Pokemon: An Icy Path

I awake in the morning feeling rather short of breath like something is restricting my airflow. I open my eyes to find that I am in total darkness, which is odd as I can see in the dark. A moment later I feel a gentle tickling on my face and realize it is floof attempting to remove me from my mortal coil. I reach up gently and grab the makeshift nightmask and remove it, only to find it attached to an Eevee that begins to stir beside my head.

"Vee?" A sleepy Pokemon voice calls from beside me.

"Good morning to you too." I respond quietly as I softly pet the fluffy Pokemon who lets out a small noise of contentment. On my other side, my girlfriend buries her face into my neck, her lips feather against my skin causing a delightful shiver down my spine. I gently wrap my other arm around her back and give her a gentle hug, just enjoying the feel of her against me.

I'm not sure how long our cuddling continues. I really didn't bother keeping track, but eventually, Flannery lifted her head while blinking away sleep in an adorable way. I softly smile at her and give her a small kiss on her nose.

"Morning babe."

"M-mooornin'" She yawns out.

"Ready to start training?"

"No." She buries her face in my chest causing me to giggle.

"Too bad. Come on, let's go take a shower." With a pitiful whine, Flannery pulls herself away from me, slips off the bed, and disappears into the bathroom. With a small smile of my own, I follow her into the shower, I mean we shouldn't waste any water, should we?

*~*~*

Needless to say, we wasted a ton of water. It is nearly two hours later before I found myself standing on a sandy cove about fifteen minutes away from the city. With how packed the city is, every training area and arena are filled and even the immediate area outside of the city is filled with trainers. 

Taking a look around, I find that there is no one that can see me currently and I change my crop top and shorts into a thin white microkini. If I'm going to be on a beach, I'm going to enjoy it. Once I am set, I release all of my Pokemon, except for Beldum, in front of me. Skadi lets out a cheerful bark as she sees me and comes over to me brushes against my leg. 

"Alright ladies," *Ting* "and gentleman, I think it is time for you all to meet our newest team member."

"Pix?""Vee?" My two fluffiest companions tilt their heads adorably.

"No you didn't miss me catching them," I say as I reach into my bag and pull out a jet-black and gold pokeball. The sight of the Luxury Ball still gives me a small headache as I still don't know how to explain having something like this. I let out a sigh, tap the release, and let the Pokemon out on the other side of my party.

The red light dims as a long silver-white metal body appears with three golden claws on one end. The other end is a ball-like head with a glowing red eye in the center of it. The Pokemon does not make any noise as it floats idly before my team and I.

"Hi, Beldum. I am sorry for not letting you out sooner, but the manner in which you appeared was difficult to explain…" I try to explain to the Pokemon. The only response I get is a lack of response at all. "Um, well… We were about to start training for the next gym. Would you like to train with us?"

Beldum just continues to stare at me silently. The awkward silence continues on for what feels like forever when Skadi lets out a little huff, gets up, hops into my arms, and glares at the Pokemon. Skadi's action seems to break the tension as the rest of my Pokemon turn away from Beldum as well and back to me.

"Ah, um, yeah. So I guess you can do your own thing for now." I try once more, only to get no reaction. I sigh quietly and slump my shoulders a little before turning back to my team. 

"Alright!" I say putting a little more life into my voice, "We have two weeks to train to beat Surge! From what I know, he is known for his lightning-fast attacks. This means we are going to be learning how to dodge. Aurora, I want you to work with Zephyr to try and learn Quick Attack. Skadi, I want you and Lono to spar. Lono, see if you can learn Icy Wind from Skadi, we need to reduce the speed of his team as much as we can!"

With cheerful cries, all of my Pokemon, except for Beldum who continues to stare at me, head off to start their training. As for myself, I pull out my phone and lounge back into the sand to start researching the upcoming battle and training ideas.

*~*~*

-??? POV-

I arrived in Vermillion City after a nearly month-long trip on a cruise ship. I had heard stories about what happens out at sea, but my flight from home was thankfully uneventful. I spent most of the day looking around the city and trying to find some place where I could stay. I could try for a Pokemon Center, but I am not registered for the local league. The thought of the registration requirement—having at least one Pokémon—sank my mood, and I fought back tears.

Two months ago, it would not be an issue. Yet now I can't even meet the most basic requirement. All thanks to him. He tore away the last reminder I had of my parents in his greed. My loving parents, with their successful careers as actors in Unova, suddenly died in an accident on set. At least, that's what I was told. On the day of the will reading, I discovered that my parents had arranged for my care if they were gone. I was to inherit everything on my eighteenth birthday. I was lucky to have only six months left—until everything changed.

As the last living relative, my dad's brother took me in, and at first, it was fine. But a little over a month ago, I started noticing that something was off with my uncle. Sometimes he'd enter the room and just stare at me for minutes before muttering to himself. Other times, he'd wander around with a knife in hand, his eyes empty when I tried to speak.

I couldn't shake the fear. I made sure he was asleep before I went to bed, always locking my bedroom door. My only comfort was my pet Eevee—a birthday gift from my parents. Eevee stayed by my side constantly, calming my nerves. I even slept with her in my arms every night.

And then… and then the second worst night of my life happened. It was the middle of the night when Eevee stirred in my arms and woke me up. At first, I thought that I held her too tight, but her growl told me a different story. In my doorway, with my door halfway open, stood my uncle. At first I didn't think anything about it, but then I remembered I locked my door and froze. My door creaked open further until I saw my uncle holding a knife in one hand as he stepped into my room.

