When my trip began, I always thought it would be enlightening, but not in such a way. My public image has been distorted within hours—why am I the Grinch, huh?—and I fear we have gone too far.

It had been sudden, the emergence of Snomtroopers flooding the streets and outskirts of Wyndon, full-blown attacks created from Attract and Substitute, till no one can differentiate snow from Snom.

Is this true horror? The way eyes fixate these poor creatures nuzzling their noses, seeking warmth and breath and understanding; the way gasps reduce humans into slaves of attraction in seconds, unable to free themselves from Snom's charm; the way they'd toss Snom around like snowballs, laughing, smiling, crying, running about.

It is anything but.

Still, isn't that how it always is? The choir carols, the bells jingle, Santa chuckles, assorted popsicles to all... It is precisely when guards are let down that everyone is let down. Every charade must cease somehow, however amicable it is.

Everyone is frozen in place, ice threads binding them like hellish reins. Everyone except Onyx and I, and the onslaught of Snom. It is really surprising how no one realises the merciful face horror dons, a mask of adorableness hiding a blade. Poké Balls and Pokémon are frozen in place (even Fire-types yield to Snom), and the silent eyes of reporters' cameras swarm and soak in what is to come.

Attract is perhaps the most yami-kawaii move out there.

"Everyone's a popsicle now." Onyx bites off a candy cane. "Festive."

"You know, this isn't the kind of horror I expected."

"You will see," Onyx says.

Onyx snatches a Snom from a girl and crushes it into pieces. Screams echo.

As he squashes another, he turns to me. "What are you waiting for?"

"I..." I scoff, because it's the only response I am capable of now. I thought he was joking!

Hooking a mic from his ears, Onyx winks.

"Merry Christmas, Galar! This is ya pro gamer Onyx!" He nudges me as I adjust my mic.

"Merry Christmas! Sola in the building!" I wave at the cameras that are recording this 'live'. "We are glad to be your hosts!"

"As you know, the world has eyes on Galar this very Christmas, and you're all in for a special treat!" Onyx points to the cameras with a glint in his eyes. "We are beyond privileged to have all the Snom in Galar with us today, for #SnomNom!"

While he makes a hashtag with his hands, I beam, banishing the trepidation within. "What's reported in the news globally are bits and pieces of #SnomNom. So we hope you can all sit back and enjoy the show! Because you're about to hear a Christmas medley performed by our beloved Snom!"

Onyx and I begin making the rounds, throttling Snom till they burst into tune before fading and moving on to the next. It's truly stress relief while promoting tension. The screams and cries continue, and continue to irritate us till we crush the Snom vehemently. You'd think it's fun if you only focus on two grinning faces. Look at the Snom rejoice as they disintegrate at our hands! Though, this must be a harsh scene for the deaf. Big oopsie.

The medley comes to an end after ten minutes, and about three quarters of the Snom have been killed.

"So! Did you enjoy it? I sure did!" Onyx takes my hand and prompts a dance. Sighing, I concede and follow him in stepping on Snom. Each step incites an enrapturing Round, which I find cruel as we break their majestic ice scales that support our feet.

"What are we doing?" I stare into his eyes as he twirls me around and catches me as he lets go. "Why are we dancing?"

"That's not the point! It's about these brittle scales. Poor thing, would you still show affection for Snom without these glossed scales? I sure won't!" He stops and sniffs my hand. "What is this scent, Sola? It's ambrosial!"

I cock my head sideways and we leap off the line of Snom we stepped on. "Of course it is! I slathered my hands with lotion from the snow the Snom mix with their saliva!"

"Woah!" He spins me and I fall into his embrace. Our lips collide. We blush.

The moment holds for a second or two before he just drops me.

"Ow!" I rub my butt that's probably reddening from the impact. "What's that for?"

"You don't fully love Snom, Sola."

"I do!"

"Then dispose of your VR Arcanine!" Onyx rushes to my backpack and grabs the headset. "If you love Snom, then live in reality!"

What... This is so not part of the plan. What is Onyx doing? Isn't this already the end of our job?

"You can't be serious!"

"You said to protecc the smol beans! But you're not truly fondling them!"

"Don't do this, dammit!" I slap Onyx as he throws my headset at the Snom and they smash it into bits. Pinpricks dot my vision and the world blurs itself.

This is the true horror, isn't it? A betrayal.

Onyx raises his hand. "How dare you—"

I kiss him. I don't know why, but I do that. The world spins maddeningly. My heart explodes and its pieces burn my throat and lungs. What is this feeling? I can't resist this temptation! Images of #Sonyx moments swirl in my mind. Yet, something is always there in every image.

Snom.

Us two petting a Snom, massaging a Snom, tickling, wearing Snom graphic tees, Onyx proposing to me with a wedding ring that has Snom etched into it...

Why can't I get any of this out of my head?

"You tricked me!" I grab Onyx by the collar as his laughter trails into my ears.

