Snowing Cats and Dogs

Darcy had never been in this part of the world before! All things considered, she kind of regretted not coming here sooner. She'd wanted to take her team-mate-and-sister along as well, but the jigglypuff had said she'd already seen the place and had already made plans for the next few days as well. Something about a Vulpix...? Darcy didn't knowo that Alki had made friends with a Vulpix! She'd asked Darcy if she could meet the Vulpix, but she'd acted awfully skittish after the question...

Darcy blinked at her own thoughts, before letting out a small chuckle. Skittish... Skitty. She'd been skittish towards the skitty... Darcy laughed louder, before lodging the little pun away for future use. Who knew when something like that could cheer her up? Alki seemed to enjoy those kinds of jokes, and Darcy had taken a bit of a shining to those cheesy puns ever since as well...

The Skitty stopped in her tracks, in the middle of a rather wide clearing. She hadn't bothered to check that there was no one there with her; after all, she was far too busy admiring the snow-scape to bother with small stuff like that! "It barely ever snows like this in Grassveil..." She spoke loudly to herself, scooping up a paw-ful of snow and throwing it a small distance away, watching speckling snow fall and settle in haphazard piles on top of the otherwise smooth snow. "I wish she were with me too..." The Skitty looked down, settling on her stomach on top of the pleasantly cold snow. Alki still loved her, she just needed space... She'd had some rough events recently. Maybe once she came back, they could talk about it...

[Energy: 7, Fiery Gem in use]

Well, here she was. Opal was back in this frozen land. She didn't know what had possessed her to return. At least she wasn't near that stream this time. Maybe it was curiosity about the rest of the place that had driven her here? The growlithe padded forward as she reflected on her thoughts.

Some time later, Opal had reached the icy woods and gone through them to a clearing. She didn't know what she was expecting to see, but it certainly wasn't a skitty lying down right in the middle. Opal paused and sniffed... Female... Not injured or in distress, but what was she doing here? The pup decided to ask. She cleared her throat before carefully calling out, "Excuse me, ma'am? Are you okay?"

Darcy jumped at the sound of a foreign voice, rising back up to her feet from her position in the snow. She turned to meet the sight of a vaguely familiar Growlithe, addressing her formally and asking if she was alright. Darcy nodded, re-adjusting the scarf around her neck so as to show off her guild badge. She smiled pleasantly at the Growlithe, before explaining. "Oh, yeah! I'm fine. Just... thinking, I guess. It's pretty out here." Darcy sat down on the snow, her tail flicking excitedly. Some company always made her feel better! A friendly voice to talk to. And what better joy than meeting a kind stranger in a mystery dungeon? On the one hand, she probably shouldn't have let herself be snuck up on like that... On the other hand, this Pokemon seemed awfully kind. She even called her Ma'am!

"Why are you here, anyways?" Darcy asked, tilting her head. "Are you here for the view too? It never snows like this at the guild. I like this place. I've never been here before, y'know..." Darcy stopped, looking over the Growlithe once more. She really couldn't shake the feeling that her face was somewhat familiar... "Say... Have we met before?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She couldn't remember very well sometimes, but this feeling simply wouldn't go away...

Memories tugged at the back of Opal's mind as she heard the skitty's reply. Her voice really did sound quite familiar, but where had she heard it before?

"I can't say I'm here for the view," Opal spoke back as she noted the little cat's Guild badge. A fellow member! "I don't really know why I'm here, actually. I didn't have a good time last time I came."

Then the skitty asked if they'd met before. That couldn't be mere coincidence. Opal screwed up her face in concentration as she came a little closer for a better sniff and scanned her memories. Eventually, she had an excited answer for the stranger, who wasn't so strange after all.

"Oh! You're one of the pokemon who saved me from that awful charizard in Grassveil!"

Darcy's ears perked up and her tail began to wave around slightly faster as the Growlithe seemed to remember their previous meeting before Darcy did. She nodded excitedly, smiling widely as she remembered it as well. That hadn't been a very pleasant experience, the whole business with the Charizard. She would've very much liked to meet everyone involved (except the Charizard) under different circumstances. But she didn't control those kinds of things, so this was the next best thing! "Right! I remember that! That... wasn't the best kind of situation to make new friends." She said, laughing. "It's nice to meet you under different circumstances,"

She thought back to what she'd said before the Growlithe had remembered their situation in Grassveil. She supposed it made sense. If she was a fire type, she wouldn't like cold very much either. Plus, it was still a mystery dungeon. "That's a shame, by the way..." She paused for a second before standing up, her gaze shifting off to the cluster of trees nearby. "Well, frankly, neither of us really have a good reason to be here, right? Might as well stick around, huh? Maybe your second time'll be better than your first?" She asked, laughing, while at the same time, sincerely hoping that that would be the case.

