sheer cold

That Christmas portrait is BEAUTIFUL. C:
In return, I will attempt to write!!

Blue's Pidgeot slammed Maya's Cyndaquil into the brick wall. Cyndaquil hit the wall head-first and crumpled to the floor. The flames on its back vanished.

Maya cursed under her breath and held out a pokeball. "Return!"

The defeated Pokemon disappeared in a flash of red light.

"I guess I'm still not a match for you," Maya said, "but just wait until Cyndaquil gets stronger."

* * *

Snow; acres and acres of snow. White as far as the eye could see. Cold; it was freezing cold. Sub-zero temperatures numbed her hands, feet, legs. Her teeth wouldn't, couldn't, stop chattering. All she could do was wait for morning, trapped within the dark confines of the cave...

Maya tossed and turned in her sleep, caught in her memories. Her Cyndaquil was balled up at the edge of her bed, near her feet. It watched as its Trainer struggled inside her head, reliving the hardships faced training up near Snowpoint City.

She could see nothing but white snow and a black sky. It all looked like one twisted, black and white pokeball. And then, much to her fear, she heard the low growling of a wild pokemon behind her...

"No!" Maya jolted awake, gasping for breath. Drenched in sweat, her heart was a wild drum in her chest. She threw the blanket off and reached for her scarf, almost toppling Cyndaquil over in the process. It snorted in protest, following her out of the Pokemon Center where they had been staying.

Maya was like most young Trainers: ambitious, determined, and perhaps a bit too stubborn. She had dreams of becoming the Champion, a title held by a boy she was determined to track down-- and defeat. A legendary pokemon would be very useful on her team, if she could find one. That was why she found herself in Pewter City.

Outside, Blue was waiting for her. It was still early, but he had been rudely awakened by a flock of Pidgeys twittering outside his window and couldn't fall back asleep. Dressed in a worn leather jacket, he looked none too pleased.
 
"There you are! Why did you drag me to this dump site of a town again?" he complained.

Maya rubbed sleep from her eyes. Despite her fair complexion, dark circles were forming under her eyes, and she looked more and more worn-out with each passing day.

"I was thinking that if we studied the pokemon fossils at the museum, we'd get clues on where to find a Legendary," she replied.

He narrowed his sharp green eyes at her. "C'mon, shouldn't young girls be off catching Bidoof?"

"Bidoof won't make me the Champion."

Blue rolled his eyes. "Why are you still so uptight about becoming the Champion? That's not all there is to life."

"From what I've heard, you were exactly the same when you were younger," Maya said.

"And look, I'm a reputable gym leader now. Scientist on the side, even." Blue tapped his foot impatiently. "You do realize I'm responsible for you, right? It's not about your goals. I can't have you wandering around all over just because you want to see some big shiny pokemon that might not even exist."

Cyndaquil hopped up onto Maya's boot. "Cynda," it chirped, wriggling its stubby arms upwards.

Maya picked it up and cradled him with her left arm. "Okay, fine. But can we at least look around the area? Checking out the museum really couldn't hurt. I want to visit Cerulean City as well."

"Sure," Blue said, "as long as we treat this like a vacation, and not one of your mad plots to become famous."

"I don't want to be famous."

Maya turned away. What she wanted was to be strong.
  

♦

The Pewter Museum of Science didn't house anything peculiar. There were a couple fossilized Kabuto shells, a Aerodactyl skeleton, and a rock featuring the preserved imprint of a giant Dunsparce. Maya glanced over the displays half-heartedly, uninterested in reading facts about ancient pokemon.

"I bet you it isn't even real," Blue said, jabbing a thumb over to the Aerodactyl skeleton. "It looks like a fake."

"I wouldn't know," Maya said.

She glanced over to where Cyndaquil was rolling around a honey-coloured pebble. It looked cheerfully oblivious to the fact that remains of extinct pokemon surrounded them.

"You're Professor Oak's grandson, aren't you?" An old man clad in a long white coat approached Blue. He appeared to be the museum curator. "My, how you've grown! When the professor brought you here last, you were a wee lad."

"The exhibits were a lot more impressive back then," Blue commented. "What happened to the tribal paintings of Magikarp? And the urns with Dragonite carved into them?"

The man's brow furrowed. "I'm afraid the museum has been subject to theft these past years. It may be a local gang's doing."

Blue arched an eyebrow. "Team Rocket? Can't be."

"They're supposed to have disbanded," Maya interrupted. "They just keep coming back, don't they?"

"I'm not entirely sure," the old man said. "Let us hope to Arceus that isn't the case."

"Are you sure the artifacts have been stolen and not misplaced?" Blue asked. He looked unconvinced. "A lazy employee might have misplaced boxes or something..."

Blue and the curator continued talking. Maya spotted Cyndaquil shuffling about on the floor. It was staring intently at the glass case of fossilized Kabuto shells.

"Let's go, boy." She whistled, and Cyndaquil came hopping over. "What's that in your mouth?"

She knelt down and held out a hand. The honey-coloured pebble was dropped into her palm. It almost looked like candy.

"Don't take things that don't belong to you," Maya scolded gently. She stood and placed the pebble on the counter. "Maybe it's pokemon that have been taking things and not thieves at all."

She laughed. Cyndaquil remained silent. As they were leaving, he scrambled up to the counter and retrieved the amber stone before scurrying to catch up with Maya and Blue.

The museum curator hobbled with them to the door.

"Come and visit again anytime!" he said. "It's the interest of youth that keeps science alive."

"We definitely will," Maya assured him, though she saw Blue roll his eyes.

The curator beamed. "Young girl, you remind me of another boy who visited here a long time ago. He had dark hair and the same determined eyes. He even let his Pikachu wander about free, like you do with your Cyndaquil."

"It's a bad habit," Blue muttered. "A good Trainer keeps their pokemon safe. You can't always keep tabs on a wandering pokemon."

"He never goes far, so give me a break." Maya stuck out her tongue at him. He ignored her and began to walk down the stone steps.

"Do you think someone actually stole from the museum?" Maya asked, after making sure no one was within earshot. "That old man seems to think so."

Blue was doubtful. "He's really packing on the years. I don't know. Things get misplaced all the time, especially in a large building where fossils and stuff are shipped all over the place. I'm sure if they checked the lab at Cinnabar, they'd find what they're missing."

"I guess." Maya suddenly stopped walking. "Do you really think I put Cyndaquil in danger?"

"Huh?" Blue blinked. Then he shrugged. "Look, all I know is, he makes an easy target. If someone wanted to take him, they would have a good opportunity to. And then I'd have to deal with you bawling your eyes out. I'd rather not!"

"Aww, you do care." Maya scooped up Cyndaquil. "It'll be okay if I hold him though, right?"

"I don't care, all right? Let's just pack up on supplies and head through Mt. Moon as soon as we can."  

The Viridian gym leader quickened his pace towards the local Poke Mart. Maya couldn't help but smile before running after him.