The next day, the snow fell even harder. The streets were completely buried under a thick white blanket. Unable to go out, Zane resigned himself to staying indoors with his Pokémon, huddled around the small stove, drinking tea, and watching the snow fall.
Because a Pokémon Contest was scheduled to be held in Fallarbor Town three days later, a steady stream of Coordinators had begun arriving over the past couple of days. Those carrying a Pokédex could stay at the Pokémon Center for free; those without one had to find lodging at the town's inns.
By evening, after two days of being cooped up, Zane felt like he absolutely had to get out and move. Taking advantage of a lull where the blizzard had eased into a light snowfall, he took Roselia and Cramorant out to the inn's backyard to build a snowman.
Gengar floated nearby in the snow, wanting to join in, but unable to touch anything. Zane built a fat, round Gengar snowman. "Look," he said to the ghost. "Doesn't it look just like you?"
Gengar looked down at its own body, then floated over to compare itself to the snowman. "I'm not that fat!" it protested defensively.
Zane waved it over. "Come stand here."
Gengar didn't understand, but it floated over anyway. "What?" It positioned itself right over the snowman, but its ghostly limbs and body clearly extended far beyond the snowman's snowy form.
Zane struggled to hold back his laughter.
Gengar was confused at first, then looked down, realized what Zane was implying, and nearly burst into angry smoke. "I'm not talking to you anymore!"
"Not talking to who?" Zane asked innocently.
"You!" Gengar snapped.
"Then who are you talking to right now?"
"You—" Gengar spun around, folding its arms and refusing to look at him. "You're not allowed to talk anymore!"
Zane fought back a grin and nodded repeatedly. "Okay, okay, I won't say another word."
Gengar huffed, floated off the snowman Gengar, and started sulking, drawing circles in the snow with a ghostly finger. Zane actually kept his promise and didn't say anything. After a while of silence, Gengar couldn't help but peek back.
It saw a brand new snowman Gengar standing tall—this one was sleek, cool, and handsome.
Zane waved it over again. "Come here! That fat Gengar was the one from the mansion. This one is you."
Gengar stared. "..." It mumbled under its breath, "I'm not stupid. That's not me either." It had some self-awareness.
"...Alright, then come over here, stand still, and I'll build one exactly to your outline," Zane offered.
Only then did Gengar float back over, standing patiently as Zane packed snow around its incorporeal form.
The scene attracted the attention of the other trainers staying at the inn. Soon, people started coming out with their own Pokémon to play in the snow.
...
On the third day, the snowstorm that had lasted for two days finally stopped. Taking advantage of a slight rise in temperature, Zane took his Pokémon and headed out to take care of business.
Fallarbor Town was located in the northwest of the Hoenn mainland, a well-known agricultural town. As such, its architecture wasn't dominated by skyscrapers like Rustboro City, but rather had a charming, rustic, countryside feel. The town wasn't large; standing on the main street, you could easily see the neat, terraced fields stretching out into the surrounding countryside.
In the games, this place had several important locations: the Fossil Maniac's house (another guy obsessed with rocks, just like Steven), the home of Professor Cozmo, who studied meteorites, and, of course, the Contest Hall.
Plot points related to these locations flashed through Zane's mind, but they weren't relevant to him right now. His main goal for coming out today was to find an internet café and look up the name of Professor Oak's grandson. As for the Rainbow Wing, Hoenn had its own local legends; people here probably wouldn't recognize its value, so he had no plans to sell it here.
However, after searching for a long time, he couldn't find a single internet café in Fallarbor Town.
I remember seeing one in Petalburg City... Resigned, Zane decided to try the bookstore instead, hoping they might sell biographies.
The bookstore owner was a mature woman wearing an apron. Seeing Zane wandering around aimlessly like a lost Flygon, she couldn't help but ask, "Hello there. Can you tell me what kind of book you're looking for?"
"Do you have any books related to Professor Oak?" Zane asked.
"Professor Oak from the Kanto region?" the owner asked, surprised.
Zane nodded. "That's the one."
"Let me see—" The owner walked over to a bookshelf and scanned the titles for a moment. She pulled out two books. "Sorry, no books by Professor Oak, but I do have these about Professor Birch."
Professor Birch... Zane pictured the scene from the game of the poor man being chased by a Zigzagoon. After a moment's thought, he nodded. "That'll work too."
Five minutes later, he let out a sigh of relief. According to the book, Professor Birch did not have a daughter named Sapphire or a son named Ruby. And May, who was Sapphire's counterpart, was indeed the daughter of the Petalburg Gym Leader, Norman, just like in the anime.
This meant the world he was in wasn't the dangerously edgy game or manga universe, but one that leaned much closer to the anime.
Zane finally felt completely at ease. He casually shoved the Professor Birch biography into his backpack, figuring he could use it to prop up a wobbly table leg back at the school. He was too broke to waste anything, after all.
If this is the anime world, he mused, then there's a good chance I might actually meet Ash, Team Rocket, Misty, and the others. Maybe even that kid who catches everything with one Poké Ball.
Though at this point in the timeline, Ash probably hasn't even started his journey yet, right? Zane tried to recall the plot of the original series, but the memories were fuzzy due to how long ago it was. He still remembered the important parts, though: Ash's abandoned Charmander, the giant Dragonite at the lighthouse, the three ancient Pokémon...
Leaving the bookstore, Zane headed towards the Contest Hall. A huge electronic screen hung outside the building, currently playing highlights from previous contests. On it, Zane saw Wallace and his signature Milotic.
The area around the Contest Hall was bustling with Coordinators signing up for the upcoming event. Zane noticed that, unlike him, most of them were traveling with one or two companions—usually trainers or breeders.
His purpose in coming to Fallarbor Town was to find battles and test Roselia's progress. So, Zane walked straight up to the people who looked most like trainers.
"You're saying you want to have a Pokémon battle with me?" a girl named Saori asked, pointing at herself.
Zane nodded. "Is that okay?"
Saori smiled. "Of course, no problem!" For traveling trainers, impromptu battles were a common occurrence, nothing out of the ordinary. "But," she added, "I've already collected three gym badges, you know. Judging by your looks, you must have just started your journey, right?"
Zane didn't deny it. "Something like that." This was, after all, his first real trip since arriving in this world.
"Alright then! Go!" Saori struck a dynamic pose and threw her Poké Ball. A flash of white light, and a Combusken, nearly three feet tall, appeared in front of Zane.
/// Add to collection.