Dinner was self-serving. In that the inn did not provide food, but was equipped with a small kitchen area for guests to prepare their own food in. 

If one had run out of supplies when they arrived for whatever reason, the innkeepers were generous enough to sell some of their own rations for a grossly inflated price. 

But most people, in consideration of how difficult it was to obtain supplies up on the mountain, tried not to inconvenience the elderly innkeepers in that way and made doubly sure to pack enough for the trip.

Dinner that night for the girls was a stew mainly comprised of potatoes and yuba — dried and preserved tofu skin — seasoned with heaps of onions, carrots, mirin and soy sauce. Paired with some piping hot rice and it made for a hearty and delicious meal at the cold mountaintops.

Once Nina was done with dinner, she braved the freezing cold night with only Poppy’s head peeking out from the front of her jacket and Gastly in her shadow. The duo were nice enough to accompany her out in the cold. And with a shivering, unsteady grip, Nina blew into her whistle to summon Nitey for his dinner.

The Dragonite had opted to wander off earlier to explore the area while the girls were getting themselves settled, since he was too big to fit comfortably in the inn. It was a shame, but he did tell his partner that he spotted some natural hot springs during their ascent, so she imagined her big orange oaf was probably just having a little soak somewhere.

“NIIITE!!!” Nina heard the Dragonite’s bellow before she saw his bright orange visage as Nitey landed with a gentle thump.

“Too slow!” Nina grumbled as she threw herself against her partner's tubby belly and demanded that he circulate Fire Type Energy around them for warmth.

“Niite~” Nitey chuckled and enveloped Nina in a big hug, lifting her off the ground ever so slightly.

“I can smell sulfur on you.” The girl sniffled. “Did you have a good time at the hot springs?”

“Drago, dragonite!” Nitey nodded with a blissful look on his face, eliciting giggles from Nina.

“You better take me there next time okay? Don’t just keep it to yourself.”

“Nite-nite!”

Nina reached up and gave Nitey a little kiss on the snout, Poppy following suit as well with a little squish from his round nose in an attempt to mimic the girl.

“Alright, buddy. Let’s get you fed.” Nina said with a smile. “Do you wanna do some light training later? Show off how cool you are to Poppy?”

“Dra! Dragonite!” Nitey nodded, eyes sparkling at the prospect of food.

***

“Alright Nitey, there’s plenty of Ice Type Energy around here. Lots of Flying Type Energy as well, but you don’t need any practice with that. So let’s work on your Ice domain, you’re still very lacking in that regard.”

“Niite!” The Dragonite moaned with a little pout.

Nina laughed. “Oh come on, just think of it as eating ice-cream. We’ll start simple with a bit of Icy Wind then move on to Blizzard. Remember, just think icy thoughts and blow.”

Nitey cried out once more and flew off to do as he was told. Except the results were more like a jet of wind as compared to chilling gales, resulting in a very sulky Dragon.

Nina let out a wry smile and gave her partner a reassuring hug. From what she could tell, it seemed like Nitey’s problems were largely the result of having too broad an arsenal, making it somewhat difficult for him to focus on a particular Type Energy if it was too closely related to another Type Energy that he was more attuned to. As was the case with Ice, Water and Flying.

Everytime he tried to harness Ice Type Energy, he would mistakenly mix in Flying Type Energy as well, which then proceeded to dominate the delicate balance of the move.

“You can do it, Nitey. I believe in you.” Nina encouraged lovingly, alongside cheers from Poppy.

As a Dragon, Nitey was inherently in tune with projecting his Aura. Hence why he never really had to practice much to get a hang of it.

He managed to master his existing domains pretty quickly as well, thanks to all the foundational training he received in the Cerulean Gym. With the use of Dragon and Rain Dance, summoning storm clouds and flooding terrains came as second nature to him.

However, as a powerful Dragon, he was supposed to be a master of multiple domains; Fire, Ice, Water, Electric and so on. But no one was perfect, and Nitey still fell short in a few regards. 

They were working hard to make up for it though. At some point, after nearly getting killed in the past year, Nina had finally decided that there was nothing wrong in pursuing strength. 

She came into this world with a lot of unfair advantages and was blessed with a team of powerful Pokemon, so might as well make good use of them. Within reason, of course. Nina wasn’t going to suddenly become all battle hungry like some of the other young trainers she knew.

But being strong was conducive to a peaceful life — that was the conclusion that she ultimately came to before she locked in and doubled down on training her Pokemon. That said, she still wanted her journey to be a meaningful one, hence the leisurely pace.

“Then there’s all the world ending events that I know are coming up…”

Nina sighed. She was reluctant to get involved, not out of cowardice, but because she wasn’t sure if it was wise. She herself was an anomaly, and if there were already other protagonist characters running around solving problems then her meddling might have unintended consequences.

Not to mention her meta knowledge was unreliable. The world she was in right now has proven time and time again to be different from the fictional stories and games of her past life, further adding to her uncertainty.

One thing was certain though, Ash Ketchum was missing. And no one, not even Professor Oak and his former travel companions knew where he was. Aside from the fact that he was last seen in Johto — another reason that motivated Nina’s unconventional journey route.

“In some of the mangas, Giovanni was said to have entered into secluded training in Ilex Forest after his defeat.” Nina recalled the story that her Uncle Ali told her ages ago, about his supernatural encounter in Ilex Forest.

“Ash, Celebi and Giovanni…” Nina could feel it in her gut, that these three were connected somehow. “Whatever the case, I need to go there and find out for myself…”

“Niiite!”

Nina felt a pair of ice cold paws around her cheeks, causing her to shiver, jolt and cry out in indignity. “Niteeeyyy!!! What the heck!”

“Nite! Drago-nite!” However, Nitey just responded by unapologetically pouting at his partner, annoyed that she wasn’t paying attention to him.