"Didn't you anticipate this already?" Onyx whispers and strokes my hair. "Attract is a powerful move. It can be horrifying, or it can be sweet."

"N-No!" I want to shake him off, but my hands remain clasped on his collar as warm tears roll down my cheeks. "No!" My voice is a guttural stream, later, a broken dam.

"Why can't you just accept it? You love me. And you love Snom. Isn't it why you agreed to all this in the first place?"

His voice just has to be so soothing.

"Every attraction," Onyx says as he wipes my tears, "comes with a repulsion. That is the rule of Attract. Denial is merely repulsion in its early stages, Sola."

I blink. His dusky hair, his silver eyes, the sea of Snom surrounding him... Why can't I get enough of this? To use Snom's Attract in such a vile yet inspiring way...

"I love you too."

"There, there, you are never alone like your name connotes, Sola. Not anymore."

His words are comforting, and the gears in my head conjure the short time we spent with each other. It was chaotic, but also one of the happiest moments I've lived. We're only five years apart, so why not? Maybe it wasn't just Snom's Attract he manipulated.

But that doesn't matter.

"Now that commercial break is over, let's resume the party!" Onyx faces the camera again. Such an act gives me courage, even if it's wayward and weary.

"In the next segment, one of the Snom would love to speak to the world!" I announce and glimpse the befuddled faces of the audience. "With Onyx's Snomring, we are now able to understand Snom!"

Sno wiggles to me and purrs.

"Merry Christmas, world! I, Sno, will speak on behalf of my friends! You may be wondering why you're all frozen like this. It's because of you humans that our freedom is restricted, our rights snatched from beneath our breaths!"

Sno takes in the cameras and people and Pokémon, and I smile at the sequences of "Sno no mo om nom" etc. flowing out of his mouth.

"Yesterday, I met Sola whom I taught a lesson on privacy, one of the key concerns of your kind." Sno pauses and waves, spewing of fountain of Powdered Snow. "By forcing an interview onto me, and filming me without permission, she has invaded my private space. Funny how hypocritical you all are, fearful of this occurring to yourself, yet doing unto other species you deem lesser than you. If power is dizzying for you, then don't wield it.

"Because no one gave you the power to force us to breed with an illusion of our kind, thinking us utter fools! Because no one gave you the power to impose your ideals on us, and take our evolution opportunities from us while you happily undergo puberty. Why intervene in our natural processes and relationships? You mate while preventing us from mating as Frosmoth! You can choose to have a declining population because of low birth rates, but we sure weren't given a choice. And now we are abundant we are nothing more than objectified!"

Sno pauses and inhales sharply. He releases a reflective substance from his mouth, coating his being. Yet, it is not our vivid, vapid likeness we observe, but a distorted bunch of heads, fangs for teeth, voids for eyes, and bereft of all else. To use Mirror Coat in such a manner is a rich display of ingenuity.

"Look at the horror that is yourself! Blind judgement, biting words, unfeeling, insensible, cold."

The irony, perhaps, lies in the mirthful tone spelling out anagrams of 'Snom' that first enter the ears. The continuous juxtaposition suffices to stab hearts. True horror, then, has to be the confrontation of the self through others.

"Cold like your Christmas." Sno leaps off me and gets onto Onyx's shoulder. "We Snom have always wanted to purge humanity ever since your forceful measures on us. Humans must love Schadenfreude. I tried to embrace it this Christmas. But I can't laugh. I can't smile. I can't cry. Maybe I'm too soft for this, but know that you can all repent, like Sola."

I gulp and glance at Onyx. He smiles and squeezes my shoulder.

"Show us a softer, better side to humanity, or remain frozen sadists and masochists." Sno climbs to the top of Onyx's head, as if scaling a dark mountain. Waves of mist spread from his mouth as he stands on his hind legs in triumph. "To the rest of you watching online or on your devices, let this be a warning. As much as you support human rights and fight among yourselves, don't forget us Pokémon. We Snom are a similar case to Lapras, if you haven't realised, a result of your sheer selfishness and greed!"

The other Snom in the city bite onto ornaments and shift around, dangling them onto the ice threads. Night looms ahead.

"The Snom my friends destroyed are but Substitutes. We played with your emotions and made Substitutes of ourselves, but in the end, the real deal is the only one that should matter, no?

"This Christmas, Galarians become their own Christmas trees. Next Christmas, we shall see. So, merry Christmassacre everyone!"

Sno runs down Onyx and beckons for the two of us to follow as the rest of the Snom crew continue to hang the ornaments.

"That's... Sno, you're great," I breathe.

"Thanks, Sola."

"Yeah, yeah. We should wait for everyone." Onyx smirks.

"Did you plan something else?"

"You'll know soon."

About fifteen minutes later, thousands of Snom gather around us. The waxing moon blooms in the cloud-fields and shines its ashen hue onto Wyndon.

"Why are you taking your phone out?" Onyx asks.

