I could not even believe how cold it had gotten. We were less than two miles from Snowpoint City now and everything was covered in a layer of white, fluffy snow. I had thought Bree was exaggerating when she said it was always cold in Snowpoint, even during the summer, but I had been proven wrong. All of my pokemon were safely hidden away in their Pokeballs and I had my fuzzy hat crammed as far down my head as I could manage. There were no flying types singing in these snow covered pines and I wondered why anyone would voluntarily live in this frigid cold.

"You know, this may be a good place for Absol to live," Bree remarked off-handedly, looking around while humming softly. I stumbled in the snow, barely keeping my balance before I face-planted into the white fluff.

"Y-you think?" I asked and I felt like my heart was about to stop. 

Absol was still anti-social, but he had started to take timid steps out of his shell with helping Shinx learn Magnet Rise. He may not join in when we were playing games or anything, but he was always close by. I couldn't help but admit that I felt safer knowing that he was near.

"Sure. Hardly anyone actually lives up here. You get some trainers coming to get the gym badge and the occasional people wanting to evolve their Eevee into Glaceon... but this is a quiet place. And the people of Snowpoint are very respectful towards pokemon," Bree explained as we continued trudging through the snow. Although Bree didn't seem fazed by the detestable substance.

I fell silent as I contemplated her words. Obviously, she had a point. This was the first place we had been to that was far enough away from everything to not have to worry about Absol running into superstitious trainers again. It wasn't like I had forgotten my promise to find him a safe new home... but I also hadn't been actively looking either.

"Unless... you were planning on keeping him?" Bree asked, looking at me with a smile. I blinked in surprise then felt my shoulders slump and I slowly shook my head.

"No. I made a promise to Absol that I would take him somewhere he could be safe. A promise is a promise. I can't betray him by selfishly expecting him to stay with me," I said, feeling miserable as the words fell from my lips. Bree regarded me with an expression I couldn't quite read, but she patted my shoulder in silent support and continued to forge on.

My toes were nearly numb by the time we finally reached Snowpoint City and I was fairly certain the tip of my nose was two minutes from simply falling off. Bree encouraged me with promises of hot chocolate and her sister's homemade gingersnap cookies, which kept me trudging through the horrid snow. I wanted to cry from relief when we finally got to her small house in a quaint little neighborhood with a view of the local Pokemon Gym.

Bree's sister Samantha could have been Bree's twin. When she opened the door I actually did a double take. Once they had separated from their squealing hug, though, I realized that Samantha had the same brown eyes as Theresa instead of Bree's green. She was also an inch or two shorter than her younger sister which helped to further distinguish them.

"It's so nice to meet you, Serena! Please come in, you must be freezing after walking all the way here," Samantha urged while ushering us both into her warm home and setting us up in the living room. 

I settled back in the comfy cushions with a mug of hot chocolate to warm my hands and was perfectly content to listen quietly as the two sisters caught up. When Samantha's husband Robby came home early that afternoon it made me happy to see that they were just as affectionate as Bree's parents were; sitting close together and holding each other's hands on the couch as they talked to Bree.

When their discussion turned to pokemon, Bree was quick to release Whimsicott and Ampharos and she urged me to release my pokemon as well. I was hesitant to bring out Milotic since she was over 6 feet long now that she was evolved, but to my surprise, Samantha confessed that her favorite pokemon was Milotic and she had always wanted to see one in person. Soon everyone but Absol was out and mingling.

It was rare to find a couple that didn't have a career based at least partially on pokemon, but Samantha was a school teacher and her husband Robby was one of only three lawyers in Snowpoint. Neither of them had actually gone on a pokemon journey, but seeing them cuddling with our pokemon made me even more sure that I wanted a future where I could be surrounded by them.

My mood turned sour though when I looked down at the Pokeball still on my hip. Even though I had grown to love Absol, what I had said to Bree was what I really felt. I didn't want to go back on my promise to Absol no matter what, though. He had already been betrayed terribly by his first trainer who essentially tortured and then abandoned him... I wouldn't let him believe that all humans couldn't keep their word. But the longer I held on to him, the harder it would be to let him go. When Samantha said she was going to start getting dinner ready I made up my mind and stood up from the sofa.

"I'm going to go out for a bit," I announced, walking over to where I had left my winter gear by the door.

"Right now?" Samantha asked in surprise. "It'll be dark soon though."

"I won't be long, I promise," I said while trying to force a smile. Shinx padded over to me and I hesitated. After considering something I looked over at Samantha apologetically.

