The unforgiving blizzard blew across the tundra as the morning came. Not that it would be visible with how grey the sky was.

Slowly, the grizzled, thin figure crawled out from its poorly-dug burrow into the snowy field, heading out to the Regis Mountain to gather his meal for the day. He had grown sick of the taste those berries had, but there was nothing else to eat anymore.

The Glaceon walked calmly through the howling blizzard, not paying it any heed. After all, his fur was practically freeze-proof, and after all those years, he had memorized the path to the mountain. He knew it like the back of his paw by now.

That Glaceon had a name, but he couldn't remember what it was anymore. There was just no need for a name when there's no one left to call you by it, and twenty years without anyone calling you was enough to forget. He was just a Glaceon now, with no need for a name. But he still would have liked to remember it... It was something... Starting with an 'E'...

Edward?
Even?
Elys?
Elmer?

No... Evan. His name was Evan. And, for twenty years now, he had been alone and apart from everyone. He just couldn't explain what had happened: One morning he woke up and everyone was gone. There wasn't a trace left of anyone. The chief and his orders, Kija and his puns about other's sizes... That old Espeon Anima and his talk about being young... And... And that one female he liked more than anyone... Azul.

Azul, that radiant, beautiful friend of his that he adored... The one that had promised to be his forever... Azul, the angel of the snow that got him through his hardest moments... She was the one he missed the most. The one whom he remembered crying at night... Where was she? Why had everyone left him just like that? Was he not important? No. He was very important. After all, he had been chosen for a mission! And not just any mission... Ah, his mission... He wanted to carry out that task. To finally be someone... Where was everyone?

He had spent a whole year asking himself that question, but after that he decided to stop. What if he wondered it so much he'd go insane? He'd better stop thinking about it before the question caught on to him again...

In hopes of keeping himself sane in the solitude he was forced to, he had resorted to many things: At first, he tried to talk with himself, but stopped when he realized that was just being crazier than he needed to.

He tried exploring around the tundra and the mountains, but it only took him five years to learn the tundra's layout from top to bottom.

And in those twenty years that he had spent alone he had come to the verge of insanity, but he hung on to the thought that someday, he would meet her again...

"Azul..." He muttered, walking through the snow. "Where are you...?"

But why had fate been so cruel? Why was he so alone? And to think, if his tribe hadn't slain every other denizen of the tundra, he probably would have been able to find someone else... But it all backfired on his tribe. The problem was: He was the only one of his tribe. So it fell on him.

All those years alone had given him a lot of time to kill, so he had devoted himself to training and turning into a decent fighter. Surprisingly enough, Evan discovered all he needed was to push himself a little farther than usual when he worked out in order to grow strong. And he had grown strong. He was no longer small or weak. He had grown to be quite fit and powerful; so strong he could even shatter boulders with Iron Tail. But what was the use? There was no one to see him grow anymore, no one to appreciate him... Azul wasn't there to be protected by him...

"But why?"

As he kept walking he began to make out the shape of the mountain in the distance... The mountain that held the tree that had become his only source of food for twenty years: Regis Mountain.

He reached the base of the mountain and began climbing to the top, where the tunnel leading to the spring with the tree was. Climbing up the mountain was a hard thing to do, as it was steep and iced over. However, the ice was not a problem to him, and the steepness... Twenty years of practice make anyone a great alpinist. He slowly made his way to the top, thinking it would be a day just like any other: Going into the mountain, picking the berries, and heading back to his burrow. The task had become almost automatic to him. He no longer thought as he walked... His mind was vacant, wondering why he had been left alone... But there was something that day that left him stunned.

As he kept making his way to the top, he saw another figure on his path. He couldn't believe it... Another Pokémon? No, another living being! Excited at the sudden sight, he ran towards the silhouette to find himself looking at a Weavile further ahead. Feeling she was being watched, the Weavile turned around to see Evan, apparently as surprised as he was.

"Er..." Evan was struggling to remember the word he wanted to say. All that time of just talking in his mind had made him forget how to actually do so."He... Hello!" He managed to utter excitedly. "Hi! I... Er... I thought I was the only one left! Want some berries? I'm on my way to get them!"

