Skip to My Snover!

Continuing on the snow-blanketed Route 9, our heroes continue on their journey towards the Silicon Valley, but as afternoon sets in, Clair and Silus decide to stop and begin their training!

"Alright, listen up!" Clair barked. "My training is tough and I expect excellence. That's why I had you pick three Pokémon and send them back to Professor Changi. You see, to be an expert Pokémon trainer, you have to compose a team that is not only compatible with your personality, but also your battle style."

"That seems sensible." Silus agreed.

"You don't say." Nathan quipped sarcastically, as he fed his Pokémon on the sidelines.

"Judging from your current team, those are Pokémon that evolve and also Pokémon that have a lot of power, with room for creativity." Clair deduced. "What you need to understand is that Pokémon battles aren't won by who has the flashiest moves, the more highly evolved Pokémon, or even who has the most type diversity. Its all about using your Pokémon's advantages as your own. Moves are only a small part of battling. Combining moves and abilities are one part of strategy. But Pokémon lineup can also be an important strategy."

"Mhm, mhm." Silus responded, nodding his head enthusiastically.

"Now then," Clair said, pleased with herself. "Let's eat, then we can begin training."

"Agreed!" Nathan and Silus chimed in unison.

Mere moments later, the group had placed multiple large blankets, which Silus had packed in his backpack before leaving Clair's cabin the day before, on the snow-covered ground and began unpacking their food. Before long, the group was shoveling down their food. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the group, a Snover had emerged from the nearby woods and began picking away at their backpacks, searching for any leftover snacks that might be inside.

"Hey!" Nathan suddenly alerted. "What's that?!"

"That's a Pokémon!" Clair blurted, stating the obvious.

Their commotion had startled the Snover, causing it to recoil and leap out of the backpack it was ransacking, holding a packet of crackers in its hands. Its anxiety subsiding, Snover plopped down in the snow and resume consuming the crackers it had taken.

Silus reached into his jacket, retrieving his Pokédex, and snapping it open to get a reading, "Snover, the Frost Tree Pokémon. During cold seasons, Snover migrates to the mountain's lower reaches. It returns to the snow-covered summit in the spring." the Dex read.

"It must've come down from the mountains because of the snowstorm!" Nathan deduced.

"And now its eating all of our food!" Silus yelped, leaping to his feet. "Let's go, Charmander!"

In a flash of light, the flame lizard Pokémon appeared in the snow, its tail flame melting the snow around it as it did its trademark dance.

"Energetic as ever, I see." Silus noted, sweat dropping. "Go, Flamethrower!"

Charmander heartily ejected a massive river of flames from its mouth, burning a path through the snow-covered grass towards Snover. As if on cue, Snover lifted itself to its feet, tossed the wrapper of the cracker packet away and then, in a surprising display of agility, dove to the left, completely avoiding the flames. Lifting its hands, Snover began to deliver a powerful barrage of bullet-like seeds, slamming into Charmander and sending her careening backwards.

"That was Bullet Seed!" Nathan announced.

Snover took full advantage of the opening, grabbing the backpack it had been rummaging through, which originally belonged to Silus, and began to run towards the forest.

"Hey! Come back with that!" Silus shouted, returning Charmander to its Pokéball and taking off after the Snover.

"Silus wait!" Nathan yelled, running after his friends.

"Hey, guys! Wait for me!" Clair called after them, quickly gathering up the picnic blankets and charging after them.

Snover Danger!
As the group chased Snover through the woods, a snowstorm once again began to kick up, severely hampering the group's ability to see where the tiny tree-like Pokémon was fleeing.

"Man, another snowstorm!" Clair shouted over the wind.

"And all of a sudden too!" Silus concurred.

"This is Snover's ability!" Nathan shouted out to them. "Its called Snow Warning. It allows Snover to generate snowstorms like this one!"

Meanwhile, on a snow-blanketed cliff overlooking the forest in which the group was running through, the three figures of Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth were cowering behind a large bolder, shivering violently as they peeked out from behind their hiding spots, using their binoculars to watch the group chase after Snover.

"A Snover, huh?" Jessie noted through chattering teeth.

