes before the sight of the early morning Hearthome had him hopping from one flipper to the other, flapping his fins in excitement.
"Prr-prr-prrii!" he cried in happiness.
His excitement was enough to rouse the others, and soon the whole team was awaking from their slumbers. Luxio uncurled herself from her ball, arching her back in a satisfying stretch, then began putting her mane back into order. Golbat opened one eye, saw that nothing interesting was happening, and pretended to go back to sleep. Five blood-red pearls sitting on the nightstand suddenly floated up and Misdreavus shimmered into view. Girafarig woke up, but stayed lying down as there wasn't much room for him to move around. Roselia's flowers bloomed as he woke up, and he stood up to move to the window for some light.
"Ready for another day?" Dawn yawned, blinking her eyes furiously in the bright morning light. She yawned and sat up and stretched her arms up, then to the side as she slowly worked her way to full wakefulness.
The bed protested as Dawn turned and planted her feet on the floor, beckoning her to stay just a few minutes more. Dawn heard its siren song, standing up and stretching her legs in spite.
The light filling the room was bright and sunny, and Dawn was hopeful. She rushed to the window and gasped at the sight. The cause of Prinplup's excitement was perfectly obvious now.
Small white whisps of clouds as sly as a smirk were the only remnants of the thick clouds that had made yesterday so dark and dreadful. The roads, black asphalt and understandably empty of people yesterday, the large dome roof of Hearthome's main contest hall, and the entirety of Amity Square were painted a sparkly white that gleamed in the morning sun.
Hearthome, the kind and friendly city, had received a makeover.
"It snowed!" Dawn said to Prinplup. He had already seen, but was delighted that his trainer shared his enthusiasm.
Dawn was ecstatic. Fresh snow was fun for everyone! But fresh snow quickly turned into plowed roads and trails and slushy dirty snow, which was very much not fun.
But today! She would go out there and experience the fresh powder snow before everyone messed it up! It has been so long since she had been able to enjoy a good snow. And it had been so long since she saw her friends... she hoped to see them soon.
"Come on guys," Dawn rallied her team as she put her snow gear on, "we're going to have some fun today!"
The calls of the pokémon inhabiting the forest near the Berry Master's farm were faint and muted by the snow. The quiet crunching and shifting of snow and the soft sounds of snow pants swishing were Dawn's accompaniment as she ventured into the foothills of Sinnoh's central mountain range. The chill in the air felt was pleasant against her cheeks as she romped through the drifts near the treeline.
"Dawn?" A voice called to her. The snow masked the direction, and she looked around to see who it was. There, on the hill! A person was waving at her. Whoever it was, she couldn't tell from this far away.
"Hi!" she waved back to the stranger.
Dawn waded through the snow toward them. As she got close, the distinctive red flat cap and scarf gave away the stranger's identity. "Lucas!"
The sound of her snow pants rubbing against itself grew loud as she rushed over to her friend. "It's good to see you! What brings you here?" she asked and hugged her friend.
"It's good to see you too," Lucas strained out. Dawn had a strong grip! She backed off and he was able to breathe again.
"I'm going to Hearthome to deliver some papers to one of Professor Rowan's colleagues," Lucas said, pulling a thick padded envelope from his backpack and showing it to Dawn. "He didn't say what it was but it's apparently too important to send by mail. I'm supposed to meet the person at the Foreign Culture Building tonight."
Dawn sized up the package. "That's a thick stack of papers alright. I wonder what it says," she idly pondered.
"I'm not sure. The professor didn't say what was in it, just that I needed to deliver it at six o'clock," Lucas said while putting it back safely in his backpack.
Dawn was about to try and convince him to have a fun day in the snow with her, but a voice in the distance drew her attention.
"Now where are we!?" A voice called out, its volume attenuated by distance. There was only one person she knew who was that loud.
"Hey, lets go see what Barry's up to!" Dawn said, grabbing Lucas by the shoulder before he could use the delivery as an excuse to slink away. "I think he's over that way!" she said, pointing toward the iced-over stream that normally burbled down the mountain side.
Another few minutes of plowing new trails and Dawn's hunch was right. Barry, Grotle, and Buizel were all facing each other in a circle, looking at what Barry was drawing in the snow.