The girl chuckled. “Sorry, buddy. I let my thoughts get the better of me that time. Could you show me again?”

“Nite!” And with a little huff, Nitey took to the skies again and conjured another Blizzard. And this time, Nina made sure to observe closely using a pair of binoculars that she got from Cinnabar Island’s gift shop.

“Good work, Nitey! That was a little faster than usual. Now try it again, but make sure to maintain a steady level of power!”

They kept going at it, until Poppy started to yawn, signalling that it was almost time for bed. 

“Good work, Nitey. When we climb up to the summit tomorrow, don’t just idly tag along, make sure to practice harnessing the mountain’s Ice Type Energy as well. You can start by creating mini Twisters, but with Ice instead of Dragon Type Energy.”

“Nite. Drago-nite…” Nitey lowered his head and nuzzled against Nina, his two antennae tickling at her all the while.

Nina giggled as she desperately tried to hold in her sneeze. “What’s wrong buddy? Do you want Berries?”

Nitey nodded with a longing gaze and gave his partner a little squeeze and a wet lick. “Niiite~”

“Nitey…” Nina groaned as she wiped the Dragon saliva off her face. “It’s too cold for licks right now.” 

But right as she said that, Poppy joined in with another lick as well, much to the girl’s chagrin. “Alright, you two. That’s enough. Eat your Berries and let’s head back inside. I’m freezing out here!”

***

Kerry yawned and leveled a resentful gaze against her friend. “Do we really need to get up so early?” The girl was feeling especially fatigued after the long climb yesterday and was desperate for more rest.

“Of course!” Nina beamed with an insufferably bright smile. “The best part about being on top of Mount Silver is catching the sunrise and the sunset. But since we’re not looking to stay another night. We’ll have to rush to make it in time for the sunrise.”

Kerry groaned, thinking that she should have just told the overactive girl to go on her own and come pick her up on the way down.

The road ahead was dark, only faintly illuminated by distant starlight. So the girls attached feeble headlamps onto their hats for light. Kerry released her Geodude as a contingency, and Nina had both Brucey and an annoyed looking Espy in a custom jacket to help with navigating the treacherous terrain. 

As usual, Nitey was hovering nearby to fend off any pesky Flyers and to catch them if they were to fall. However, they opted to leave behind Professor Oak’s package in the inn under the watchful eyes of Sir Clodington, since they would be passing by on their way back down the mountain anyway.

“Alright, final equipment check!” Nina called as she went through a checklist in her head. The road ahead was going to be perilous and equipment failure could mean life or death.

Once everything was in order, they began the steady trek up the summit of Mount Silver.

“Too bad we won’t be able to stargaze tonight…” Nina whined as she looked up towards the cloudy sky in disappointment.

“Yeah…” Kerry was actually secretly hoping for a starry night sky as well, but it couldn’t be helped. “I wonder why we haven’t met many Ice Pokemon yet.” Kerry said, in an attempt to stave off her sleepiness.

Nina tilted her head as she hummed in consideration. “Well, Ice Types are rare to begin with… And I’m sure that if we went to explore one of the caves, we might have been able to find a Jynx or two. But it’s mainly the fact that neither Kanto nor Johto have much in terms of Ice Type varieties I guess.” 

Most of their Ice Pokemon were hybrids that also lived in water. Because despite their harsh winters, Kanto and Johto were warm and humid during most of the year.

There were plenty of Flying Types though, a Pidgeotto and its nest of Pidgeys perched by the side of the cliff, some glowing eyes in the darkness which turned out to be a group of Sandshrews that ran away the moment that they flashed their lights over. Even some Zubats from the nearby cave that tried to approach them, only to be chased off by an angry flare of Nitey’s Draconic aura.

The path was as difficult as what Valerie had told them the day before; broken cliff faces, collapsed debris and icy inclines that they needed to climb over. Were it not for Brucey and Espy mapping out the terrain ahead of them, there was no doubt that one of them would have fallen down the mountain by now. There were even places where the path just abruptly ended and they had to send Nitey ahead to scout for the correct way forwards. 

Despite Kerry’s lethargy at the start of this journey, she found herself wide awake soon enough, mostly out of anxiety and alertness of her surroundings.

“Almost there now…” Nina assured as she checked on her Pokedex. There wasn’t really a map for this part of the mountain, but they could determine progress by checking on their current altitude.

In fact, even without checking, Kerry could tell that they were nearly there, since they had just pushed through a misty layer of clouds and could now gaze upon the sea of stars hanging above their heads — like motes of celestial light, set amidst the empty void of space.

“Wow…” Kerry gasped. This was the second time that she had been so utterly awed by such incredible visuals since the start of her journey.

“Not bad, right?” Nina chimed as she gave Kerry a little bump and a cheeky grin. The girl then pointed at the stars. “See that bright streak of light over there? That’s a meteorite, and it’s hurtling towards our planet as we speak. It’ll arrive soon, in maybe a few years. And when that happens…” Nina’s voice tapered off, her tone unnaturally somber as she shook her head to dismiss the grave look on her face.

Kerry frowned in confusion. She had never seen her friend like this before. However, before she could comment on anything, Nina beckoned for them to continue and soldiered on.

Not long after, they reached a set of ancient stone steps, flanked by the faded red arches of a spirit gate near the base. Atop the stairs was a shrine of wood and stone, weathered from snow, wind and ice, but still standing strong atop the edge of Mount Silver’s peak.

Beyond the basalt steps, past the spirit gate and standing in front of the shrine was a rugged figure with his back turned — a man wearing tattered blue jeans, a discoloured red vest and an iconic red cap. The sight of whom elicited an excited look from Nina as she returned Nitey into his Pokeball.

***

Author's note:

Ready for some maximal aura farming?