"Indeed! Opal beamed, "It's nice to make a new friend here! I'm sure this trip will be much better with you around!"

Opal was happy. This skitty was automatically a far better travelling companion than the croagunk she'd been stuck with when traversing the Frozen Stream. She realised, though, that she didn't even know the other girl's name.

"I don't think we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves back then," the growlithe observed, "Let's do that now, shall we? I'm Opal!"

The cold was worth it for this reunion. The snow sinking into her fur didn't seem so bad now. Still, it was about time to shake the stuff off.

Frebedor carried out 7 launched of one Icicle Woods :

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Fiery Gem

Frebedor carried out 3 launched of one Icicle Woods :

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Darcy nodded enthusiastically as the Growlithe before her seemed to be quite excited for this adventure already! “Yeah, I certainly hope so...” Darcy said, laughing softly at the Growlithe’s enthusiasm. She hadn’t really had much of a chance to appreciate her personality last time, but she quite liked this Pokemon! She would have to introduce her to Alki as well, once they got back! Or re-introduce her, she supposed. Maybe the Growlithe would recognize the jigglypuff as well! That’d be quite nice, and maybe even help to cheer her sister up a bit!

“Yeah… What with all the fighting and… well, everything that happened last time, I doubt we did.” She listened and nodded at her introduction. “That’s a gemstone, right? That’s a pretty name!” The Skitty said cheerfully, swishing her tail lightly in the cold breeze. “My name’s Darcy. It’s a pleasure to meet you again!” She said, before getting up to her feet and walking off deeper into the dungeon. “Let’s get going then!”

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Icicle Woods :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Icicle Woods :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Icicle Woods :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Icicle Woods :

[Energy: 0 +28 (Reviver Seed) -5 (Echo World) =23]

"Hehe, thanks! That's why I was named after it!" Opal replied. It was nice to have a partner like this. Definitely better than that smelly frog from last time. "Darcy is a cool name, too."

As the girls got to exploring, Opal struck up another conversation. "Hey, I can show you something really neat. Have a look at this treasure I bought recently!"

Opal paused in their trek to pull something out of her bag. It was a beautifully cut gemstone with a blazing orange colour. The growlithe held it up proudly. "It's said only fire types can use it. This is the first time I've had the opportunity. Why don't we see what it does together?"

Darcy grinned, nodding. She'd never had a gemstone like that of her own; they were far too expensive for someone like her to own, and both her money, and Alki's was going towards their mother. She needed the money much more than either of them did, and both sisters had agreed to this arrangement. That hadn't stopped Darcy from observing the gemstones offered by a rather callous butterfree in the middle of Grassveil markets. Sapphires, Rubies... she'd even seen a diamond once! Opals still ranked among one of Darcy's favorites to look at. Maybe one day, she could have one of her own! "Thanks! I wasn't really named after anything, but I still like mine! I dunno why... It just fits me, I guess!" She said cheerily, giggling.

The two pokemon began to wander off, exploring the snowy woods with no real aim or goal aside from enjoying each other's company. The Skitty closed her eyes, occasionally attempting to catch a slow-falling snowflake on her tongue. The Growlithe soon mentioned something that was really neat, soon revealing it to be a treasure! It certainly looked the part too. Darcy inspected it closer, it's oranges and reds shining fiercely, even amidst all the snow surrounding them. She Oooooohed softly, blinking a few times. Something like that must be worth a fortune...

"It looks beautiful!" The Skitty said, nodding enthusisatically as the Growlithe suggested testing it out. Something that pretty was also an item? She backed away in the snow before sitting down a few paces away. If only fire types could use it, she should probably stand back a bit. Could items get confused? She didn't want her normal typing to mess things up anyways... "Let's do it! I'd love to see what it does!"

"Alright, here goes!" Opal announced, delighted that Darcy shared in her enthusiam for the dazzling object. The Fiery Gem had been expensive, costing the pup most of her money, but she was sure it would be a worthwhile investment. Even if it didn't do anything, it sure was pretty to look at.

Opal focused on her gem, and as she did, she felt a strange sensation. It really did do something! "I feel something! I think we should go this way!" the growlithe called out excitedly and began to trot away. After a short distance, she stopped again and began to dig. It was like her treasure was telling her to do so. Was this the power it held? She could only begin to imagine the discoveries she'd make with this!