"-so we took a left here, at the river, and followed it up up up up up... to here," he pointed at his crude snow map with a stick, "and there should be a waterfall nearby, but I don't hear anything! They don't exactly sneak up on you, you know!"
Barry put his hands on his hips in frustration. "Some shortcut this turned out to be! I knew we should have bought a replacement map in Pastoria."
Dawn got a glint in her eye. This was the perfect opportunity. She tiptoed through the snow as quietly as possible, making shushing faces at Barry's pokemon so they wouldn't rat her out.
"Lose your map again?" Dawn shouted from right behind Barry, startling him and causing his stick to go flying. "I'll sell you one! Only four payments of ₽10000 and it could be yours!!"
"Dawn! Don't do that!" Barry whirled around to face her. "Look what you made me do!" He pointed in the direction of the stick. "That's a legendary held item, it's a 1/1 limited edition! If it broke..."
Barry trampled over to the fallen stick and cradled it gently. "Oh, thank goodness it's undamaged. I would have had to fine you several million poké! I only have it on loan you know!"
There was a pause, and Barry and Dawn started laughing. Lucas chuckled and rolled his eyes at the two of them.
"So where are we actually?" Barry asked once their laughter petered out.
"We're on Route 208," Lucas said.
"Oh, that explains it!" Barry snapped his fingers, as if someone had given him a hint to a crossword puzzle. "That means Hearthome City iiiisssss... that way!" He spun around and pointed the way they had come from. "Right?"
"Yes, that's the way to Hearthome," Dawn confirmed. "But before you go there, hear me out." She held out her hand to ward off Barry's wild charge.
"Yes...?" Barry asked, holding out a pinky finger against his chin.
"When was the last time the three of us were together? We've all bumped into each other before, but the last time we were all together was in Sandgem Town," Dawn said.
The two nodded in agreement.
"So we should take the day to just... have some fun!"
The protests started as expected.
"It sounds nice, but I have to get this package delivered," Lucas explained.
"I've lost enough time without training! I've got to beat Crasher Wake!" Barry rebutted.
Dawn was undeterred. "You said the delivery was tonight," she pointed at Lucas, "and it doesn't look very close to tonight yet," she pointed at the midday sun. "And everyone, including you, know you're working too hard. Professor Rowan included! So give him some peace of mind and take a break with me."
"And you," she pointed to Barry, "say that every time. 'I've got to beat Maylene, I've got to beat Gardenia, I've got to beat Crake! Sorry Dawn I just got that badge!' You're going to wear yourself out before the end of the season and it will be me on the podium."
Dawn put her hands on her hips. "What we all need is a day to relax and not worry about everything."
The two boys eyed each other. Dawn wasn't going to back down.
"I've got the berries!" Dawn called out to her friends as she trudged back to the clearing they had found. After only a little arm twisting, they had all agreed on building a snowmon.
All their pokémon were having fun, too. They had all released their entire teams, and all the pokemon were hard at play with each other. Prinplup and Buizel were racing each other down the snowy hills, then racing back up to do it again. Girafarig and Clefairy were dancing on the ice covering the stream, getting each other dizzy as they spun around each other. Misdreavus and Kadabra had stacked several snowballs of increasing size in a column, and were now discussing the next step to move the stack from one spot to another. Golbat and Staravia were flitting through the trees taking turns playing an airborn game of tag. Monferno was juggling fireballs, with Luxio trying to bat them out of the air.
Some pokemon weren't enjoying the cold much, but thankfully Ponyta was there to keep those pokemon warm. Heracross, Grotle, and Roselia were basking in the gentle glow of Ponyta's flames.
While she was away talking with the Berry Master, her friends had been busy building the body of the snowmon. The basic body was now complete, and Lucas was adding on the legs and arms while Barry sculpted the ears. They were building a big, chubby pikachu, and Dawn had the berries to make it complete. The Berry Master had given her five berries: three black ones for the eyes and nose, and two big red ones for the cheeks. She pulled them out and squished each one into place.
It was so nice being able to enjoy the time with her friends. With her and Barry on the gym circuit and Lucas working for the professor, they were all just too busy to hang out together.
Dawn was thrilled. This was really what they all needed.
