A limited-time event, huh? That marker was certainly intriguing, as was the icy rowboat on the edges of a mysterious lake that Valentine found when she followed the marker to its source. The boat didn't seem especially stable at a glance, but rowing it to the far side of the lake proved easier than Valentine had expected from the looks of it, and soon enough she was there, at the mouth of a frost-covered cave, with a serpentine beast of a Snom guarding a multitude of treasures within. (Valentine was very glad that she'd thought to bring a coat with her on her expedition, and equally glad that none of her Pokemon were out of their Poke Balls at the moment, as many of them would react poorly to the ice and snow and frigid cold that now surrounded her.)

Valentine didn't have much of a thought process behind grabbing what she did, truth be told. She knew only enough to know that she didn't have the information needed to truly game the system here. So she grabbed the first sparkly item she found that didn't look too buried beneath the snow--a necklace, as it turned out, one encrusted with a number of colorful gemstones with a chain that might have been silver--and did her best to hike back to the shore before the Snomager could awaken and see what she had done. Run towards the pile, grab the shiny thing, run back to shore. A simple plan, but one she liked the sound of just the same.

Yeah, so Genesis was a sucker for a limited-time event, what of it? Of course he was going to follow the marker and go check it out, and then use that super suspect rowboat to investigate further.

(Hell, he probably could have tried just jumping straight into the water and seeing how far he could get, but it was freezing out there, and even in a VR game, they weren't gonna test their luck like that. Besides, the rowboat was clearly there for a reason, and Genesis wasn't one to turn down a plot hook like that... though they were the kind to research it thoroughly as they followed through with it, and what they did to examine the rowboat beforehand did not seem promising for its chances of staying upright and intact the whole way.)

The cave was enormous, the Snomager... fascinating. Between its serpentine body and how huge the creature had grown, far beyond even its evolution's usual size... no Snom should be able to reach a shape and size like that, and yet this one did. Under different circumstances, Genesis might have examined the creature in great detail, maybe even gotten into an epic battle to take it down and potentially capture it for his own.

As things were, though... well, for one thing, that obviously wasn't the point of this dungeon, but since when had that stopped Genesis before? No, the real reason they didn't get too close to the creature was because a Pokemon of that size had to be powerful, and Genesis was still woefully new to the game, and therefore very unlikely to have any chance of taking on the creature head-first. No, this Snomager was best evaded for now, though perhaps at a later date... well. No use planning for what might be, not when what actually was was perilous enough.

Genesis stayed low to the ground and clung to the edge of the treasure pile, thinking that perhaps they might blend in with the items within the pile, and of course the Snomager wouldn't want to hurt its treasures, would it? It was a decent theory, at least. Only time would tell if it would be borne out.

As for his prize of choice... well, as soon as Genesis saw the eggs, they knew that would be what they went for. Maybe they couldn't capture this Snomager, but if it had children, that would certainly be an equally valid subject of research... and if the eggs were obtained otherwise, that would be an interesting subject as well, especially given their presence in this bitter, frost-covered lair. With a little luck, this dungeon might just provide enough research for them after all...

Danger was bated, a breath that had yet to be taken. It could only be so, for as any breath in such cold as this, it would be apparent when released. No breath had been sound, not even by the Guardian who presided above the expanse of countless reflections.

Then came the visitor. A girl arrived on a boat of ice, unaware of the danger of this place. She had no warnings and felt no danger, for the only breath that could be seen was her own. She couldn't focus on anything besides that breath and the cold came with it. It was intriguing beyond compare to feel this kind of cold that she had never before stood inside of.

C-GOTE also thought little of the soft titan that could fall into fury at any transgression. Frankly, she didn't even notice the isle's guardian Snom. So large was the great figure that she had failed to see it at all--it seemed to be a fascinating part of the scenery.

Though her footsteps were quiet, that was only due to the reverence towards this beautiful land of ice and water. Though her voice was quiet, this was only because her breath was spent on naught but the puff of mesmerizing mist that came with the cold. Even though she stepped in a manner that would take her out of sight from most, this was only because she was avoiding the harshest of the biting wind.

So if this great figure above failed to take notice of her, that would end up being a happy little accident that everyone could laugh about later.

Tuesday knows the Misty Timberlands to be ruled by two things. Some people would believe it to be the oppressive fog and dark forest after which the area has been named, but to her, the truth is much different.

First is FROST. A frost that marks everything. The cold that bites; that which seeps to the very bone with every breath taken, and that makes it seem as if the forest exists in a perpetual state of winter. A winter that needs no snow or ice, yet even when there’s no need for them, both are often summoned by the pokémon that dwell amidst mist and tall evergreens of Asper’s second route. One of them is the Cryogonal that has accompanied Tuesday since the first few days of her journey in UNOVR, now levitating closely by her side as she stands unwavering near the bow of a rowboat, and another much different is the mighty Snom they approach…

Frost marks this lake.