"Hey, there's a bunch of gummis and berries under here! They don't smell like anyone's claimed them, either! Let's take them with us!"

Her first use of the Fiery Gem might not have turned up anything of major significance, but Opal was still chuffed. She was going to take her treasure wherever she went and see what other secrets it held.

"Alright!" Darcy called out, her heart beating faster as she ran behind the Growlithe. What was it doing? Maybe it was pointing them towards the center of the dungeon? Or perhaps towards an exit? But then they wouldn't be running deeper... Maybe it was directing them towards a fire? It was meant for fire-types, after all. Darcy came to a sudden stop, almost tumbling over herself, but luckily, the kitten caught her footing. They hadn't run nearly as far as she had been expecting, and there was no fire around as far as she could see. There went that hypothesis...

The Growlithe began to dig, and Darcy watched on with a pleasant, albeit confused smile. She didn't see anything here, nor did she smell anything of note, but... Opal certainly seemed to! Darcy watched as the Growlithe dug up some berries and gummis... "Huh?" She asked, cocking her head as she observed the Growlithe's findings. She certainly didn't think that anything of note had been there, but... was that what the treasure did? "Wow! It helps you find treasure? That's so awesome!" Darcy said excitedly. It really was, too. That she'd found so many things so fast... "Let's keep using it then, and see what we find!" She grinned, beaming at the Growlithe. This was going to be a good day, she felt!

"Yeah!"

Opal focused on the gem again, hoping it would lead them to more goodies. There was no feeling of warmth this time, though. What was wrong? Did it only work once? She hoped not.

"It's not working any more... Maybe it needs to recharge?" the pup mused. She was disappointed, but she supposed it made sense. It was incredible that the precious stone could do this in the first place. Wasting this power wouldn't be a good thing.

As Opal pondered the matter of the gem, something truly amazing happened right in front of her eyes. She very nearly dropped her treasure as she watched some kind of mass spontaneously appear. It was transparent, but the dark swirls were still very noticeable.

"By Arceus..."

Darcy's eyes widened as a portal swirling with... something appeared in front of her. It was transparent, but little swirls of black and red were dancing on it's edges. She stared at it for a solid thirty seconds, unsure of what to say, and what to do. It didn't appear to be a threat... one moment, this thing hadn't been there, and the next, here it was, spitting out what seemed like sparks of shadow out at the duo.

"Uh..." Darcy said, padding closer to the portal. It didn't hurt, but she did have a funny sensation as she approached it. From this close up, she could almost make out the terrain through the thing. The terrain on the other side seemed similar to the one they were currently in. "I-I mean... w-we are explorers..." She said, taking a step back, closer to the Growlithe before turning to look back at Opal. "These... T-These kinds of things happen, I guess..." The Skitty said, knowing full well that these kinds of things certainly did not ever happen. "W-What do you think it is?"

"No idea," Opal replied, still in awe, trying to sniff the portal without touching it, "If my gem finds treasure, then it probably didn't do this, but maybe..."

No special scent was around, at least on this side. The pup did see the ghostly terrain now as well, though. Combined with the swirls, it was quite mesmerising.

"...Well, as you said, we are explorers. Whether the gem did it or not, this is one heck of a discovery! We should go through it!"

Opal showed the characteristic bravery of her species and began to move forward. As her nose touched the transparent mass, she experienced a strange sensation, as if something was being sapped from her. Once through, though, the growlithe didn't see anything special. This side was exactly the same as the other! Had the portal just been a fancy light? How disappointing!

Then she turned around.

The dark swirling was still there, but now when Opal looked through it, Darcy appeared ghostly as well. It was as if she'd entered another plane of existence.

"Y-Yep... We are explorers..." Darcy repeated, watching as the Growlithe beside her stepped forward and into the portal. That was true... And if Opal had the bravery to step through it so confidently, then surely she could manage to at least follow her in, right? She repeated the word Explorer under her breath, before stepping in, following the Growlithe. She looked back towards the swirling portal, back in the direction that she'd come, and watched as the snowy woods they had just been in seemed to churn about dreamily, as if it weren't real...

"This is... Honestly? A bit creepy." She said, laughing. Darcy didn't like this at all... but she wasn't about to let her new friend go someplace like this all alone! She needed to be brave too... for everyone's sake... "Ok... Ok." She said, laying down on her stomach for a moment to steady her shaky breaths. She was scared, she really was... "W-What... What do you think this is?" She asked, finally managing to get herself under control. They'd be fine... Nothing had happened yet, and for the most part, their surroundings didn't seem to have changed much at all, aside from the portal...