"A thievin' Snover at that!" Meowth exclaimed excitedly.

"And it possess the ability to make snowstorms at whim." Jessie added. "I bet the Boss would just love a Pokémon like that!"

"Now all we gots to do is nab that Snover and the twerp's Pokémon too!" Meowth continued. "Then we'll be rollin' in dough!"

"A-CHOOO!" came a loud sneeze from behind them.

The two Rockets turn around to see their friend, James, sniveling and frantically rubbing his own shoulders to warm himself. His nose was bright red and it was clear that he was becoming sick due to the extreme weather.

""Guess we'll have to do it without him..." Jessie huffed in annoyance.

Back in the forest below, the group found themselves at an impasse. They had arrived at a cliff, which was apart of a large mountain. As a Pokémon, Snover had easily maneuvered its way up the cliff and found a seat, where it began to eagerly munch away at the snacks within Silus' backpack.

"Aw!" Silus moaned. "At this rate I won't have any snacks left at all!"

"We'll just have to climb it." Clair resolved. "There's gotta be a way up there."

"Forget climbing, I'll blast it down!" Silus declared, "Come on out, Deino! Dragon Pulse!"

Tossing his Pokéball, Silus released the tiny dragon Pokémon, which immediately began undertaking its orders, charging a bright sphere of draconic energy in its mouth and then launching it at the cliff Snover found itself on. The explosion sent Snover high into the air and then forced it to land in the snow, on its head, directly in front of Silus. His backpack soon followed and he rushed to catch it. Snover soon adjusted itself from the attack and turned to face Silus, tears in its eyes.

"Why's it crying?" Silus asked, suddenly concerned for the Pokémon.

"It may be hungry." Nathan noted. "I haven't noticed any berries around here. The cold must've killed them off. That might be why Snover targeted us, because we have all the food."

Suddenly feeling terrible for the tiny snow Pokémon, Silus unzipped a portion of the backpack Snover hadn't yet been through and retrieved an Oran Berry. Returning Deino to its Pokéball, Silus ventured over to where Snover was sniffling, got down on his knees, and handed it the Oran Berry. Snover looked once at the berry, then back to Silus, and chirped happily as it took the berry and devoured it.

"Sno! Sno-Snover!" the Pokémon chimed happily.

Suddenly, Snover began to glow intensely and then expand — growing to massive proportions, which easily towered over the teenage Silus. It then stopped growing, revealing a behemoth of a Pokémon which looked nothing like the tiny Snover it had once been.

"It... evolved!" Clair gasped, shocked.

"That's Abomasnow!" Nathan informed them excitedly.

The immense Abomasnow reached down, revealing the closest thing to a Pokémon smile as it could, and embraced the now tiny Silus, enveloping him in its extremely warm fur. It then began to nuzzle his cheek, as a show of appreciation, and chant its name. Silus could only laugh and embrace it back in return.

"It evolved out of its overwhelming feelings of gratitude to Silus, for sharing his food with it." Clair assumed, talking in a hushed tone. "Silus does have a way with Pokémon."

Finally breaking free of the embrace, Silus slipped his Pokédex out for the second time that day and scanned the larger Pokémon, "Abomasnow, the Frost Tree Pokémon. It lives a quiet life on mountains that are perpetually covered in snow. It hides itself by whipping up blizzards."

Abomasnow promptly grabbed Silus around the waist and lifted him onto its shoulder, where it sat him down and then, happily, smiled at him. Silus, initially confused, went with it and smiled back.

"It seems to consider you part of the pack now." Clair said through a smile.

"Pack?" Silus asked confused.

"Yeah, pack." Clair confirmed. "You never pay attention. Look up there!"

Pointing to a nearby cliff, Clair directed Silus' attention to a pack of Snover and Abomasnow, which had gathered on the cliff during Snover's evolution. Silus gawked in awe, while Abomasnow waved wildly to its friends and family.

Parting Ways... Or Not?
The group all waved their goodbyes as Abomasnow was reunited with its pack. The large group of Pokémon seemed to then retreat into the woods further up the cliff, leaving the group to finally return back to their travels to the Silicon Valley. Suddenly, however, their return walk was rudely interrupted, as the ground beneath them caved in, and they fell inside — a pitfall trap. The sound of three familiar laughs, in unison, drew the dazed group's attention.

