"What's wrong? You look awful."
Ace watched Cynthia return. After packing his things, he asked, puzzled.
"Nothing."
Cynthia smiled, her voice somewhat distracted.
Ace frowned slightly, sizing up Cynthia. "Maybe we should leave Mt. Silver for now. Your condition..."
"Let's keep going!"
Cynthia suddenly said with fierce determination. "This time, we're reaching the summit of Mt. Silver!"
Seeing Cynthia's sudden change in attitude, Ace opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing more, instead silently walking towards the mountain peak.
Cynthia watched Ace walk ahead, and a hint of sorrow once again shadowed her face.
"Something's happening! Get ready for battle!"
Ace felt the slight tremor in the snow beneath his feet and immediately shouted to Cynthia. At the same time, his Poké Ball opened, and Lapras landed in the snow.
"Thud."
Ace had already entered battle mode, but Cynthia, behind him, was distracted and bumped into Ace's backpack.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Ace stop, Cynthia instinctively asked.
"Get ready for battle! Damn it, here they come!"
Ace was somewhat exasperated, but time waited for no one. Before Cynthia could react, over twenty Sneasel, led by a Weavile, surrounded Ace and Cynthia.
At Weavile's command, the Sneasel immediately charged rapidly towards Ace and Cynthia.
"Surf to hold them back!"
Ace told Lapras, then shouted to Cynthia, "Concentrate! Don't get distracted!"
"Oh, oh."
Cynthia immediately responded, pulling out a Poké Ball. Budew was sent out.
"Lucario, use Force Palm!"
Budew turned around to look at Cynthia with a confused expression. Cynthia then realized her mistake and quickly said, "Budew, Stun Spore!"
Budew immediately scattered Stun Spore, rushing towards the Sneasel.
The Sneasel stopped instantly, all opening their mouths. A blast of Icy Wind quickly blew, sweeping the Stun Spore away and heading towards Cynthia and Ace.
"Cynthia! What are you doing?!"
Ace didn't turn his head, but yelled furiously at Cynthia.
Budew's Stun Spore had been blown back. Although it didn't hit Budew, the Stun Spore landed on Lapras.
Lapras was injured by friendly fire this time!
"Return, Lapras! Happiny, Mega Punch them! Aerodactyl, Hyper Beam!"
Ace recalled Lapras, throwing out two Poké Balls. As soon as Happiny landed, it immediately charged towards the Sneasel, while Aerodactyl flapped its wings and flew, firing a Hyper Beam towards the Weavile on the other side.
Weavile shrieked, and two Sneasel blocked its path.
Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam blasted the two Sneasel away, but it didn't harm the Weavile behind them.
Happiny held back five or six Sneasel, but the other Sneasel immediately bypassed Happiny and charged towards Ace and Cynthia.
A sharp claw swiped towards Ace's head. Ace instinctively ducked, avoiding the attack, but as he turned, he saw Cynthia standing there blankly.
"What are you spacing out for?!"
Ace roared, then ducked and lunged backward, tackling Cynthia onto the snow.
Cynthia dodged the fatal attack, but Budew wasn't so lucky. It was directly knocked flying by a Sneasel, rolled a few times in the snow, and immediately lost its ability to battle.
"This isn't how you commit suicide!"
Ace roared at Cynthia, stood up, and immediately opened all the Poké Balls on his person.
"Crobat, Supersonic! Squirtle, Bubble Beam! Gastly, Hypnosis! Victreebel, use Acid to gather them!"
All of his Pokémon charged out, temporarily fending off the Sneasel's first wave of attack.
"Sorry."
Cynthia stood up, speaking timidly to Ace.
"Slap!"
Ace backhanded Cynthia across the face, glaring at her fiercely. "You shouldn't apologize to me for that; go apologize to Budew. Don't forget this is dangerous Mt. Silver. If you don't focus, you'll die!"
With that, Ace immediately ignored Cynthia and focused on commanding his Pokémon to battle the Sneasel.
Cynthia glanced at Budew, which was about to be dragged away by a Sneasel, then immediately slapped herself, shaking herself awake with a harsh sting. She then threw out a Poké Ball: "Lucario, Quick Attack to save Budew!"
Lucario immediately burst from its Poké Ball, moving incredibly fast and violently ramming into the Sneasel, sending it flying.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cynthia quickly seized the moment and recalled Budew into its Poké Ball.
"Lucario, Force Palm!"
"Gible, Dig!"
"Dragonair, Thunder Wave!"
"Miltank, Budew is up to you."
Cynthia also immediately released all her Pokémon, sending them charging towards the Sneasel.
Budew was entrusted to Miltank, and with Miltank's healing capabilities, bringing Budew back to health shouldn't be an issue.
However, just as Ace and Cynthia were struggling against the Sneasel, the Weavile, which had been fighting Aerodactyl, used Dig and burrowed into the snow.
"Roar!"
Having lost sight of Weavile, Aerodactyl immediately warned Ace.
Ace instantly snapped out of his intense battle state, carefully sensing the vibrations beneath his feet.
"Cynthia, come closer to me! Weavile used Dig!"
Ace instinctively shouted to Cynthia. Cynthia, too, regained their synchronized teamwork, simultaneously commanding her Pokémon to fight while steadily retreating towards Ace.
A faint tremor came, and Ace immediately pinpointed the sensation.
"The direction is... behind us! Cynthia! Watch out!"
Ace immediately reacted, charging towards Cynthia without a second thought.
Cynthia heard Ace's words and instinctively turned her head.
"Thwack!"
A black shadow instantly burst from the snow. Weavile grinned, its sharp claws slashing down fiercely at Cynthia!
Ace arrived just in time, making a flying tackle that knocked Cynthia to the ground, causing Weavile's claw to miss.
Weavile's gaze landed on Ace, and it roared, clenching its right paw. With an Ice Punch, it struck fiercely at Ace.
"Lapras!"
Ace forcefully threw out a Poké Ball, and Lapras appeared, blocking in front of him.
But Weavile was incredibly fast. It dodged Lapras's Body Slam with a quick flash. As it rapidly approached Ace, a chilling fist, radiating cold, grew larger and larger in Ace's vision!
"Thud!"
"Crack!"
The Ice Punch slammed heavily onto Ace's head. Ace immediately felt his head go cold, followed by a wave of dizziness, and then everything went black. He knew nothing more.
The subsequent "crack" was Lapras landing in the snow, its heavy weight seemingly crushing something.
Immediately after, amidst Cynthia's cry of alarm, a sensation of freefall enveloped her. Cynthia, holding Ace, plummeted downwards with Lapras!