Story Notes:
Wrote this in the space of an hour. It's a little short for my liking; it's not the best, at least by my standards; and I'm all sexed out from Who Is The Master?, but I figured it couldn't hurt to get one last 3-page short story out of me before the deadline.
Savior In The Snow
He certainly hadn't expected for his life to end here. He had left Celestic Town less than a day ago, en route to Snowpoint City, as a courier, to deliver a package to Candice. He wore thick clothing and carried numerous tools to help his survival and navigation in going though Route 217, which was prone to white-out blizzards four days a week. He had made the trip once before, and wasn't too worried about going through it again.
He was a Pokémon Trainer, much like a good ninety-three percent of the planet's population. He just didn't make a living off it. As a result, his five Pokémon weren't exactly the most battle-hardened, and had difficulty when standing toe-to-toe with anything stronger than those native to Route 215. However, he was still confident that he could make it through Route 217 without much trouble - the forecast only said a twelve-percent chance of a blizzard that day, and he wasn't planning on lingering, naturally. Well, twelve-percent was clearly more than enough: Route 217 was totally blanketed in hollowing winds and ferocious face-stinging snow, and as a result, he wound up totally lost and directionless, with the daylight burning faster than he could track.
His compass had broken when he accidentally tripped and fell onto it. His map was lost, having slipped out of his fingers when he tried to look at it in this weather. His five Pokémon were all unconscious, having battled themselves to exhaustion. His food was running low. Having lost all sense of direction in the pitch-white walls constantly surrounding him in the open field of the Route, he just picked a direction and went with it. He wound up wandering far into the woods that surrounded the Route on either side. He wasn't even sure if he was still in Route 217.
By sheer, dumb luck, he happened to stumble across an uprooted tree, which opened a hole in the ground for him to hide in while the blizzard went its course. It was damp and cold, but it was better than the blistering weather outside. Not that he believed it would help; he didn't expect to make it through the night. He was tired and hungry, and he had an extremely difficult time breathing. Not to mention the cold, of course. And with his Pokémon in too poor a shape, letting them out to share their body heat would be a death sentence.
He always feared dying of some accident, or of some disease; any death that would cause him discomfort in his final throes. The numb cold would grant him the mercy of a comfortable death, at the very least. If he just closed his eyes and relaxed, he could drift himself to a lovely, eternal sleep, and that'd be the end of that...
Just as his eyes closed softy, he heard footsteps outside his hiding place. There was no chance another human would be out here, in this weather, off the map, which would mean the footsteps were from some wild Pokémon native to whatever area he was in. It wasn't worth getting up and looking; all he had on him was a Great Ball, and in this region, it was not enough to capture a healthy Pokémon from scratch. He ignored the footsteps.
They grew louder and louder as whatever it was made its way to his hiding place. Eventually, the steps echoed loudly and clearly as the beast got closer, until they finally stopped, standing at the mouth of his makeshift cave. Just his luck. With how little food there likely was out here, he probably won't die such a numb death after all.
Expecting the worst - maybe a lost Mightyena, or a cold, nervous Sneasel, or even an Abomasnow considering his luck - he opened his eyes to look his opponent in the face. The beast was a quadruped. It had silky white fur all across its lithe, built-for-speed body. Its face was a light-black, lacking a muzzle and not looking like any dog-like Pokémon he's ever seen before, with a grey dot on its forehead. Its tail and paws and claws were each of the same shade of black; its tail taking a peculiar jagged shape with a pointed end on one side and a smooth, blade-like edge on the other. It had a gorgeous, thick, fluffy mane across its neck, and the fur along the top of its head formed to make something of a peculiar helmet-shape. But the most particular feature of the beast was some kind of scythe-like horn attached to the front of its head, which naturally grew upwards and arced over its skull.
The man knew what it was. He had gone to school; he was, after all, a licensed Pokémon Trainer. It was an Absol standing in front of him, and, judging from the size of its horn, it was likely a female. He knew about the common misconceptions about Absol in particular: that they were harbingers of death, that natural disasters occur wherever they are spotted, and they are considered a bad thing to have because of it. That wasn't true at all, though; Absol could sense natural disasters as they were about to occur, sure, but they only showed up when a tidal wave struck a city or a tornado decimated a trailer park to warn the others, not doom them. But, people will always need someone or something to blame, so the Absol easily gained a very unpopular opinion.
