Honestly, Elliott didn't know how the hell Ceri Glynn managed to convince him to come to route 119 with her. He wasn't the most jolly of fellows, and really, the snow was a bit of a bother to him. He wasn't used to it like his companion was, but...

Something was compelling him to go with her. Seeing her light up when he agreed, after a few minutes of persistent begging, made this fuzzing feeling appear in his chest. He had no idea what that was.

Could a person use cute charm? That wasn't possible.

Elliott was dragged after her to a hot chocolate stand, looking at the variety of options they could have. It sounded like a good idea, something to warm them both up after having built snow boys. His hands were a bit chilly.

"Okay. What kind do you want?"

He dug for his wallet, looking over the options before deciding to get one with a bit spice added to it.

Elliott's attempt to pay for both hot chocolates was thwarted by Ceri pulling out her own wallet. He couldn't help his snicker when he saw the Nidorans on the outside.

"You like Nidorans? Or are they just cute to you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She just seemed the type to be drawn to cute things. Eli hadn't seen her room when he took her back to it on the sub after their slip into the water in Sootopolis, but he imagined it was full of cute things.

Watch him be proved wrong, though.

"Hmm? Yeah, I like spicy stuff. It makes food more interesting, you know."

He exchanged his own money with the worker at the stall, his own cup handed over to him. Cayenne and chili powder dusted the top of his, otherwise seemingly normal cup of hot chocolate.

"Do you want to sit down over there?" he asked, pointing to a small seating area that wasn't covered in snow.

Elliott couldn't help the face he made at her. Sure, he knew Nidorans could be dangerous if provoked. In fact, his mother always told him never to scare one less he wanted to suffer the consequences.

He was glad, in this moment, he heeded his mother's words...

"Sure... I love it when a cute Pokemon can attack me and kill me in seconds," he said, his voice oozing sarcasm.

There was a reason he liked fire and dark types. Besides them looking cool. Okay, that was one of the main reasons.

Speaking of reasons...

Taking out one of his pokeballs, Elliott released Helios, his Arcanine. The fluffy, dog-like Pokemon was essentially a big heater under all that fur of his.

"Come here, boy. Give us some of that heat you keep all to yourself."

After settling on the bench, Eli allowed Helios to climb on top of them like a huge blanket. He was big, and he was heavy, but he wasn't crushing them.

"I like spicy curry... but my mother, she used to make this spicy noodle dish with seafood if we had the money for it back home when I was a kid. It was sort of like a treat. It wasn't often we'd get it, but when we did, it was amazing."

Helios seemed to appreciate her compliments, his large, puffy tail wagging as he looked over at her. Elliott chuckled, petting over the striped fur of his back.

"Bet your poisonous Nidoran couldn't warm us up like my fire-type, hmm? he teased her.

He sipped his hot chocolate, relishing the warmth and delightful burn of the spice. It was a good combo, one he appreciated more than he thought he realized.

"Oh, I'm sure she does. I just don't go back to Rustboro that often anymore."

Elliott was usually too occupied with Rocket things or model gigs.

"Ever since I was scouted, I hadn't really had the time to see my parents. I send them money from my gigs and from the earnings I get from Rocket. But as far as going home... it's not a luxury I have."

One day, he wanted to get his parents out of Rustboro, at least the poor area the lived in. Into a nice house. He wondered if they saw the snow and got to appreciate it like he was.

"I'm not complaining. I'm happy where I am. I'm able to provide this way."

Elliott only makes a face when she decided to poke her finger into his cheek, though his body leaned away like she had the strength to push him with that single finger. He decided not to push her buttons further, though he thought it was kind of entertaining to see her pout.

And cute.

"Yeah. I get busy during the holidays, with different types of shoots and stuff. They like to promote all sorts of holiday-based clothing and items with changing seasons, so the only time I'm really able to go home is a small period of time between spring and summer."

Even then, it was brief. He had Rocket things he had to commit to as well. Eli's parents were very understanding, but that didn't mean they didn't miss him. And he surely felt the same.

"They took care of me. I'd feel horrible not helping them out. We were close, when I was young."

Somehow, he felt comfortable telling Ceri about his past. How he had grown up. It just made sense to him.

"How are your folks?"

Elliott shook his head.

"No, I'm staying at the sub for Christmas. I just don't have the time to get there and back in time."

As soon as Christmas was over, he had another work day in store. But he didn't mind.

"It's okay, though. It won't bother me. Rocket is essentially a family in itself, right? They probably appreciate the money for utilities and stuff. I'll try to find a time soon to go back, though."

Maybe he shouldn't have brought up family. Eli stared at the white snow, his throat suddenly dry.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up a sensitive topic."

Ceri insisted it was fine, but guilt was eating at Eli's stomach. He bit his lip, opting to finish the rest of his cooling hot chocolate. He was quite warm now.

In more ways than one.

With the hot chocolate finished, Eli looked around at the other things that people were doing along the frozen route. One thing did catch his eye.

Giving Ceri a nudge, he pointed to a few people ice skating on a frozen pond nearby.

"What are they doing? Isn't that a pond that they're on? Won't those things on their feet cut up the ice and make them fall in?"

It was clear that Elliott, even from entertainment, wasn't sure what ice skating even was.