Frost marks the Snom’s treasure.

Frost may mark the very heart of the Misty Timberlands.

Along with the frost, there’s DREAM. Tuesday had known as much from the very beginning. She had known it from the illusions. She had known it from the Pokémon she often found in deep slumber. She had known it from the sleeping princess from whom she had stolen the circlet she wears so proudly. She had known it from when her and Sarah Lee had found the Munna that had gotten them both invited to join The Creed, for everyone else that had tried to reach it had been put to sleep by the cruel Dream Eater. And, when the Lady of the Precipice had woken, she had known it from the fields of sleep-inducing lavender that had bloomed at that moment. So now, with a pouch of blooms in hand and Munna by his side, she also knows it from the tired Snom before her.

Dreams will keep the beast from noticing some of its visitors.

Dreams had led them all here, to attempt to take from its vast treasure.

Dreams are the Misty Timberland’s greatest allure, and also what makes them so very dangerous.

Tuesday knows of frost and dreams, but even when she knows both these things, she’s here, withstanding this frost, because of her own dreams. What good is that knowledge, then? What purpose does it serve? In a whisper meant to be heard only by her pokémon, her ever so melodious voice speaks its answer:

"CL, try to keep it asleep. Use these flowers if you have to, they’re from near the shrine. Ancile, help me out here."

They have one chance.

With the Munna attempting to maintain the Snom’s slumber undisturbed, the Cryogonal casts a layer of ice over the already gelid waters. Confident, Tuesday steps off the boat and onto ice, and it’s then that her gaze of sapphires and rubies falls on her prize: a spear.

Laguna had explored the Timberlands for quite some time, and now that she had become a Freezer she had been tempted to try and swim in that cold lake for forever. And yet, it was always blocked off. A downright shame, there could have been something so cool just around the bend.

And so when she found the ice boat, reminding her of an Avalugg, of course, she had to give it a go immediately. A fan of all things icy, she quickly picked up the oar and carefully began to row it into the cave, the biggest grin ever on her face.

When she first witnessed the Snom, her eyes grew so wide it they were almost like dinner plates. Was this a colossal Pokemon fight that she had stumbled upon? Or was this something else entirely? Its giant serpentine body coiled around huge pointed stones. She paused the boat at the mouth of the cave, watching it spray ice over everything inside.

It was awe-inspiring, it was almost god-like in its majesty.

But above all, she would have loved to catch it. Oh, if only. The golden Pokeball didn't work on everything. She kneeled in the ice boat, watching and waiting, trying to figure out what it was doing.

She watched silently as it would curl up and act as if it was asleep, only to suddenly strike at a wild Pokemon that just so happened to sneak inside the cave, only to slowly curl up again. Was it faking sleep? Or was it actually trying to sleep? Perhaps if she caught it when it was actually sleeping, she'd be able to grab something. Its hoard certainly looked impressive. She carefully hid within the ice boat, watching and biding her time for the right moment.

Once it looked like it was asleep, Laguna would pull the boat over to the shore and ever so quietly slide in. The great thing about Freezer, meant she didn't have to make loud, obnoxious steps on obviously slippery ice, she could only hope it didn't notice her. Her eyes scanned over a few things partially frozen, trying to find something worth actually risking waking it.

A watch? No, that seemed boring. A single show? Why did it even want the shoe? A bow with a snapped bowstring? It was certainly tempting, but she didn't really want to grab a weapon, there had to be more interesting items.

No, what she found was a cute little wand. It had a heart on the top, and it immediately grabbed at her heart. She had to have it. She immediately moved, trying to carefully rip it free from its ice and get out of there!

Numbers: 2. 0.
Bonus: Subtract minutes by 1. Adding 19.

"Shit shit shit-" The beam of ice carved the land, sea, and sky with its frozen wrath. But the attack held no destruction, only growth. This was a beam made to build. To ensnare and encase those enticed into folly by their cold-blooded greed. The rime climbed Sarah's legs like the onrushing of a frozen tide, and the ice consumed her in a moment.

One second she had held the paintbrush in her hand and the next she was clutched in the icy embrace of the Snomager's web. For that's what this really was. Spiders sit at the center of their web, waiting to sense movement, and the Snomager sits at the center of the icy islands, building its hoard from the frozen gold of those foolish enough to be tempted in by its hoarfrost hoard.

Covered in three inches of crackling ice, Sarah had a moment to think.

