The target location hasn't been reached yet, but it's not far away.
On the way, they encountered quite a few Ice-type Pokémon; some were hostile, while others just glanced at them from afar before quickly disappearing into the snowstorm.
To be in better shape, Natsuhiko and Hilona chose to hide behind a towering rock, to recover a bit and attend to their basic needs, before making a final push to reach the target location.
"The level of Wild Pokémon here is really high, and the Ice Energy is way too dense," Natsuhiko said, stuffing the last piece of bread into his mouth and taking a couple of swigs of water.
Thanks to Yujira's superpower barrier and Froslass's separation of the incoming snow and ice, water hadn't instantly frozen into blocks upon arrival here.
"Hmm, Gabite and I used to come here up the mountain every day for a while."
Seeing Natsuhiko finished his meal, Hilona also sped up her eating.
She couldn't compare with Natsuhiko's brisk pace of finishing a loaf in two bites.
If she knew Natsuhiko was quick with bread purely because she was present, who knows what she'd think.
Otherwise, why would it take two bites to finish a loaf?
"What's really at the place you mentioned? You seem quite wary," Natsuhiko asked, curious.
"I don't know."
Hilona hesitated and shook her head, carefully brushing a crumb into her mouth.
"You don't know?"
Still so serious even though you're unsure?
That's a bit scary.
"Because the snowstorm is so strong, the closer you get there, the worse it gets. We can reach it, but unlike today, comfortably; every time I tried to eat something, it froze solid before I could take a bite, so we always made it a round-trip within the day," Hilona explained.
That makes a lot of sense...
"However, there was one time we tried, but hadn't yet reached the final location when the strength of Wild Pokémon forced us to retreat."
Natsuhiko squinted his eyes upon hearing that.
A Wild Pokémon strong enough to force Hilona to retreat?
Even if it's been a long time since then, Hilona should have been quite strong even then.
"How do you know there are rocks with rich Ice Energy where I mentioned?"
Hilona blinked at him, then gently patted the huge rock shielding them from the snowstorm.
Natsuhiko slapped his forehead.
Foolish.
On the way up, there was nothing but snow and wind, not a rock in sight, until reaching here and seeing a huge rock blocking the snowstorm; doesn't that say something?
Approaching this area, there are indeed rocks.
Moreover, they are rocks unaffected by wind and snow, covered in thick ice.
"I'm ready."
Hilona finished the last bite of bread, took out a prepared insulated flask, and drank a few sips of warm water, quite different from Natsuhiko's rough approach with ice water.
"Then let's go."
The two stood up.
This should be the final stretch of the journey.
Approaching the place Hilona mentioned, the large rocks nearby became noticeably numerous.
They are covered in thick ice layers, but it's clear that there's still quite a way to go for Eevee to evolve.
Yet, through Froslass's calls, it was evident that the Ice Energy here was indeed growing denser.
"Buyi~~"
Eevee and Togetic walked at the front of the group. Having moved past their initial rivalry, their relationship had greatly improved, and they occasionally chatted.
Eevee had learned through Natsuhiko and Hilona's conversations that it was going to evolve into a never-seen-before Glaceon!
The little guy showed no signs of rejection. Instead, it was extraordinarily excited.
Having followed Hilona since childhood, the place it frequented most was Shenhe Town, adjacent to Celestial Crown Mountain. Just going a short distance upward led to snow-covered areas.
So Eevee naturally liked the white, chilly stuff greatly.
This was evident in its leading position since entering Celestial Crown Mountain.
Upon learning it could evolve and gain an Ice Attribute, the excitement couldn't be greater.
Even Togetic, once seen as an annoying guy, seemed a bit cuter now in its eyes.
Seeing Eevee's demeanor, the smile on Hilona's face never waned.
She couldn't decide for a long time partly due to hesitance over which evolution type suited her best, but also about which attribute evolution would please Eevee.
Now it seemed, everyone was happy.
She gained an Ice Attribute she lacked, and Eevee could evolve into its preferred form.
Of course, that's assuming all went smoothly.
So far, the situation looked decent.
Huge blocks of rocks stood on both sides, adorned with ice crystals and prisms. Natsuhiko and Hilona walked in between, like traversing a deliberately left passageway.
Upon entering this icy path, the activity frequency of Wild Pokémon decreased instead.
But each appearing Wild Pokémon was very powerful, either close to Gym Leader Level or reaching it, requiring Natsuhiko and Hilona's combined efforts for smooth passage.
No wonder Hilona previously retreated after merely approaching here.
With her strength back then, confronting a Gym Leader Level Ice-type Pokémon would have been quite challenging, given her ace was Gabite, a Dragon Type.
Add to that no Superpower Pokémon to isolate temperature, no Ice-type Pokémon to disperse the snowstorm, it'd be tough to proceed.
"Mhm!"
With Froslass's soft call, they finally reached the end of this icy path.
And before them was a neatly arranged pile of ice crystals, resembling a flower, with shimmering blocks spread from a center outward, increasing in number towards the edges, stacked high.
At first glance, doesn't it look like a blooming flower in the snowy world?
Moreover, in the center of this "flower," lay several palm-sized deep blue stones.
Initially appearing stone-like, upon closer inspection, they are actually tightly condensed ice crystals brimming with rich Ice Energy.
These should be the precursor to Ice Stones, "Snow-covered Stones," essentially crystallized from highly condensed Ice Energy, perhaps maturing over ages into Ice Stones.
"This should be it..." Natsuhiko stood at the "flower's" edge, looking at the deep blue ice stones inside.
"Buyi~~"
Hearing this, Eevee jumped right in, its cream-colored tail gently swaying, stepping closer to the center with its small paws.
Hope glimmered in Hilona's eyes.
"Can this really help Eevee evolve into what it wants?"
Yet, Natsuhiko wasn't as optimistic as her, taking in the surroundings.
Flower?
This clearly isn't naturally formed; something or someone must have arranged these stones.
"Rather than a flower, don't you think it's more like a..."
"What?" Hilona also sensed something amiss.
Suddenly realizing, Natsuhiko's pupils constricted, inhaling sharply before exhaling heavily, he looked at Hilona and said solemnly, "A nest."
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