Unbeknownst to the three friends and their pokemon, they weren't the only ones in the clearing that day.
Prinplup stopped a moment and observed the shaking tree on top of the hill he was sliding down. Whatever was inside the tree's golden crown was a fiesty thing.
"Prrrri prinplup..." he called out to the tree. His friend Buizel paused to watch the tree shake too.
In a burst of leaves, a head popped out of the leaves. A covering of dark green fur, two pointy ears, and a tan face looked down at the two water pokémon.
"Munch munchlax?" the tree pokémon asked the two water types.
"Bui bui?" Buizel retorted and waved him away.
"Muuuunch..." he whined pointing at them, "mu munch lax munch!"
"Prrri pri lup," Prinplup stated, crossing his fins.
This didn't suit Munchlax at all. He knew those two had food, he could smell it. He would just have to be more convincing.
"Munch lax munchlax munch," he explained, and let go of the branch he was holding onto. This would have gone better if he wasn't hanging from the limb, but he forgot about that in the moment. "Muuun-!" he yelled, cut short by a paff at the bottom of the tree.
With his big head and short arms and legs, he was stuck in the snow quite well, and waving them around wasn't doing much.
"Za bui za," Buizel remarked. Prinplup shook his head in amusement.
Uncoordinated flailing was not doing much to help him, so Munchlax tried coordinated flailing. Swinging his arms and legs together he finally got somewhere. With a soft pop, he was free of the snow, and he celebrated this by stumbling backwards and tumbling again.
Gravity took over, and Munchlax was no longer tumbling, but rolling down the hill. Snow stuck to fur and snow stuck to snow, and Munchlax evolved into a snow-lax.
Prinplup and Buizel called out in alarm to the others at the base of the hill. There was a munchalanche!
The crunching of snow and the shouting of his teammates drew Heracross's attention, and he looked up to a horrifying sight. A wild pokemon was stuck in a giant snowball that was rolling downhill straight towards the snowmon that his trainer and friends were building, and it was picking up speed! With a flash of gossamer wings, Heracross stationed himself in its path.
"Oh no! Look out!" someone said, and Lucas, Dawn, and Barry all dove for cover.
The runaway snowball bore down on Heracross, but he had no fear. Head down, body mass low. He would flip that runaway snowball right over! "Herrraa...!" he shouted in anticipation.
Closer and closer the snowball came.
His horn had flipped many boulders in training and had defeated many pokémon in battle. His timing would be impeccable.
The snowball was nearly there.
"Heracross, stop that thing!" Barry shouted.
Now!
"...cross!" Heracross grunted. His horn was in the perfect spot right under the snowball, and he heaved hard.
A cloud of powdery snow exploded in every direction as his horn sailed right through it, striking the pokémon inside and sending Munchlax flying though the air.
The hungry pokémon had only a moment to register he was now soaring through the air, just barely clear of the snowmon he had almost decimated before his trajectory took him straight into the side of a sturdy tree trunk. Everyone winced at the loud thud except Barry, who was used to doing that sort of thing
"A munchlax!? Great job Heracross!" Barry said while reaching for his satchel. It was missing from its normal place on his shoulder and was leaning against a tree near Ponyta and Grotle.
"I call dibs! I've been looking for a munchlax for ages!" Barry shouted to his friends while he sprinted over to get a pokéball. "Heracross, keep him busy!"
Munchlax didn't need Heracross to keep him busy, because he already found something way better than a battle. At the base of the tree he crashed into, there was a white backpack with some very good smells coming from it. A bit of scratching and the fabric parted, giving him free reign to the goodies inside.
Lucas was horrified. "No! The package! Kadabra, help!"
In the blink of an eye, Kadabra's teleport had him in position to confront Munchlax. Unfortunately, Heracross came in fast with a horn attack, knocking Kadabra down by accident. Munchlax, seeing that his welcome was well and truly overstayed, booked it out of there. With the package in hand.
"Prinplup, corral him!" Dawn barked. The penguin pokémon lunged across the snow to intercept Munchlax, but was not fast enough to tackle the thief.
Heracross and Kadabra meanwhile had recovered from their unexpected collision, and were on the move again. Kadabra winked in just in front of Munchlax while Heracross blitzed in to cover a retreat. Munchlax was slipperier than anticipated, and Kadabra's grab for the package was met with empty air as it juked to the side.
