Chapter 1: Into the Cold
Nora Winters sat on the bed in her room at her family’s vacation home in Unova. Lying next to her at the foot of the bed was a small four-legged mammalian creature with long ears, brown fur, a long bushy tail, and a bushy collar of cream colored fur. This was Nora’s Pokemon, Eevee. Nora glanced out the window and saw that night had already come; the full moon lit the snow-covered ground as the cold wind blew against the house. She then glanced at her reflection in the mirror for what was probably the tenth time that night. She looked the same as she did five minutes ago. She still had long curly brown hair that went just past her shoulders, her eyes were still dark-blue, and she was still wearing a white dress.
Nora then looked away and sighed to herself. She was twenty-one years old and her father had essentially grounded her, and all because he didn’t like Nora’s boyfriend. Of course Nora’s father, Calvin Winters, always was a very controlling individual. And he had the means to control people since he ran a multinational company. And only three weeks ago Nora’s father used that power to tear her away from her boyfriend, Alex Blaze.
It had started out as a wonderful night. Nora had snuck out of her family condo in Goldenrod City in Johto to go out on a date with Alex. She had to sneak out, as her father never approved of her seeing Alex. The biggest reason was because Alex was an orphan with little to his name. Though that didn’t stop Nora and Alex from seeing each other. That night though, things went terribly wrong. As Nora and Alex were walking, four men in black suits showed up. Two of the knocked Alex out cold, while the other two dragged her into a black van and drove off.
Later Nora was brought to her father, who told her that he was putting an end to her relationship with Alex once and for all. After that, he shipped her off to the vacation home in the Unova Region with her Eevee and that seemed to be the end of it. Of course Nora wasn’t exactly a prisoner, the only person at the place keeping an eye on her was the groundskeeper, and he was gone half the time. But there was one thing keeping her caged though, and that was the harsh cold weather outside. Nora had always had an extreme aversion to the cold, and she would avoid going out into winter weather whenever possible. Nora sighed again and walked to the window, which caused Eevee to wake up from its nap and look at Nora.
“I don’t think I can stand it here anymore Eevee.” Nora said to the little Pokemon. “I can’t stop thinking about Alex. And I’m very worried about what my father has done to him…. I want to go out and find him.”
At that point Eevee sat up and looked at Nora with an expression that seemed to ask her if she was planning to do something.
“I hate the idea of going out into that cold wilderness.” Nora continued. “But I want to see Alex again…. I’m thinking of going out there to find him.”
Eevee’s big dark-brown eyes widened a bit when it heard what Nora was thinking of doing. The little Pokemon gave a short surprised noise that sounded like the first syllable of its name. It was as if Eeeve was asking Nora if she was serious about leaving.
“I know it seems crazy.” Nora said as she turned from the window to face Eevee. “This place is miles away from any town in this region, and I have no idea where Alex even is. But I have to go out and find him.”
Eevee then got up on all fours and gave Nora a very determined look that seemed to tell her that she should go for it.
“Oh, I knew you’d understand my little friend.” Nora said as she picked up Eevee and gave it a hug. She then glanced over at the clock. It read 9:00 PM, which meant that the groundskeeper was out and wouldn’t return for two more hours. “I suppose if we’re going to leave, it’s now or never.”
Nora then put Eevee back down on the bed and then grabbed the Pokeball she kept Eevee in some of the time. She then went over to the closet and quickly changed out of her dress and into a white sweater, dark-blue pants, and black socks. Nora then went out the door and headed down stairs. Eevee hopped off the bed and followed close behind. Downstairs, Nora began gathering things she thought she would need to traverse the icy wilderness outside, food water, and other necessities. Nora was not one who went out into the great outdoors often. Being born into a rich family and growing up in Goldenrod City did not prepare one for the great outdoors, but Nora didn’t really have any choice if she wanted to find Alex.
With her previsions gathered, Nora put on a light-blue coat, white fur-lined boots, a matching pair of gloves, a white snowcap, and a long white scarf. She then gathered up her bags and headed out the door with Eevee as quickly as she could. The snow outside was ankle-deep. Eevee seemed to have no problem getting around in it however. Though it was like a fish jumping in and out of the water. The cold wind cut through Nora like a knife, but she was determined to endure it. She focused on her plan, which was to get over the wilderness to any town she could find, and then take any transportation to Johto she could find and search for Alex.