"What?!" The Weavile answered angrily, looking at Evan with hate in her eyes. "So," She said as she got into a fighting stance. "You're the one that's been taking the food!" Her claws seemed threatening enough, but the tone she used left it clear she was no friend. "I'll show you what I do to thieves..."

"No, wait!" Evan ran excitedly at her. He just wanted to talk to her, to hug her... Not even that. To get a closer look at her! That was all he wanted! The Weavile, however, took this as a sign of aggression; and Evan's run to meet this new friend turned into a mad dash to escape her. "Please stop! I just want to talk!" He yelled at his pursuer as he ran to escape her. Lucky he was so fast!

"The words of a thief mean nothing to me!" The Weavile answered, not stopping.

The chase went on down the side of the mountain and into the snowy expanse of the tundra with the blizzard blowing. Evan was panicking; why was fate so cruel at him?! The one time he meets someone else, he ends up running to escape death! He just couldn't keep running away; the Weavile wouldn't listen to his words! And worst of all: All the time he spent working out and becoming stronger, he had forgotten to train for his speed. He was still fast, but he wasn't half as fast as he used to be anymore. Finally, he made a choice: No more running.

He stepped behind a rock and hid, waiting for the Weavile to pass him before jumping at her and knocking her into the snow. They started to roll, trapped in close combat with the Weavile clawing at his stomach while he bit on her neck, both of them ripping at each other's insides.

Finally, Evan jumped back and opened his blood-stained muzzle. A light blue energy began to form on his mouth before he shot a stream of the energy, freezing the Weavile over, then leapt at her and smashed the ice with Iron Tail. The Weavile fell, lifeless, on the ground.

Evan just looked at her and slowly shook his head, feeling the injuries her claws had left on him burn. The one other Pokémon left alive in the tundra... There was so much he was dying to tell her... So much that he wanted to know about her... He wanted to laugh with her, to cry with her... But they would never do that. Not now that he had killed her; killed her because of a stupid misunderstanding... He went back to the mountain to get the berries, thinking of how he had just killed his only chance at a friend. But this wasn't the end of the misery he would encounter. There was something else in store for him that day...

He slowly made his way back to the top of Regis Mountain, but stopped, petrified in awe at the sight that was now standing in front of him. Another Glaceon. He could barely make out the shape but he was sure it was another one! Who could it be, he wondered as he advanced towards the new one, not believing his luck. Two Pokémon in the same day! But he wasn't going to blow this. Not this time! Who could it be? Would it be the chief? Diamond? Lina? Nix? It couldn't be Kija, though. Too small. Could it even be... He jumped, huffing in surprise when he realized who it was:

That stocky body, the injured right ear...

"Azul!" He called happily, running towards her with tears of joy. He couldn't believe it. It was her! He had finally found her!

Azul slowly turned around to see Evan before asking. "Do I know you?"

"I-It's me Azul! Evan!" He said, not believing she couldn't recognize him. He had changed a little, but not so much he'd become unrecognizable! "Evan! You promised we'd be mates!"

"Right..." She uttered, looking at him. "Evan." Something was very different in her. Her expression had become the same serious and stern one the chief had, and her eyes, much like the chief, were dull and devoid of any glow. But that wasn't all; there was something else to her eyes. They were burning in hatred and rage. The way she looked at him wasn't the soft, loving one from when he had last seen her twenty years ago. It was full of hatred. But why?

"Azul..." He said as he walked up to her and nuzzled her cheek. "What's the matter-"

"-Get off me!" Azul barked angrily as she tackled Evan and knocked him away, sending him rolling down the mountain a little. "I hate you..."

"What?" Evan's breath left him when he heard those words. She hated him? But why? What had he done to her? "Azul... Why?"

"Why?!" Azul answered angrily. "Why?! You abandoned me, Evan!"

"What...?"

