Snowflakes danced through the air of Snowpoint City, glittering and shining like diamonds as they reflected the light of the streetlights, giving a mystical quality to the city.

  Unlike when we had arrived at Snowpoint, the city wasn’t quiet. The hushed, contemplative atmosphere was gone, replaced with life and music.

  Bands played on street corners, both human and Pokémon musicians working together to create music that was both strangely familiar, and entirely different from what I was used to. Some of it sounded old and traditional, the same songs that had likely been sung in the city since it was first founded, while other bands were playing more modern pop songs.

  Garlands and decorations had been strung up all over the city, the event planners had worked like Combee to make sure everything got done in time. In the various squares and plazas of Snowpoint City different events and celebrations had been set up - in one there was an ice sculpture competition going on, with Ice-types providing new blocks of ice whenever one of the contestants accidentally broke theirs.

  In another square, vast tables had been set up with food and drink; warm apple ciders, teas, and coffees were all laid out next to dozens of baked goods. The most common type I could see was a small, mini tart made of baked cheese.

  Most were just a classic, golden yellow with a beautifully toasted surface, but there were some dark brown chocolate ones, purple Ube, and even some green tarts with a Sinistcha merrily mixing away above them.

  Next to the cheese tarts were cookies of all different kinds, milk breads, sponge cakes, and more, the collected smells of the plaza were enough to make anybody’s mouth water.

  In a corner there was even a table with some harder beverages on it, including some hot toddy’s and mulled wine.

  People of all ages were gathered on the streets, walking from plaza to plaza, laughing, getting their meals from food carts parked along the sides of the road, and generally living life to the fullest.

  It was a shock to the system, seeing the normally quiet and restrained Sinnohans going all out for the Ice Festival.

  “In Hoenn we’d be wearing traditional festival clothes.” Ted said as we walked down the street, hot snacks in hand.

  “Like a yukata?”

  “Yeah, exactly. But no.” He grumbled. “It’s too cold here.”

  I pointed to my own jacket, which I’d picked up specifically for the Ice Festival. It was a hanten in a gorgeous light blue with a white snowflake pattern, and the cotton padding inside went a long way to making sure that I stayed warm.

  “You could have gotten one of these.”

  Ted grumbled even more and pulled his full winter coat tighter around him.

  “No thanks. The sleeves are too short, and I prefer to have something that’s actually warm. This one has real Torchic down insulation, so it stays nice and hot for me.”

  I frowned, taking a bite of the taiyaki I’d bought. “Isn’t that… unethical?”

  He rolled his eyes. “They molt, Alina. I don’t know how many times we have to tell you that we take care of our Pokémon here. Were things really so bad where you came from that you have to look at everything so cynically?”

  “I… yeah, actually. It was pretty bad at times where I came from. I tried to get all of my stuff as ethically as I could, but a lot of the time I didn’t have a choice.”

  “That sounds awful.”

  I shuddered, and took another bite of the taiyaki, swallowing the delicious food before I spoke again.

  “It was. I’m glad I’m here now though.”

  “Mm.” He nodded, and pulled his woolen cap a little bit further down on his ears. “How do you think they’re doing?”

  The ‘they’ in question were Lucas and Kevin, who were both walking a few yards ahead of us, each wearing a lighter jacket than I was.

  Curse those Sinnoh natives.

  I had a decent cold resistance, but they were something else.

  The date seemed to be going well, but Ted and I were hanging just far enough back so we couldn’t overhear them.

  “Well, they haven’t punched each other yet.” I said. “Or gotten into an argument. Or kissed each other.”

  Ted nearly spat out his mulled cider.

  “It’s a possibility. I give it even odds that the night ends in either a kiss, or a punch.”

  He stared at me for a second, then sighed.

  I shrugged, and took another bite of food.

  /^\

  We were walking through another plaza when something caught my eye. There were a few small tables set up, each one with a game board placed on top. Looking around and seeing Ted was occupied chatting with a Mamoswine breeder who had set up shop nearby, I wandered over.

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  Most of the tables were empty, and those that were full were occupied by rather old men and women. Still, the game seemed familiar, with red and white stones being placed on the intersections of criss-crossing lines.

  One of the old men spotted me walking over, and gestured to a seat opposite of him. There was nobody else sitting there, so I pulled the chair out and sat down.

  “Good afternoon.” I said politely.

  “Good evening more like it!” He cackled. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “It’s the coat.” He said.

  I blinked and looked down. “What’s wrong with it? Is it a bad pattern?”

  “No, no not at all.” The old man reached over and tugged at the sleeve of my coat, then gestured at his own. “It’s just that yours isn’t worn out, see?”

  “It could be a new coat that I bought after my old one gave out.”

  “Bah.” He waved his hand. “I can tell when a coat has been bought for an event, and when it’s been bought because another one gave out.”

  I bit my tongue, and nodded. “So, what is this game?”

  “Eh? Didn’t you know? This is Go.”

  Blinking in surprise, I looked down at the board. I’d heard of Go before, in my old world, but I’d never played it. I hadn’t thought if it would be here in this world or not.

  “I’ve never played.”