He didn't know if Absol were typically violent creatures, though. Whether this creature was here to eat him, or to caution him of the blizzard was beyond his guessing. Thanks for the warning, he thought sourly to himself, before closing his eyes and resigning back to his sleep.
The footsteps began again, heading towards him in his hiding spot. It was standing right on top of him, hardly moving, watching the man intently with unflinching eyes. He was ready for a fierce bite to the neck, or to the stomach, or something, and showed no signs on resistance; instead, he just sat there, breathing shallowly.
The Absol whimpered, leaning in and dragging her tongue across his cheek once, twice, a third time. He wasn't prepared for that. He opened his eyes again, turning his head back to get a good look at this Absol. Those wide, red eyes looked sadly into his, begging wordlessly to him Please don't die. Please don't die on me. Please get up. The man was frozen in every muscle and bone; his blood was running cold and he had the biggest brain freeze of his life. But looking at this Absol's expression thawed his heart effortlessly: this creature had found him and was determined to not let him die.
His job as a courier didn't allow him to raise a family, being constantly moving, and there was a good chance his friends wouldn't catch wind of his death, if he was ever found at all, out here in the middle of nowhere during what had to be the year's fiercest blizzard for the Route. But someone was definitely going to know right away, and that someone was definitely going to miss him if he did. She had no obligation to any human - she was as wild as the day she was born, as far as he knew. But she didn't need one.
With more licks to the face, she flumped her entire, fluffy body onto his own, and within moments, he felt her body heat surge through his cold, wet clothes and into his body. The weight knocked the wind out of him at first, but the warmth - the rejuvenated feeling of life surging through his veins with every reinvigorated heart-pump - levelled his breathing in no time flat. He could feel his hair, having been frozen solid in multiple clumped strands, melt after a few minutes, the moisture dripping down his face. She had stopped licking his face and laid her head on his shoulder, whimpering repeatedly It'll be okay. You'll be okay. I won't let you die.
The man's eyes were wide open, watching this Absol that had appeared before him and was now actively saving his life, just by being there. She didn't want him to give up; she wanted him to stay awake, to live until tomorrow. She wanted him to deliver that package to Candice.
He lifted his cold, tired, numb arms, and wrapped them softly around the Absol, holding her closer to his body. He felt that he couldn't disappoint her. At this very moment, he meant the whole world to someone, not as a courier, but as a living being. He wasn't about to let her down.
He was a Pokémon Trainer, much like a good ninety-three percent of the planet's population. He just didn't make a living off it. As a result, his five Pokémon weren't exactly the most battle-hardened, and had difficulty when standing toe-to-toe with anything stronger than those native to Route 215. However, he was still confident that he could make it through Route 217 without much trouble - the forecast only said a twelve-percent chance of a blizzard that day, and he wasn't planning on lingering, naturally. Well, twelve-percent was clearly more than enough: Route 217 was totally blanketed in hollowing winds and ferocious face-stinging snow, and as a result, he wound up totally lost and directionless, with the daylight burning faster than he could track.
His compass had broken when he accidentally tripped and fell onto it. His map was lost, having slipped out of his fingers when he tried to look at it in this weather. His five Pokémon were all unconscious, having battled themselves to exhaustion. His food was running low. Having lost all sense of direction in the pitch-white walls constantly surrounding him in the open field of the Route, he just picked a direction and went with it. He wound up wandering far into the woods that surrounded the Route on either side. He wasn't even sure if he was still in Route 217.
By sheer, dumb luck, he happened to stumble across an uprooted tree, which opened a hole in the ground for him to hide in while the blizzard went its course. It was damp and cold, but it was better than the blistering weather outside. Not that he believed it would help; he didn't expect to make it through the night. He was tired and hungry, and he had an extremely difficult time breathing. Not to mention the cold, of course. And with his Pokémon in too poor a shape, letting them out to share their body heat would be a death sentence.
He always feared dying of some accident, or of some disease; any death that would cause him discomfort in his final throes. The numb cold would grant him the mercy of a comfortable death, at the very least. If he just closed his eyes and relaxed, he could drift himself to a lovely, eternal sleep, and that'd be the end of that...
