"a helping hand, of course." fritz replies nonchalantly. the scientist here had two objectives: one, figure out what was making the froslass so aggressive, and two, claim the prize money and the respect of the villagers once the deed is finished. the latter would mean familiarity, and that also meant that he could use this area for experiments in the future. or at the very least, that's the ideal. between the two of them, it's clear that fritz is more prepared with his newer thermal coat, though he also admits that this place is cold as hell because of the wild pokemon.

"you recently got a zoroark, right? let's put them into good use." he takes a step or so forward and pulls out one of his pokemon first--magnezone enters into the fray, seemingly unbothered by the cold, but fritz knows that being exposed too long to the elements would make it sluggish. "but first, close your ears." he gives the large steel type a quick pat; a cue for it to use METAL SOUND. its rippling screeches stop cold both people and pokemon alike, and a better consequence is that it actually makes the froslass visible to the naked eye. he gestures priam to hurry up and bring out zoroark as he takes out another pokemon. metagross appears beside him, a little confused and annoyed about the cold, but is primed and ready to listen. "metagross, be a dear and carry those unconscious bodies to those guys over there."

the large steel type complies, using PSYCHIC to carry a few knocked out people and pokemon at a time to those that are anxiously waiting but are unable to face the froslass. meanwhile, arthur commands magnezone to prep a LOCK-ON. he plans to use flash cannon later when zoroark has done some work.

---

tags: priam conrad
notes: yeet

fritz sighs. sometimes he forgets who he is talking to, so he just pats the boy's shoulder a few times, "enough for perhaps a one night stay at a decent hotel, with bed and breakfast, if you must know." he's honestly not sure if the village would really pay him that much, but he knows that this mission does have a bit of poke attached to it, and well, if it doesn't work out, he'll treat him. he supposes that he deserves it after being called here so suddenly. the metal sound makes the scientist clench his teeth also as he closes his ears, but he tries to recover a little faster so that they don't lose valuable time.

"if we're lucky, yes. you're sure impatient today, huh?" the zoroark does quick work on some of the nearby froslass, smacking them hard with the help of espeon's power, but there are still a number of others in the distance. he makes sure that the dark type is far enough from range before he gives another pat on the magnezone's back. it then unleashes a beam of silver-colored energy, directly hitting one wild ice type before the magnet pokemon carefully moves to hit at least one more before the beam stops.

so far they are mowing these guys down easy, but fritz feels like this isn't the end of it. right when he thinks that, he suddenly feels a chill from behind him. cold hands then envelop his body--easily recognizable to be a froslass that somehow snuck up behind him--and he lets out a curse, "shit, priam--!" the wild pokemon uses BLIZZARD to whisk the scientist away, leaving metagross and magnezone behind along with his companion. right after that, the other froslass suddenly change their stance and disappear into the freezing winds.

---

tags: priam conrad
notes: ok sleep for reals

it's very, very cold when fritz wakes up. he feels his fingers trembling as his consciousness flickers; his cheek pressed on a chilly floor as he struggles to get his mind awake and himself off the wooden ground. how long had he been out? he rubs his face but it does not help much; his palms feel like they're frozen and devoid of warmth. thankfully his watch still works, and it reads...err...it's been a few hours?

fuck. and he got snatched away from his errand boy too.

he checks his poke balls and finds that both magnezone and metagross are not in there, which is to be expected but still weighs heavily on him. mudkip would be useless against the froslass, which honestly just leaves rotom, but that little shit is also weak to ghost type moves, so it's going to be a risky battle. the scientist takes a look around, realising that the reason why he was on a wooden floor is because he's in the house. it's not completely closed off, though, as there are holes on the walls that allow the snow to come in. "where the fuck am i?" he mutters to himself, finally finding some strength to get himself to stand. his eyebrows are furrowed, sensing that he's not alone, but he has no clue where the wild pokemon might be.

this house though looks like it was lived in for a while. he notes the old furniture and the frames, but the pictures are more or less faded, or the cracks have made it tarnished from the chill. he notes a family on one of the pictures that's actually distinguishable, though. he's starting to get a feeling that those froslass weren't just there for no reason...oh boy.

out of the blue something tugs on his leg. he lets out a little yelp, only to find that it's a snorunt. the triangular pokemon jitters and lets out a cry, pulling one side of his pants towards a door at the back of the house. aw fuck, he got himself into some creepy horror shit, didn't he? while he's used to rotom and his pranks, actual ghosts are another story altogether. "i know you're going to scare the fuck out of me, but i guess you're looking for some peace of mind, huh?"

the snorunt does not respond but keeps tugging on him. he gulps as he moves his shaky, frozen legs towards the wooden door.

---

tags: priam conrad
notes: yeet