"We are from the team that causes trouble." Jessie began, appearing at the trap's opening.

"I hope you're insured 'cause we make it double." James chimed in.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!."

"You got that right!" Meowth chimed in, finishing their usual motto.

"You three again?!" Silus angrily shouted at the trio.

"Hahahahaha!" Jessie laughed. "Yes, its us, and this time we'll make off with all of your Pokémon."

"Yes, because that's worked out so well for you before." Nathan quipped sarcastically.

"You little punk!" Jessie roared angrily. "When I get down there, I'm gonna-"

"ABOMMMMASNOW!" roared what sounded like a Pokémon nearby, cutting Jessie off and causing the trio to look to see the source of the noise.

"Silus... that sounds like...!" Clair began to exclaim.

"Abomasnow!" Silus offered.

From Team Rocket's perspective, a large, yeti-like Pokémon was now barreling out of the treeline of the nearby forest, directly at them. What put them off was how utterly terrifying the Pokémon looked. It looked mad, furious even, and it showed no signs of slowing down.

"Hey, Jess." Meowth said, suddenly feeling queasy. "Is that...?"

"...a monster?" James provided.

"Hey you two!" Jessie snapped. "Don't get cold feet just yet!"

"But my feet are cold." Meowth added flatly, noting that their feet were already covered in snow.

"Ugh, I guess if you want something done, you really must do it yourself!" Jessie snarled. "Go Servine!"

Jessie launched a Pokéball into the air, spilling its contents in the form of a serpentine-like Grass Pokémon — and one Silus knew all too well from his matches with Jason. Servine, the Grass Snake Pokémon. Abomasnow, however, showed no signs of slowing down, now closing the distance between itself and the trio of Pokémon thieves.

"Go, Servine!" Jessie commanded. "Leaf Blade!"

"Abomasnow!" Silus shrieked from the pitfall, worried about the large Pokémon.

Abomasnow's arm, in the meantime, had begun to glow an intense green coloration, which it then swung to bat away the oncoming Servine with ease, causing the snake Pokémon to cry out in pain.

"Hey," Meowth noted. "That was a Wood Hammer! Be careful, Jess!"

Abomasnow didn't give them a chance. The large Frost Tree Pokémon charged a sphere of ice energy between its palms and then launched the attack directly at the trio and Servine. The result was a direct hit, causing a sizable explosion, which send the trio and their Pokémon sky high once again.

"That was Sheer Cold... Now I really have cold feet." Meowth sighed.

"If you too had helped me, maybe that wouldn't have happened!" Jessie fumed.

"It doesn't matter now, because..." James began.

"We're blasting off again!" the three said in unison as they disappeared into the sky.

Gaining a New Friend
Finally free from the pitfall trap, set by Team Rocket, Silus and friends found themselves once again thanking Abomasnow, who had rescued them. Though, as the group began to head back towards the main path, they noticed Abomasnow persisting in its following of them.

"Hey, guys." Nathan said, halting the group. "I think it wants something from us."

"What is it, Abomasnow?" Clair asked, hands on her hip, genuinely curious as to why it continued to follow them.

With that invitation, Abomasnow jogged to the group, and, without warning, snatched Silus by the waist and lifted him up onto its shoulder once again. This time, however, it didn't have a look of gratitude, but rather a look of longing and sadness; the same sadness it had displayed as a Snover.

"I think it wants to come along with you, Silus." Clair offered. "It seems greatly appreciative of the kindness you showed it. Given the way it battled, I'd say it fits your style pretty well too. You two would be great partners."

"Is that what you want, Abomasnow?" Silus asked, looking down at it. "You wanna come with me?"

"Aboma! Abomasnow!" the large Pokémon bellowed in agreement.

"Then welcome to the troop!" Silus greeted it happily.

''And so, another day - another Pokémon! And now, with Abomasnow in tow, our heroes can set out for the Battle Subway in Silicon Valley, where their next adventure awaits!''