"After they came and wiped everyone out... I went back to the settlement looking for you... You weren't there... I waited for you, Evan! I waited for you! I spent years hoping to see you again... There was so much I wanted to do with you... I saved myself for you, Evan!" She said, crying. "Heat was unbearable... I only took everything because I knew you'd come back! But you didn't... I wanted to be yours, Evan! I wanted you to take me! I wanted to carry your child..." She looked down, sobbing. "But you never came... You left me to myself! Why?!"

Unbeknownst to Evan, Azul had been just as alone as he had been for the last twenty years. After she was forced to flee from that attack in the middle of the night, she came back looking for Evan. She loved him, and that love gave her hope. Hope that she would see him again. But in time, that hope turned to doubt. What if he never came back? Was she cursed to loneliness? Doubt became obsession... He just had to come back! He had to! There was no way he could be dead! And obsession...

Obsession turned to hate.

"I... I don't know, Azul! I must have fallen asleep during whatever it was that happened!"

"What?" Azul's eyes narrowed when she heard this. "You... You fell asleep?!" All those years of solitude, just because he had fallen asleep?! "You fell asleep..."

"Yeah! Please, I'm, sorry!"

"You're sorry..." Azul said vacantly. "You're sorry..." She took a step toward him, leaning forward in a stance that indicated she was preparing to pounce him. "Everyone's gone to the afterlife... If you're sorry... And you like to sleep so much that you cursed me to be alone... Why don't I put you down to sleep forever?!"

"Wha-No, Azul!" He jumped back just in time to avoid her attack. "Please! Don't do this! I missed you so much..." And once again, he found himself running away. But this time, it was from someone he never thought he'd be running away from. Why did she hate him so much all of a sudden? "Stop! I've been just as lonely as you have, Azul! Please, listen to me!"

"I don't care!" She barked angrily, running after him. "Your words mean nothing, Evan! You'll just abandon me again!"

"No! Azul, please..." Evan didn't have the strength to run away anymore. The injuries from his fight with the Weavile were slowing him down, and the fatigue from the sudden exercise he was being put through was just to much for him. They headed into the tunnels leading to the spring. The darkness impaired Evan's vision and he was about to trip more than once. He just wanted to talk with Azul, but she wouldn't listen... The Azul he knew was long gone, apparently. He kept running, but was unable to give her the slip. The chase continued until they reached a part of the cave that was separated by a chasm. Evan gathered all his strength, jumped over it, and collapsed on the snowy ground on the other side, too fatigued to keep running.

"Off to meet the rest of the tribe, Evan!" Azul barked furiously, jumping over the chasm and flying towards Evan with her tail taking that ominous silver glow.

Evan cringed, seeing her fly towards him. He was more frightened now than he had ever been... If the Azul that he was friends with had knocked him out with a single hit from Iron Tail, he didn't want to imagine what she would do if she hated him. But his survival instinct kicked in. He wouldn't let her kill him... He closed his eyes as he jumped towards Azul and head butted her, making the other Glaceon lose balance in the air and fall.

Evan opened his eyes to that sight that would never stop haunting him: Azul, falling into the seemingly endless abyss, opening her mouth to utter her last word:

"Evan..." Was the only thing Evan could hear as he saw her fall and disappear into the darkness.

What had he done?! He had just killed Azul... He had just murdered the love of his life! He slumped down, crying in anguish, no longer sure of what to do... He wanted to cry, to scream... But who would listen to him? He had been cursed with loneliness once again, and this time he had brought it upon himself...

Something snapped in him at that moment. He looked down at the chasm he had just made Azul fall into... All his life, he wanted to be with her, and now he would not be able to until the time of his death came... But what if he turned out to be as long-lived as Anima was? He couldn't stand the thought of waiting 290 more years before he could see her again... And so, he made his final choice.

He closed his eyes and leapt into the abyss after his love, no longer thinking about anything other than the chance to be with her again. He felt the wind caress him as he kept falling, moving closer and closer to the bottom. He opened his mouth and calmly said his last words:

"Azul, my love... I'll never be alone."

He felt a soft bump, and, all of a sudden, everything was gone...


"Evan, NO! Why... Why did you do this...?"