What happened next is still a blur. My uncle suddenly rushed towards me and in response Eevee tackled him. The tackle caught my uncle by surprise as Eevee rebounded off him and grabbed my pant leg, urging me to move. It wasn't until I saw the look in my uncle's eyes as he started to get up from the ground that I realized what was going on. He wants to kill me. Once that thought registered in my mind, I bolted out the door with Eevee right behind me. 

A moment later there is a loud crash as the door bursts open. I look back and see my uncle with a feral snarl on his face as he rushes at me with the knife raised. Eevee, my quick-thinking friend, gets between the portly man and me before going for another tackle. This time, my uncle was not caught off guard and swiped with his knife which sent Eevee flying with a pained yelp and a shower of crimson. I screamed out for Eevee but as my uncle turned back towards me I made the choice to run.

 Thankfully I was much more athletic than the fat bastard and I quickly escaped. I ran until the house was out of sight and I couldn't see anyone following me. With gasping breaths, I look for a place to hide and disappear into the dark treeline beside me. When I finally paused to catch my breath, I reached out instinctively for Eevee—and my hand met empty air. I grimace slightly at my action, I hope she is okay…

I found a spot under a bush to finally rest and curled up into a ball trying to slow my breathing, unknowing if I will need to run again. Some time later, I heard the leaves rustling and the sound of something being dragged across the ground which caused me to freeze up and suppress my breathing to stay quiet. It isn't until I hear a weak sounding cry from Eevee that I finally risk taking a look.

My faithful friend and defender crawls on weak legs towards my hiding spot. As she moves into a small beam of light from the moon my throat clenches at her state. Her body is covered in deep cuts and her once beautiful ful is matted with her blood. Her tail lays limp on the ground with some of it missing, and her back legs don't seem to work. I scamper out from the bush and crawl over to her, gently picking her up. 

She looks up at me and lets out a quiet cry of happiness at seeing me. The pain hidden in the cry breaks my heart. I hold her gently and whisper my thanks to her as softly pet her head. I try to think of where the nearest Pokecenter is that would be able to save her as I get on my feet and start heading toward the town as quickly as I can.

When I break out of the tree line and into the moonlight I finally realize just how bad her injuries are. Her entire body is covered in blood, taking her usual cream and white colored fur and turning it a sickening molted crimson. The sight draws a deep fear within me, I don't want to lose her too, she is the last thing connecting me to my parents. I take off running again, with an increasing feeling of dread as her movements start to slow and she lets out another quiet cry.

I make it into town a while later and run towards the Pokecenter. I frantically ask for the Joy to help and she quickly rushes Eevee to the back, but the sinking feeling in my stomach doesn't lessen. It had been a while since I last felt her move before I got here, and her body was unnaturally limp when I handed her to Nurse Joy. A few minutes later, she walks out with a sad look on her face and my world completely shatters.

In that heart-stopping moment, the loss hit me like a wave. I sat down on the cold ground, my body trembling and my mind reeling from the shock. The world seems to lose all color as the silent night pressed in, the absence of my constant comfort leaving a void I knew would haunt me for a long time.

The next week was a blur of activity. I had an interview with Officer Jenny about what happened and about my uncle, who fled and is currently missing. After I was escorted home, I packed some of my belongings and mementos from my parents before heading to the port. I didn't feel safe in this region without my family and with my crazy uncle on the loose. Officer Jenny escorted me to the cruise ship headed for another region, I didn't care where, and sent me off with a promise that they would catch my uncle.

I spent the next few weeks sitting in my room and staring at the wall. What point is there for me to leave my room, I don't know anyone here and everyone I loved is dead. I likely would have tried to starve myself, but despite not being hungry, I felt something urging me to eat. It must be my body telling me to live, even if my heart isn't in it. Once the ship arrived in port, I got off and headed into the unknown city. I needed a place to sleep but I couldn't afford a hotel for long.

My search brought me to a Pokemon Center much larger than any I have ever seen, standing at nearly forty meters tall. I slipped into the center and got a room with no issue before heading up and falling asleep without even looking around. After a few more… days? I'm not sure as I don't have a window… of not doing anything, I felt a familiar nudge to get out of my room. Without a destination in mind, I head towards the elevator and weakly press the button. A few moments later the elevator arrives and I step in only to find that I am not alone. 

In the elevator are two girls about my age, one with hair the color of flames, the other that looks like she is made from freshly fallen snow. That isn't what catches my attention though, it's what they are doing. I have only seen something like this on the black and orange website. The snow girl is nearly naked with her tits completely exposed and her shorts nearly falling off her hips. The flame girl gives me a wink as one of her hands plays with one of the snow girl's breasts and the other disappears into her shorts, the movement I can see shows exactly what those fingers are doing.

I can only stare at them as the flame girl continues to tease snow girl until the elevator stops again. The flame girl says something I can't hear but the snow girl nods and walks out of the elevator with a sexy sway to her hips. She suddenly stops and turns to me for a moment before taking off her bikini top and tossing it at me. On reflex, I grab as she saunters off down the hall. The flame girl stands in the door for a moment as if considering something before she grabs the tight shirt she is wearing and takes it off in front of me, letting her tits out as well. She also tosses me her shirt only for her to wink and walk away toward the snow girl. 

What. Just. Happened?