"Actually... do you mind if I bring my pokemon into another room for a moment?"

Samantha opened her mouth to say something when Bree leaned over and whispered to her. After that, she immediately showed me to a spacious room where we could have some privacy and left to go back to the kitchen with Bree and her husband.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to look at all of my pokemon around the room. Milotic was coiled up at the end of the bed with Majestoat laying on the mattress looking at me expectantly. Squeaker and Shinx were off to my left and I tried to smile at all of them as I reached for the last Pokeball on my loop and released Absol. He looked startled to be inside a human home and everyone glanced at me to see what was going on.

"I have decided that it's time I should keep my promise to Absol," I explained, feeling a lump forming in my throat. "Bree said that there are very few people who live in this area, and the people who do are respectful towards pokemon. It's freezing cold, but... would you like to live here in this area, Absol?"

Absol looked up at me and then glanced out the window at the snow-covered scenery. My lungs began to complain from holding my breath so long, but when Absol looked up at me and nodded slowly it all came rushing out in disappointment. In my heart, I had hoped that Absol would say he wanted to stay with me. But I couldn't be selfish and force him to travel with me when all he really wanted was to be alone.

Shinx padded forward, looking between me and Absol with a heavy frown on his little face. Absol bowed his head down slightly so he could look at Shinx better and Shinx hesitantly came to a stop a foot in front of him. He looked up at the large dark type with obvious sadness and Absol met his gaze without looking away. No words were spoken between the two, but after a minute Shinx lowered his head sadly and padded the rest of the way to Absol so he could rub his forehead against his front legs.

Absol didn't move away from the display of affection, but he didn't react either. He just sat there quietly until Shinx was satisfied. Shinx was sniffling sadly when he finally pulled away from Absol and my heart nearly broke as he turned, with his head bowed, and padded quietly out of the room. Squeaker followed after him, not seeming to understand what was going on. She had always seemed a little intimidated by Absol so she ignored him and rubbed her nose against my stomach affectionately on her way past me. Milotic was the next to leave, bowing regally toward Absol before she left. To my surprise, Absol actually nodded back to her, but he didn't turn to watch her leave.

That left only Absol, me, and Majestoat. Glancing over at my mischievous partner, I was surprised to see her frowning seriously. After a few silent moments, she got up and hopped down from the bed, padding over to Absol. She looked up at him with obvious displeasure and I yelped when she blew a weak Fairy Wind directly into his face. Absol shook his head in obvious shock and glared down at Majestoat, but she was glaring right back at him. With an unhappy whistle, she turned away and angrily stalked off after the rest of my pokemon. I blinked in shock, never having seen that side of Majestoat before. Absol looked just as dumbfounded as I was, but he was quick to shake it off.

"I'm going to keep you in your Pokeball until we get outside of town, okay?" I told him, trying to not sound as miserable as I felt. Absol nodded silently in agreement and I held up the Pokeball to trigger his return.

I squeezed the ball in my palm for a moment before turning and walking swiftly to the entryway where I piled on my winter clothes again. It was still cold out, but at least the sun hadn't gone down yet and after filling up on hot chocolate I was feeling much more energetic than before. I made my way out of the small city quickly and headed back down the forest path Bree and I had traveled on. Once there were no other people around I released Absol and he looked at our surroundings, crunching his feet in the snow experimentally.

"How is the snow? You aren't too cold?" I asked worriedly.

Absol shook his head, his blue lips creeping up in the ghost of a smile. I had to admit, with his shiny white fur, he blended in really well with the snowy landscape. If he wanted to hide, all he'd have to do is curl up on himself to conceal his dark face and horn and he'd become almost invisible.

I guess Bree was right. This really is a good place to let him go, I thought to myself sadly. Shaking my head to try to banish the sadness gripping me, I smiled down at him and gestured toward the pine forest in front of us.

"I'll walk with you until you find a place you'd like to call home, okay?" I said to him encouragingly. Absol regarded me with an almost sarcastic expression. I could almost hear him say, 'That's not necessary', but he didn't do anything to chase me away. He simply started walking forward.

I found myself chatting softly to Absol as we explored the forest. Every few yards his horn would glow and he would create a mark with it against the bark of a passing tree. I was confused as to why he was doing it until I realized that we had traveled so far that I was completely lost. Realizing that he had been leaving me a trail to follow back to the path, I looked down at Absol with gratitude.

He really does plan to leave me, doesn't he, I thought as we explored another section of the forest. I frowned when I realized that even though the sun hadn't set or anything, it was starting to get darker. Looking up at the sky, I noticed thick clouds blowing in from the east and I bit my lip, wondering if a storm was on its way.

