Chapter 68: Can You See the Snow There?
(Ps: For those who don't mind, you can open the BGM—"Because the Sky is Over There" while reading this chapter. I think it's the best ending song in the Pokémon series. Listening to fitting music can deepen the experience.)
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A month passed in the blink of an eye. The days had unknowingly reached the end of the year. If this world had a calendar, today would be the winter solstice.
The Royal Capital seemed no different, though the colder weather had left the streets deserted. Queen Liz was still busy dealing with the increasing friction between the two countries. Her life seemed unchanged, yet it had also changed. It had become a little like it was before Alan appeared.
Boring. Tedious.
Although Charmander and Gligar often played around her, dispelling some of the loneliness, her heart was no longer at ease. She often couldn't sleep at night, the boundless darkness slowly devouring her warmth as she wondered what Alan was doing, whether he was safe, whether he was injured.
"Hoo..."
Exhaling a breath of warm air, Liz got up and went to the window. Since the day Alan left, the sky had seemed perpetually gray.
"It's snowing..."
She opened the window, reaching out her hand to catch a single snowflake. It melted instantly, and the icy cold seemed to pierce straight to her bones. She shivered, reaching for the pure white cape behind her and wrapping it tightly around herself. It was soft, like touching Alan's skin, which brought her a small measure of comfort.
Bang!
The study door was pushed open. Ryuuki ran in holding Natu, followed by a now-evolved Charmeleon and Gligar. The little ones played and fussed around Liz, and the room seemed to warm up a bit.
"Be careful, don't fall," Liz smiled and reminded them, then turned back to the window, her gaze fixed on the distant Silver Mountain Range.
"It's okay even if you don't become stronger," she whispered, "as long as you come back safe and sound."
Just then, Hestia walked in. "My Queen," she said, holding a plate. "The gloves are finished."
On the plate lay a pair of pure white gloves. Liz's eyes lit up as she put them on. They were made from Alan's skin when he was still a Dratini, and they felt even softer and more tender than the cape. She returned to the window and extended her hand again. Snowflakes fell into her palm, but this time, she felt no cold at all.
"Even though Lord Alan is not by your side, he is still trying his best to protect you," Hestia said softly.
"Yes," Liz nodded, looking up at the sky. "Can you see the snow there?"
In the middle area of Mt. Silver.
[Dragon Rush]
Ryū transformed into a blue-violet meteor, crashing directly into the chest of a Nidoqueen and sending it flying. Covered in injuries and his face purplish from poison, he quickly returned to his cave and swallowed a Pecha Berry.
"So tired."
He coiled up, ate a few recovery fruits, and fell into a deep sleep. He didn't know how much time had passed when a rustling sound from outside woke him. His eyes snapped open, and he rushed out to find a Machop beckoning to him from behind a tree.
"It's you again," Ryū sighed with some exasperation. This Machop was an old acquaintance who came over to get beaten up every few days.
A few minutes later, the battle was easily won. As Ryū caught his breath, he sensed something and looked up. A single snowflake fell through the dense canopy and landed on his nose.
"It's snowing?"
He flew above the forest. The sky was thick with clouds, and the landscape below was being covered in a glittering blanket of white.
"I wonder what the Royal Capital is like... Charmeleon should have evolved by now. Is Liz still in her study, dealing with trivial matters?"
Ryū faced the direction of the capital, but it was too far to see. Snowflakes began to land on him, melting slowly against his naturally cool scales.
"Can you see the snow there?" he wondered, hovering quietly in the air. Soon, he was covered in a pure white cape of snowflakes. He shivered, shook them off, and flew back into the forest.
"ROAR!"
A roar echoed through the trees. Ryū turned to see a giant Nidoking—probably here to avenge the Nidoqueen from yesterday. Without a word, it charged.
Ryū met the charge with a swing of his tail. In the middle of Mt. Silver, there was no time for rest, no time to appreciate the beauty of winter. He had to keep fighting, keep getting stronger.
Until the day he felt he could return to her side.