By now the rest of the trio's pokémon were converging in and surrounding the thief.
Buizel was the first to get a hit, with an aqua jet that knocked Munchlax over, separating him from his ill-gotten prize. A pokéball sailed in, popping open and sucking the wild pokémon in.
Barry held his breath in anticipation.
One shake.
He'd spent a lot of money in Floaroma Town buying up honey. He'd found Heracross relatively early in his munchlax hunt, but even after months of diligently applying honey and checking back every day, he had no munchlax.
Two shakes.
Snorlax would be a crucial part of getting him to the top in the league. A pokémon who can take a hit and also deal massive damage was critical if he was going to go far in his career.
Three shakes.
It was now or never! He had to catch this pokémon! He would never get another chance!
Click
The capture was complete.
"I caught a munchlax!!" Barry exclaimed, jumping and whooping for joy. "Great job Buizel!" he ran over and high-fived his speedy weasel. "Good job Heracross, and you too Kadabra and Prinplup!"
Lucas and Dawn also approached, but for a different reason. The package which Lucas had been trusted to deliver was lying in the snow. The padded envelope had been torn in places, and there were now several creases in the shape.
Dawn was crestfallen as Lucas turned it over in his hands, inspecting every side. Lucas himself looked close to tears.
All she wanted to do was have some fun with her friends and enjoy the fresh snow while it lasted. Instead, Lucas's package was now bent, battered, and busted. Barry's celebrations felt insensitive and tone-deaf in the face of what happened.
"How am I going to explain this to Professor Rowan?" Lucas asked quietly. "I-" his breath hitched.
Barry whirled around suddenly, as if someone said that coins were half-off at the game corner. Instead of glee, his face had a serious countenance. "Most people are understanding. If you explain to them plainly what happened, most people will work with you to make things right. That's what my dad says," Barry said calmly. That the advice came from Palmer, the Tower Tycoon, one of the most formidable trainers and not someone who was taken lightly, was forgotten by the trio. Despite that, the lecture worked, and Lucas held it together. "Here's what we do," Barry put his hand on Lucas's shoulder. "The two of us will go with you, and we can make sure that whoever you give this to understands it wasn't your fault. And if they don't understand, well," Barry smirked, "I hope they have experience with tag battles."
The sliver of a smile graced Lucas's face at his friend's words. He took a deep breath. Maybe things would be OK.
Everyone was quiet for a minute as Lucas collected himself.
Dawn glanced at the sky. Dark, snow-laden clouds had slowly accumulated over the day, and behind them the first shy drops of orange sky peeked out, heralding the sun's evening departure. She checked her pokétch. It was best if they left soon.
"Let's take a picture of our snowmon and wrap things up," Dawn suggested, gently nudging Lucas back toward the central clearing where all their stuff was. "Everyone gather around it, I'm getting my camera," she said. From her bag she pulled a small digital camera and turned it on. With a whirr and a beep, the lens automatically extended and the screen turned on.
"Ok, everyone bunch in close!" She waved in the pokémon on the edges. It was a tight fit, but everyone got in frame. "When I click the shutter we'll have 10 seconds. Kadabra, would you hold the camera?"
"Ka," he nodded in agreement, and Dawn felt the camera still in her hands. She pushed the button, and the countdown began.
"Ok, ten seconds! Everybody smile!"
Dawn ran over to join her friends, and grinned as wide as she could.
Cherrrrak! The camera made a fake shutter sound, and the moment was captured forever.
Her camera floated over to her, and she smiled.
Barry and Dawn had pooled their money together and got Lucas's bag all stitched up at the camping store, and there was only one thing left to do. The three friends walked side-by-side down the illuminated streets of Hearthome City as they made their way to the Foreign Culture Building. The street lights almost felt unnecessary with all the light reflecting off the thick cloud layer above, making the whole city as bright as dusk. As Dawn had foreseen, the trampling of so many pairs of shoes had squished the fun out of the snow, but there were patches here and there which were left untouched.
Lucas checked his pokétch, but he didn't need to. They were on time for the delivery.
The tall towers loomed above Lucas like great tusks of a hungry beast, and the blood-red doors seemed an omen of doom. He gulped.