After getting several feet away from the house, Nora glanced back over her shoulder. The house had grown small in the distance, though she could still see its lights in the distance. The wind had already erased Nora and Eevee’s track in the snow, which Nora quickly realized was a good thing. Nora and Eevee pressed on into the wilderness. The full moon lit the snow on the ground and in the trees, giving the land a sort of luminescence that Nora surprisingly found beautiful. It was as if the land itself had become a star.
At least half an hour since leaving the house, Nora and Eevee entered the forest. Only two steps in they encountered another Pokemon. It was a small black Pokemon with a round body. It had no head but it did have a face, which consisted of small round icy-blue eye and a wide inverted grin that gave one the impression that the creature was shivering. The creature had short stubby arms and legs without fingers or toes, and around its body it wore a yellow cloak with an orange rim that was wrapped in the shape of a cone. Nora was somewhat familiar with the Pokemon of the world and recognized the creature as a Snorunt.
Right away Snorunt attacked Nora and Eevee by spraying a stream of powder-blue snow at the two. Nora knew that she and Eevee had to battle the little Snorunt. She didn’t participate in many Pokemon battles, but she had taught Eevee a few moves in case she needed the little Pokemon to defend her if attacked out on the street.
“Eevee, hit Snorunt with Tackle!” Nora commanded.
Eevee charged at the little Ice Pokemon and rammed it into a nearby tree with incredible force. Snorunt soon got back to its feet though. And fired off another spray of snow powder from its mouth. The attack hit Eevee dead on, but the furry little mammal quickly recovered.
“Use Shadow Ball!” Nora commanded.
Eevee opened its mouth, and from it formed a ball of black and purple energy. It then fired the ball at Snorunt. The attack hit and knocked Snorunt against the tree. Suddenly an item fell out of one of the bags that Nora was carrying. It was a ball that was red on top and white on the bottom. Nora recognized the item as a Pokeball, but not the one she kept Eevee in. She picked it up and decided to use it. Nora through the ball at Snorunt, it hit Snorunt in the face and opened up, changing the Pokemon into red energy and sucking it in. The ball then fell to the ground, a red light on the button on the front of the device started flashing red. The Pokeball jiggled a few times as if Snorunt was trying to burst out. But soon the ball stopped moving. The red light on the front turned off and the ball made a noise that signaled that the capture was complete.
Nora picked up the ball containing what had become her new Pokemon. She was still trying to figure out where this spare Pokeball had come from. She put down one of the bags she was carrying and found that it was filled to the brim with Pokeballs. Many of them were black with a thick yellow stripe on the top half. Nora realized that in her haste to leave the house, she had accidentally grabbed the bag of Pokeballs that the groundskeeper kept around for some reason.
“Well, it looks like we might end up making a few new friends out here Eevee.” Nora said to her companion. “Let’s go set up camp.”
A few minutes later Nora found a small clearing in the forest to camp out in for the night. After she managed to start a fire, she unrolled her sleeping bag and took out a few provisions from her pack, some food for herself, and some for Eevee and her newest Pokemon.
“Time to say hello to our new friend.” Nora said to Eevee as she took out Snorunt’s Pokeball. “Go Snorunt!”
Nora threw the Pokeball, which opened up and let out a blast of white energy that materialized into Snorunt. The little Pokemon was still injured from its fight with Eevee, so Nora got out a bottle of Super Potion she brought with in case Eevee got hurt and sprayed some on Snorunt. Snorunt experienced a little discomfort from the spray, but quickly found that its injuries had healed.
“Sorry for being so rough on you back there, but you did start that fight.” Nora said to Snorunt as she prepared a bowl of food for it. “Here, you’re probably hungry.”
Snorunt gladly began eating the food that Nora had given it. Nora then prepared a bowl for Eevee and then prepared a small meal for herself. Within a few minutes the three had finished eating.
“I wonder what Alex is doing now?” Nora said to herself as she looked up at the star-filled night sky.
“Sno?” the little Snorunt said with a confused expression, getting Nora’s attention.
“Oh that’s right, you don’t know why I’m out here.” Nora said as she turned her attention to Snorunt. “I’m trying to get to my boyfriend Alex, we got separated by my father…. I hope he’s okay.”
Eevee gave Nora a smile and an encouraging noise, which cheered Nora up a little bit.
“You’re right Eevee, I’m sure Alex is doing just fine.” Nora said to her little friend. “Well, we should get some sleep so we can get back onto the road tomorrow.”
With that, Nora called back Eevee and Snorunt to their Pokeballs and lied down in her sleeping back. She looked up at the sky one last time before closing her eyes to try and get to sleep. The cold continued to cut into her, but she tried to put it out of her mind, and eventually sleep finally claimed her.