My body jerked from surprise when something prodded me gently in the arm. Getting my breathing back under control, I looked down to see Absol giving me an ever-so-slightly worried expression as he nodded toward the incoming clouds.

"You think it'll start to snow too?" I asked quietly. Absol nodded and prodded me once again, urging me to go back the way we had come.

"But you haven't found a place of your own yet," I protested with a frown, not wanting to leave him until he was settled comfortably. Absol actually gave me a smile and walked around in a tight circle before plopping down in the snow right in front of me.

"Here? But... what will you do for food? And what about water? I haven't seen a creek or anything that you can drink from and it's bad on your body to eat snow..." I argued, feeling like an overbearing mother.

"Sol absol sol," Absol replied with an amused shake of his head. It seemed like he meant to say that he could take care of himself and I felt my shoulders droop unhappily.

"Okay then..." I forced myself to say.

Grateful for Bree's insistence that I buy snow pants, I knelt down in the snow and wrapped my arms gently around Absol's neck. Just like with Shinx, Absol didn't pull away from my touch, but he didn't acknowledge my affection either. After one last squeeze, I pulled away and gently brushed my gloved hand over the swooping shock of fur that hung down the side of his face.

"I'll miss you, Absol. Please stay safe, okay?"

He let out a confident huff and I forced myself to smile. Reluctantly, I unclipped Absol's Pokeball from my holder and gently placed it on the ground in front of Absol's feet before pushing myself up off the snowy ground and turning away. I hadn't made it two steps before turning around and waving at Absol, who was watching me walk away like a dutiful bodyguard. Feeling my eyes water, I quickly turned and hurried away, knowing that if I dragged this out I wouldn't be able to leave him.

Even with watery eyes, it was easy following my footprints and the trail that Absol had marked for me. The storm clouds were rolling in quicker now and I kept glancing toward the menacing sight as I forced myself to hurry along. Something caught my attention though and I slowly came to a stop, cocking my head to the side and wondering if I had been hearing things.

"You don't have time for a detour, Serena. I need to get back to Snowpoint," I told myself sternly, crunching through the snow and trying to ignore the strange sounds coming from deeper in the forest. Cackling laughter and a cry of pain floated toward me though and I stopped in my tracks. Shaking my head I slapped my cheeks to try to snap myself out of it.

"What could you do to help, huh? I didn't bring any of my pokemon with me and the snowstorm is probably going to hit any minute... The pokemon in this forest should know how to take care of themselves... right? Right." I lectured myself out loud, feeling extremely lonely.

Another gleeful laugh sounded, which to me sounded like the kind of laugh a bully let out when their target was within their grasp. Screwing my eyes shut for a second I listened to the goading voices until I couldn't stand it another second.

Turning my back on the path Absol had so carefully created for me, I ran towards the sound of the bullies. I scrambled through the forest, noticing that the trees looked older here and the snow seemed deeper and even less disturbed than the sections I had explored with Absol.

"Snea snea snea Snea sneeeeeeasel!" I could hear the mocking, sing-song voice of pokemon up ahead as I pushed through two pine trees that had grown so big their lower branches were touching each other and draping against the ground.

When I got a second to survey what was going on, I let out a horrified gasp. There, between the trees, was a pack of at least ten Sneasel that were all dancing around an Eevee. I watched, mortified, as one Sneasel bashed Eevee in the side with a Metal Claw attack, sending him straight into one of its friends who then immediately "passed" it toward another one. The Eevee's side was covered in cuts and there were droplets of deep red blood creating a stark contrast against the pure white snow.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" I called out, enraged at this horrible display in front of me. The pokemon all jumped in shock at my voice, making the Sneasel who Eevee had been passed to miss his shot and allowing it to crumple onto the ground in exhaustion.

"Get away from that Eevee!" I yelled, rushing forward toward the injured pokemon.

I hadn't made it within a foot of the injured pokemon before all of the Sneasel in front of me took a deep breath and blew a frigidly cold wind directly at me. I held my arms up to protect my vulnerable face and planted my feet, trying my best to push through the attack. My foot slipped though, and I was sent sprawling onto my back. Shivering horribly, I forced myself to sit up and glare angrily at the horrible pokemon.

"Picking on someone weaker than you is wrong! Get out of here before I get mad," I yelled, trying my best to scare them. They did not seem intimidated however and began walking slowly toward me, releasing sharp claws from within their paws as they grinned devilishly at me.