Ice.

There were two kinds of ice in the world.

The first was the kind, gentle, almost soft ice that you found in drinks, or frosting lawns on Winter mornings. It was ice that was a hand's warmth away from water. A breath, a moment, a touch away from melting from crystal to dribbling bead. This ice was as transient as a snowflake, and as fleeting as the refreshment it provided. It was hardly ice at all.

As Sarah meditated, she tensed and relaxed her muscles in short squeezes, pumping blood through her icy body. She'd spent so long calming down that her Kindler powers were slow and sluggish. She couldn't jump and shout or fight to set them burning. She just had to let her heart pound and focus on the ice. Let her body's heat melt the icy globule of frozen web and spit and lake water that formed her prison.

The second kind of ice shared little with the first. There was a crucial difference. A secret ingredient, which elevated it beyond the jingling cubes found in a glass of ice tea. Now, people tend to think temperature is the only thing that makes ice, and at a molecular level that's pretty true. Sure there are other factors, like humidity, and the proximity of the atoms and pressure, salinity and whatever. But really, what differentiates quick and simple everyday ice from real ice is one simple thing: time.

A pond that snap freezes overnight is far different from one that is clogged solid for the winter. A bear doesn't hibernate from a flurry of snowflakes, but six weeks of the same flakes can turn a mighty predator into little more than a hunk of ice and fur. Real ice was harsh. Real ice wasn't found in a tray. It was caked at the back of a deep freezer. It was ten years worth of crystals as hard as iron and strong enough to need steel to remove. It was a crystalline lattice compacted deep within an arctic ice shelf, crushed from every side by a million tons of snow and frozen water.

Real ice, deep ice, didn't just defy sunlight, it blotted it out. It sealed itself away in the cold corners of the world, building fortresses whose walls need never fall or melt or ever feel the warmth of sunlight.

Icy water dribbled into Sarah's eye. It stung, and she pulled her eyelid shut, peeling it off the inside of her frozen cocoon. "Aha!" she breathed, snorting a pocket of cloudy air. "It's starting to melt!" Her hand was free too, and while she couldn't reach any Pokeballs, she could open her inventory.

Sarah didn't have sunlight on hand. But she had the next best thing.

With a few taps and precise flicks, Sarah equipped her Rainbow Flame Cloak and Trailblazer Kicks. Instantly, the glow of her cloak lit her icy prison from within, casting gleaming rays of technicolor light across the frozen lake. Her boots, likewise, crackled and sparked, and the ice that had once bound her began to fall away in soggy chunks. She slammed her shoulder into the last of the icy coating, shattering what little remained.

Her blood roared with Kindler flame, and she stepped, resplendent, through the sizzling slush to pick up her prize: The Paintbrush. With steaming hands she scraped the ice off her precious item and with a few taps it was safe in her inventory.

"Ice try, Snomager," she said, tossing her head and sending a spray of icy droplets across the frosted isle. The boat had been destroyed, but left in its place was something fare more precious, not to mention faster: a path.

The beam of ice cast by the Snomager had left a curved bridge of ice painted across the surface of the lake. It looked thick enough to stand on, and Sarah took off running, never looking back at the icy islands as she sprinted to freedom, leaving a trail of flames in her wake.

Genesis nodded along upon hearing Finn's plan. He hadn't been exactly pleased to see the eggs both get pummeled by ice, and breaking them out together seemed like as good a plan as any. It seemed like in this game, Genesis was going to learn the value of strength in numbers--the hard way, if he had to.

(Though it hadn't really been that bad yet. He hadn't whited out, at least, and that would be the worst possible outcome, no? Short of that, a few battle missteps or an errant Ice Beam didn't seem especially horrid, particularly if he could continue to keep pulling off successes with his last-minute enrolling of help.)

"Right, that seems... nice. I mean, a good tool to use, anyway." Genesis didn't have anything like that fancy shard to use to break out the ice, and it took Genesis a moment to think of an analogous tool he could break out of his own toolbox...

...before remembering that, right, they had Pokemon at their disposal, and he was in fact the proud owner of a Fire-type now.

Genesis let his Ponyta out on the far edge of the cave. It was risky, letting loose a creature of pure fire here, since that light could wake up the Snomager all by itself. But Potoooooooo was close enough to let loose some flames of his own, at any rate...

"Quick, Potoooooooo, throw all the flames you can right here, on the bit of ice-" Wait, did he meet this Trainer before? Should Genesis know his name? "-that Trainer's targeting with his shard! Maybe if you melt some away, it'll be weak enough to break off and we'll both be able to snag the eggs!"

It was a convoluted plan, to be sure, but maybe it was just crazy enough to work.