He looked to either side. Neither of his friends seemed perturbed like he was. Rowan's words echoed in his mind, and gave him strength.
"Lucas, you may face challenges of great size. You have a tenacity to see these challenges through. I see that in you, and that is a valuable trait."
He set his jaw and stepped forward with them.
Inside the foyer, Lucas could feel a heaviness in the air. The slight musty smell of old books and the quiet stillness in the air created a contemplative, almost reverent mindset.
The mood was broken when Dawn exclaimed, nearly shouting, "Professor Carolina! I didn't expect to see you here!"
An old woman in a fuchsia dress and pearl necklace was standing a corner, who Dawn apparently recognized.
Lucas gulped. This was the person he was meant to deliver the package to.
"Good evening Dawn," Carolina said, "what an unexpected surprise. Are you faring well? Have you earned the Relic Badge yet?"
"Yes! And also not yet, my battle is scheduled for next week. Let me introduce my friends, Barry and Lucas," she gestured to each of them in turn. "We were enjoying the fresh snow today, but we had to come back early because Lucas has to meet someone here."
"What a coincidence, then. I am here to meet Lucas and receive a package," she said, and looked at him expectantly.
"Hello," he waved lamely at her, "Professor Rowan had me take this to you, but it got a little, um, damaged..." he said nervously and took the package out of his repaired backpack.
Carolina frowned and took the package and Lucas's heart sank. "I see..." she trailed off as she looked over its crooked shape.
"Professor Rowan didn't say what was in the package... is it important?" Lucas dared to ask. "Will your research be affected?"
"Oh yes, it's the most important thing someone could ask for," Carolina said, and Lucas's heart sank. "We're too far away to meet often, with him tied to the ranch in Sandgem and myself cooped up in the Celestic archives, but we both manage to send each other something every year."
Rowan would be so mad at him. Whatever lab sample or data this was, he'd have to get another one, and Professor Carolina's research would be delayed, and-
"Every year, Rowan sends me a package, and every time, something happens to it. It's like a curse!" Carolina laughed as she tore open the envelope, revealing a box inside. "I had hoped that meeting at the church would ward away such bad luck, but it seems it was not meant to be."
Carolina picked up a note that was in the top of the box, and started reading. "Dear, Carolina, I send this note... hmm hmmm hmm... ah!" she skimmed over the letter. "Postscript: to Lucas, I heard that your friends Dawn and Barry were in the Hearthome area. If you haven't met with them yet, you should find them and catch up. I'm sure they will enjoy the cookies as well. Take your time returning to the lab, I don't have anything scheduled for you for the next few days."
Cookies?
"Would you like yours?" Carolina asked him, proffering one out towards him.
Professor Rowan had sent cookies?
In Carolina's hand was a light tan sugar cookie, with orange cinnamon sprinkled on one half of the circular cookie. With one side tan and one side orange, it looked like pokéball.
Lucas wordlessly accepted the cookie.
"He is quite skilled at baking, did you know that?" Carolina said as she handed a cookie each to his two friends. Lucas did not know that. "I told him he could make bread if he opened a bakery, but he didn't listen."
Barry groaned loudly at the horrible pun, while Dawn snickered and Carolina smiled. Lucas let out a chuckle in spite of himself. His chuckle grew into a laugh, and his laugh grew into a guffaw. The joke was barely funny, but he couldn't stop laughing at it. Opening a bakery to make bread. His laughing was so contagious that Dawn and Barry and even Carolina joined in too. Tears were streaming down their eyes they were laughing so much. The four of them laughed so hard that an usher came out and asked them to stop laughing.
That broke the spell, and they were finally able to calm down.
"I needed that," Lucas admitted.
Finally ready, he took a bite of his cookie. Even though it was cold, and took two days to get here, it was a really good cookie. Having a cookie in the Foreign Culture Building, after thinking he had failed utterly at delivering the package Professor Rowan had given him... memories like that last a lifetime. "Thanks for inviting me to join you today, Dawn. It was rough... but I did enjoy it."
"Yes! I would have been searching forever for Munchlax if you hadn't been there!" Barry added.
Dawn beamed. She wouldn't trade her friends for the world.