  “Do you want to learn?”

  I shot a look over at Ted, who now seemed to be swarmed by Swinub.

  “Sure, I think I have some time.”

  “Perfect. First, we say the opening lines; Leave Luck to Heaven.”

  “Leave Luck to Heaven.”

  “Good! Now I’ll be red stones, and you’ll be the white. See, they’re supposed to look like a Poké Ball. It’s an easy game to learn, but incredibly difficult to master. First, we must only put the stones on the intersections of the corners…”

  Before I knew it, time had flown by, and Ted was tapping on my shoulder.

  “We should probably get going.” He said, and I sighed.

  I’d lost every single game I’d played against the old-timer, but I was starting to lose less poorly.

  “Thank you for your time.” I said, standing up and bowing slightly.

  “Hey, girl!” He said as I began to walk away. “Take the board and the stones with you.”

  “What?”

  “You seem like a good sort, I can tell. Plus these sets can go for a lot of money these days, five hundred dollars if you believe it, and I have plenty in my home. More than my wife would like, let me tell you what!”

  “Five hundred dollars used to be a lot more.” Ted whispered in my ear, and I nodded.

  I had a tee shirt that cost more than that.

  He cackled, and flipped the board over. It was actually split in half, with a hinge down the middle, and he poured the red and white stones into the bottom before closing it.

  “It’s portable, see? Go ahead, take it.”

  “I… thank you again.”

  Bowing again, I gratefully took the travel set, tucking it under my arm.

  He shook his head, and waved me off. “Have fun girl! Get better! Come and see me again!”

  “I will!”

  It wasn’t until we’d left that I realized I hadn’t gotten his name.

  I sighed, and looked down at the board, before smiling, which eventually turned into a small chuckle.

  “What’s so funny?”

  It couldn’t be helped, and I burst out laughing as I held the game up to Ted.

  “It’s Pokémon Go.”

  “I don’t get it. Alina, what’s so funny? Hello?”

  /^\

  The night was beginning to wind down, but there was one last event that had been the talk of the town for the past couple of days.

  One of the largest plazas had been almost completely emptied, apart from the fountain in the center. The fountain itself was completely frozen over, and somebody had carved a magnificent, life-sized statue of Regigigas out of ice that stood on top of it.

  A small stage was set up along one side for a band, and across the way there was a small food stand and some tables.

  The rest of the plaza had been entirely dedicated for a dance floor. The band struck up as people began filling into the plaza. Most grabbed their dates hands and started dancing, while some stood off to the side, and a small minority went to grab some food and sit down.

  I was one of those latter few, along with Ted.

  “Not a bad night.” He said.

  “No, not at all. Good cake.”

  It was delicious, a nice, rich vanilla cake with lemon frosting provided by a cute Alcremie. Perfect.

  “Hm. Oh, look, there they are.”

  Lucas and Kevin were standing awkwardly by the side of the dance floor, both twitching as they wanted to be the one to ask the other for a dance, but both not having the nerve for it.

  I rolled my eyes, and fetched Venus’ Poké Ball from where I had stashed it away in my purse.

  She emerged with a yawn, and immediately her long, rabbit-like ears folded down in protest against the cold.

  “Yes yes, I know you’re not happy about it.” Venus yowled in protest. “Oh it’s not that bad. Listen, I just have a little task for you. Do you see Lucas and Kevin over there?”

  Her nose twitched as she looked over to see the two boys still awkwardly standing there.

  “Think you could give them a nudge onto the dance floor?”

  She looked at me flatly.

  “I’ll give you a poffin if you can do it without being seen by them. Think of it like stealth training.”

  Her ears fully perked up at that, and she disappeared into the crowd.

  “Now that’s just mean.” Ted said.

  “Nah. They need a push to start dancing.”

  “Literally, in this case.”

  I pointed my fork at him. “You get it.”

  A few seconds later, I heard a yelp as Lucas suddenly took several steps forward, followed shortly by Kevin. They made to leave the floor, but the dancers swept them up, and soon enough they were both moving to the music.

  It wasn’t a club beat, more like a modern waltz, but it was still fun to see them awkwardly trying to figure out where to put their hands.

  Venus materialized out of the gloom next to me, a very satisfied look on her face.

  I pulled a poffin out of my purse, and she sat down to eat it contentedly.

  “Not a bad night at all.” I parroted.

  We sat in silence for several minutes as the two boys continued to dance.

  “Well, what do you say?” Ted eventually asked. “Want to go out for a spin?”

  I shook my head. “I’m good, thanks though.”

  He shrugged, and stood up, walking over to the edge of the dancing arena. After a minute or two of waiting, a girl with twin braids sheepishly approached him, and after a few moments they were heading out onto the floor.

  I took another bite of cake, watching the lights glimmer off of the ice sculptures.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  “Ah, yes actually he just-”

  I stopped as a figure plopped themselves down into the recently vacated chair and started petting Venus.

  “Sorry, I just needed to get off of my feet, and it’s been a while since we talked!”

  My mouth flopped open and closed like a Magikarp.

  Champion Cynthia winked at me.

  “I hope you don’t mind.”