Just as his eyes closed softy, he heard footsteps outside his hiding place. There was no chance another human would be out here, in this weather, off the map, which would mean the footsteps were from some wild Pokémon native to whatever area he was in. It wasn't worth getting up and looking; all he had on him was a Great Ball, and in this region, it was not enough to capture a healthy Pokémon from scratch. He ignored the footsteps.
They grew louder and louder as whatever it was made its way to his hiding place. Eventually, the steps echoed loudly and clearly as the beast got closer, until they finally stopped, standing at the mouth of his makeshift cave. Just his luck. With how little food there likely was out here, he probably won't die such a numb death after all.
Expecting the worst - maybe a lost Mightyena, or a cold, nervous Sneasel, or even an Abomasnow considering his luck - he opened his eyes to look his opponent in the face. The beast was a quadruped. It had silky white fur all across its lithe, built-for-speed body. Its face was a light-black, lacking a muzzle and not looking like any dog-like Pokémon he's ever seen before, with a grey dot on its forehead. Its tail and paws and claws were each of the same shade of black; its tail taking a peculiar jagged shape with a pointed end on one side and a smooth, blade-like edge on the other. It had a gorgeous, thick, fluffy mane across its neck, and the fur along the top of its head formed to make something of a peculiar helmet-shape. But the most particular feature of the beast was some kind of scythe-like horn attached to the front of its head, which naturally grew upwards and arced over its skull.
The man knew what it was. He had gone to school; he was, after all, a licensed Pokémon Trainer. It was an Absol standing in front of him, and, judging from the size of its horn, it was likely a female. He knew about the common misconceptions about Absol in particular: that they were harbingers of death, that natural disasters occur wherever they are spotted, and they are considered a bad thing to have because of it. That wasn't true at all, though; Absol could sense natural disasters as they were about to occur, sure, but they only showed up when a tidal wave struck a city or a tornado decimated a trailer park to warn the others, not doom them. But, people will always need someone or something to blame, so the Absol easily gained a very unpopular opinion.
He didn't know if Absol were typically violent creatures, though. Whether this creature was here to eat him, or to caution him of the blizzard was beyond his guessing. Thanks for the warning, he thought sourly to himself, before closing his eyes and resigning back to his sleep.
The footsteps began again, heading towards him in his hiding spot. It was standing right on top of him, hardly moving, watching the man intently with unflinching eyes. He was ready for a fierce bite to the neck, or to the stomach, or something, and showed no signs on resistance; instead, he just sat there, breathing shallowly.
The Absol whimpered, leaning in and dragging her tongue across his cheek once, twice, a third time. He wasn't prepared for that. He opened his eyes again, turning his head back to get a good look at this Absol. Those wide, red eyes looked sadly into his, begging wordlessly to him Please don't die. Please don't die on me. Please get up. The man was frozen in every muscle and bone; his blood was running cold and he had the biggest brain freeze of his life. But looking at this Absol's expression thawed his heart effortlessly: this creature had found him and was determined to not let him die.
His job as a courier didn't allow him to raise a family, being constantly moving, and there was a good chance his friends wouldn't catch wind of his death, if he was ever found at all, out here in the middle of nowhere during what had to be the year's fiercest blizzard for the Route. But someone was definitely going to know right away, and that someone was definitely going to miss him if he did. She had no obligation to any human - she was as wild as the day she was born, as far as he knew. But she didn't need one.
With more licks to the face, she flumped her entire, fluffy body onto his own, and within moments, he felt her body heat surge through his cold, wet clothes and into his body. The weight knocked the wind out of him at first, but the warmth - the rejuvenated feeling of life surging through his veins with every reinvigorated heart-pump - levelled his breathing in no time flat. He could feel his hair, having been frozen solid in multiple clumped strands, melt after a few minutes, the moisture dripping down his face. She had stopped licking his face and laid her head on his shoulder, whimpering repeatedly It'll be okay. You'll be okay. I won't let you die.
The man's eyes were wide open, watching this Absol that had appeared before him and was now actively saving his life, just by being there. She didn't want him to give up; she wanted him to stay awake, to live until tomorrow. She wanted him to deliver that package to Candice.
He lifted his cold, tired, numb arms, and wrapped them softly around the Absol, holding her closer to his body. He felt that he couldn't disappoint her. At this very moment, he meant the whole world to someone, not as a courier, but as a living being. He wasn't about to let her down.