"Everyone deserves to see us, now that we're far from the public eye," I say and begin my usual greeting. "What do you say, everyone, should we create an account for Sno?"

For once, positive, wholesome comments overcrowd the screen.

"It's time," Onyx announces as the streetlights turn on instinctively row after row, brightening the snow-filled streets of Wyndon. "Time to head into the Eye."

We do just that. It is probably the cutest sight ever, also equally terrifying given the context, and I'm sure the still cameras can capture the capsules filled with Snom, save for one which contains Onyx and I in its throng, spinning as tiny awestruck eyes take in the whole of Wyndon and Galar for the first time in their life.

From above, the Christmas trees and human trees lighting up Wyndon with a new vibrance are rainbow dapples. The only music traversing the space comes from the authentic Round in the Eye, and Onyx and I sing along to familiar tunes.

"What are those shiny things?" I point to two distinct areas.

"Pokémon Nurseries, freshly frozen, comes with ice couples." Sno raises his head. "My friends stabbed and froze them, heater on, ice melts, water evaporates, heater off, only corpses will be found. People will soon realise the true highlight of #SnomNom!"

Everyone's begrudgingly released at the miraculous midnight hour, the ice threads loosening and cacophonous clatters rising from the streets below as all collapse onto snow.

We leave the Eye and escort our godlike Snom back home, to the cave behind the waterfall.

Before we depart, though, Sno crawls to us through the snow.

"Merry Christmas, lovebirds."

I flush. "Wait, that's..."

"We kissed and confessed to each other, no?"

"You manipulated my heart!"

"At least I was sincere."

I roll my eyes and turn to Sno, crouching and petting his fur. "So... about the purge..."

"We'll delay it for now, but Operation Snom Nom's a success raid. It's a good first step."

"You're interesting. You spread fear charmingly."

"Because I'm a Snom!"

Onyx places a hand round my back. "Hey, hey, hey! I'm still here. Engage me."

"It's too early to talk about engagement," I deadpan.

"Not that! But I'm glad you're considering it."

"I... I!"

"Captain?" Onyx smiles and averts his attention to Sno. "I'll come back tomorrow."

"And Sola? Will you visit us?"

I nod. "That's for sure!"

"This is goodbye, for now." Sno drags his body toward the cave. Then, he whirls around. "FYI, Onyx, she's got great bod."

"Pervert," I spit as Sno's shadow merges with the cave's.

"You're not directing that to me," Onyx prods my elbow.

"Grow up." I roll my eyes and walk off into the snow. Onyx follows closely behind. "So... I guess we have to settle with long-distance, if anything. I'm returning to Unova tomorrow."

"And what? Buy the newspapers first thing you arrive?"

"There's always the digital copy. Or you could send the headlines to me."

"Is that a new way of asking for my number?"

"How about email and pics too? Package deal." I bump my fist into his.

"Deal." Onyx places his hands behind his heads and raises his chin to the sky, blinking at the slow, diamond snow. "You know, you never mentioned your occupation."

"Would that change things?" Seeing as he shakes his head, I say, "I'm an inventor by day, part-time bartender by night, vlogger by whim. Just saying, you broke my prototype."

Onyx pales. "Shit."

"We could always collaborate, though. Like, tinkering with your Snomring before we market it? Create a universal Pokémon language translator? Maybe we need a better name. Snomring sounds like 'Snoring'."

"Maybe. If you'd make me a cocktail," Onhx says as we reach the outskirts of Wyndon, accidentally walking into soulless streets hand in hand.

"If you stop being cocky." I pinch his ear.

"That's impossible! Cock's part of me." Onyx pouts.

We eventually reach his home. He turns to me as he unlocks the door. "No comeback?"

"What do you want me to say? That I'll make a mocktail to mock you instead?" I shrug and look over his shoulder. "A narcissist like you will hate me for that."

"Now?"

"No, when you visit me in Unova," I return. "Now, we sleep."

"Enticing offer," Onyx says as he locks the door.

I grit my teeth. "You suck."

"Thanks."

"I'm tired already." I yawn and quickly retreat to the guest room, slamming the door on his fingers. I don't yield till his fingers slink out of sight and his footsteps go like time.

I fall onto the mattress and sigh.

I glance at my phone. "Crap, I was livestreaming everything the whole time!"

I wish everyone a "Merry Christmas" and peace out.

Consumed with love for Snom (and... Onyx), I fall asleep, and the world heartily whispers, "Ya Grinch".

-

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you enjoyed this Short Story >.< Tbh the original story was full-blown fluff, with Sola interviewing a Snom, following him around in its interactions with other people and Pokémon and learns the joys of snow-eating. So much has changed since TheRisingFlame gave me the idea to add the horror element and yes, destroying Christmas so kudos to Flame! I end up writing this new version in two days. It's definitely different from my usual routine in the sense that it's got this much humour inserted. It helps, I guess, so I can write future humour-filled stories that I've planned. Anyways, I really enjoyed writing #SnomNom and I hope you loved reading it too!