Ugh, what am I going to do? I thought, feeling myself start to panic. One of the Sneasel leaped up, claws aiming straight for my face and I threw my arms up for whatever protection they could give me. A deafening roar sounded from behind me though and I felt a rush of wind as something large leaped over my head. I heard a thud, followed by a yelp of pain and I lowered my arms to see that the attacking Sneasel had just been smacked out of the air by... Absol!

"Absol!" I cried out in absolute relief. Absol stood in front of me with his head low, shoulders hunched threateningly, and I could hear a low, intense growl coming from him as he faced off against the group of Sneasel.

I thought for a moment that the smaller pokemon would back off, but after their initial shock, they all leaned forward and gave their own chorus of growls right back at Absol. As one, they all leaped towards Absol from different angles. I watched in horror as he kicked and spun, throwing off several Sneasel at once. But there was always another one to take its place.

With an angry noise I could only describe as a snarl, a ring of dark energy burst from Absol in all directions, catching the Sneasels mid-attack and throwing them back from him. They were quick to recover, but they all paused when Absol lifted his head toward the sky and let out a piercing howl. Everything seemed to stand still as his howl became a haunting melody and creepy purple music notes began to appear and float around him. The notes circled Absol and then expanded, reaching out to circle all of the Sneasel. The gang of Sneasel all looked confused, smacking at the purple notes without seeming to have any effect as they tried to follow the notes with their eyes.

Absol's haunting melody came to an end, and as he lowered his head the purple notes faded away. The Sneasel, realizing that nothing had happened, once again went on the attack. I watched Absol fending off the Sneasel by himself, feeling useless and scared. If only I had brought Majestoat with me I could have helped... but by myself, I had nothing to offer and tears of frustration streamed down my freezing cold cheeks.

After Absol had released his third burst of dark energy, smacking the Sneasels away, my eyes widened as all of the Sneasels suddenly dropped to their knees. A purple haze glowed around their bodies and they gripped their heads as if they were in pain, but after a few seconds, all of them fell to the ground, going still and silent.

I blinked in shock, looking around at the gang of fallen bullies, and then turned to look at Absol. He was breathing heavily, his legs shaking from the effort of holding himself up. Slowly, he raised his red eyes up to meet mine and I saw what almost looked like relief in their depths. I pushed myself up to go to him when a gasp escaped me. The same purple haze that had been on the Sneasel began to glow against Absol's white fur. I ran to him, but his eyes had already closed and he flopped onto his side in the snow, completely unconscious.

"Absol. Absol!" I cried out, falling to my knees next to him and shaking him desperately. Absol didn't react at all to my calls and I could feel my tears increase. "What did you do, Absol? Why did you come back?" I cried out, stroking his fur lovingly. 

A mewling sound of pain caught my attention and I looked over at where the battered and bleeding Eevee was still lying in the snow. Taking a second to make sure that Absol was at least breathing, I scurried over to Eevee and gently lifted it into my arms. The smooth beige-colored tip on his tail showed he was a boy, but he was riddled with cuts, dying his brown fur a dark red in many places. I stumbled away from the unconscious Sneasel and walked back to my brave friend.

Falling once again to my knees, I looked at the injured pokemon in my arms, Absol laying unresponsive next to me, then up at the sky which was completely covered in storm clouds. "What am I supposed to do?" I asked myself, holding Eevee close to me, completely disregarding the blood smearing onto my snow coat.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to take stock of the situation. I had left Samantha's home with nothing.  My backpack with my supplies and extra Pokeballs was uselessly forgotten back in Snowpoint. There was no way I could carry both Eevee and Absol out of the forest. Both of them were injured and I had no idea where I could forage for healing herbs in a snow-ridden forest. I could try to go bring help but with the storm coming I had no idea if I'd find them again. And what if the Sneasel woke up before I got back? As I was wallowing in my indecision a handful of snowflakes began to drift past me, Soon, hundreds more followed and I couldn't help but feel like I might not make it out of this one.

"Help..." I whispered, not knowing what else to do. Taking a deep breath and fighting against my tears I screamed out into the white expanse of forest. "Someone, please! Help!"

A/N Woosh, sorry for the cliffhanger. That's the tough part about writing in different POV's... it makes it so that the cliffhangers are more intense than usual :P Anyways, I will try to update quickly so no one gets too anxious over Serena's plight. Oh! And in case you were curious, the moves Absol used were Snarl, which is a dark type move, and Perish Song. Perish Song makes it so that anyone that hears the song faints after three more turns. I decided to not make it affect humans because then they'd REALLY be in trouble, but yah. That's what happened.