There was something uniquely spooky about wandering the forests around Snowpoint City on my own. Most of the time, it was eerily quiet and the few moments it was not, I always had to be vigilant that the noise wasn’t a precursor for an attack.

During my first day, I noticed that I was starting to talk to myself, simply trying to create noise and distract myself and with that realisation, I decided to have one of my partners with me at all times, simply for the company they provided. It also neatly dovetailed into my goal to spend extra time with them and if it meant I had to spend some extra money on food, I was happy to do so. If I was personally frugal, my stipend easily covered such extravagance.

My favourite partner during my search was Charm, his presence keeping me warm, both in the literal and in the metaphorical fashion. In addition, most of the Pokémon we came across were of either the Grass- or the Ice-Type, with a mix of Bug-, Flying and even a few Water-types making up the rest.

And, as spooky as the forest was, I had to admit it was incredibly beautiful. This far north, fall was already slowly creeping in, turning the leaves in the forest spectacular colours, in stark contrast to the evergreen pines and other needle trees, still resplendent in their deep, green coat. In addition, there was something almost mystical about the untouched nature around me, making me wonder what I might stumble across next.

One time, when I noticed a strangely cold wind, I moved in that direction, trying to find out where it was coming from. After looking around for a bit and avoiding a few spots where the detritus had accumulated into a humid, moldy mess, I came across a large clearing and in the middle of it was an oddly clear rock. It looked almost as if it was made of Ice and even some fifty metres away, at the edge of the clearing, the temperature was far lower than it should be.

There were multiple Pokémon on that clearing, a few Snover and even a Sneasel, all keeping some distance from one another without fighting. They were simply… there, not interacting, nothing. The Snover were doing their best to imitate trees, even if their performance wasn’t really working because six small and somewhat snowy trees in the middle of an otherwise empty clearing stood out, no matter what. Meanwhile, the Sneasel just sat there, as if meditating or something like that. For a moment, I was tempted to have Charm go and fight with them but it felt wrong, almost sacrilegious to disturb the peace of the place.

As I stood there, watching the oddly idle Pokémon, I remembered that one of Professor Carolina’s books had spoken of an Ice Rock in this very forest, a mysterious item that could help certain Pokémon achieve their evolution. I was almost certain that I was looking at just that rock, only that it was far more than I had read. Sure, it might help some Pokémon evolve, but I had a strong feeling it was more.

Swallowing, I decided to investigate closer and stepped onto the clearing, keeping an eye on the two Snover closest to me and the Sneasel across the clearing. None of them even twitched, making me briefly wonder if there actually were just six small trees in this clearing, even if my Pokédex insisted that they were Snover.

The moment I moved into the clearing, I could feel a change in the air, not just one of temperature but something else, something deeper. Charm stepped forward after me, only to let out a soft whine of discomfort, clearly unwilling to move even one step further into the open. His noise attracted the attention of the nearest Snover and it turned around, its strangely animated eyes just watching the two of us. Again, not attacking, not aggressing in any way, just watching, completely contrary to everything I had heard about Pokémon.

Unwilling to move away further from my partner, I remained near the edge, breathing in the cold air and trying to understand what was so special about this place.

For a few minutes, I just stood there, breathing slowly as my mind drifted around. What was I even trying to do? Shouldn’t I keep going, to look for the elusive Uxie so I could finally unlock whatever it was that kept my own memories from me? But, did it really matter, whether I moved now, or in five minutes?

Standing in the aura of the Ice Rock, I felt myself quiet down and relax, my mind falling into a calm state my previous worries suddenly feeling so far away. And yet, even as my mind drifted, images sprung out from the depths of my memories. The images reminded me of dreams I had before, these strange images that seemed to be impossible to connect, either with my own existence or with one another.

Some images, I could almost see as visions of the future. Charm was in there, only that he was completely evolved into Charizard, soaring through the skies in a sheath of fire. Briefly, I could see an even greater form of him, his wings and tail lengthened and the flames around him burning with incredible ferocity. It was a form I had never even heard of before, but in my memories, I could see it and even without any reference within my own mind, I knew it was my dear friend.

But in other images, there was nothing of the sort. There were massive buildings, far larger than anything I had seen before, making even the large tower in Sandgem Town seem tiny. And not just one, but enough to easily dwarf Jubilife, the greatest City I had seen and one of the largest in the world, at least according to what I had heard. And yet, the buildings and constructions in the images I flashing through my mind were far bigger than it. Where they came from, whether it was purely a figment of my imagination, I had no idea.

In a final image, one that had haunted my nightmares, I could see a strange, golden ring and whenever that image had appeared in my dreams, I had woken up, shivering with cold sweat covering my body. I was afraid of that golden ring, though I couldn’t describe why. Even now, in the wonderful, relaxing aura of the Ice Rock, I felt my mind recoil in horror as the image appeared. My body started to shake as the ring expanded in my memory until it finally swallowed me up and for a moment, I could see a dark, floating shape in my memory before my eyes shot open and I started to run, fleeing in a mindless panic.

Crashing into a warm, almost uncomfortably hot, obstacle, I started to flail around, trying to free myself from the obstruction, only to have the obstruction hold me tightly, stopping me in my tracks. My breath came in shuddering gasps and with each gasp, a familiar scent invaded my nostrils. Charm’s scent allowed me to relax, the feeling of his sharp claws gently digging into my back, making sure to hold onto me tightly enough so I wouldn’t run any further while being gentle enough so I would be unmarked reminded me that I had a friend with me, that my fierce protector would burn anyone trying to hurt me to cinders.

“Thank you, my friend,” I quietly told him, wrapping my arms around his heated body and just standing there for a few minutes, letting his presence burn away my fears.

“We should get going. I don’t think I’ll be able to relax here again,” I told him and he opened up his arms, after one last, gentle squeeze.

Looking around, I realised that I had been spacing out for at least an hour, maybe even two, and when I took a step, my legs informed me that standing still was exhausting and that going from stillness into a frenzied flight was a bad idea.

Hobbling a little, I kept going, simply walking away from the Ice Rock into a somewhat random direction, considering whether or not to return to Snowpoint immediately. My trips into the forest had lasted one or two days each, with a bit of rest in between and so far, I had little to show for my efforts. Maybe I needed to go further, deeper into the untouched forest around Lake Acuity, especially into the northern or eastern area, neither of which was visited often.

As I walked, only part of my mind fully paying attention to where I was going, I realised that I was lost. And not just a little lost, but with the strange mist that had appeared around me, turning the trees around me into vague shapes, I was completely lost. Looking at Charm, I noticed that he was shivering, as if he was cold, even if I wasn’t really feeling it.

The realisation hit me like a brick and I pulled out Charm’s Pokéball, calling him back into it. Unless I was completely wrong, I had found what I was looking for, had wandered into the mist of the Uxie or maybe the Uxie had brought the mist to me. Either way, if I was lost in the mist for long, I didn’t want Charm to be left outside, I wanted him to be with me and the easiest way for that was to have him in his Pokéball.

Taking a deep breath, I continued moving, cautiously going forward as I looked around, searching for the Uxie.