Steven pulled on the gloves Cynthia handed him and got to work building a snowman beside her.
He could only manage to roll out a long, flat strip of snow, carefully scooping and shaping it bit by bit. Slowly but surely, the form of a Beldum lying on the ground began to take shape. Steven stepped back and gave it a satisfied look.
He turned to check on Cynthia's progress. Her Gible was also coming along quickly. The shape was there, more or less. But it didn't look very good.
"Hahahaha! Wait — are those its eyes or its nostrils?!"
Steven pointed at the two lumps on Cynthia's snow Gible and doubled over laughing.
"Stop laughing!" Cynthia shot him a sharp glare.
She already knew she wasn't the best with her hands. She didn't need him making it worse by cackling right next to her!
Steven walked around to look at it from the front, and that only made things worse. He laughed even more freely, no longer holding back at all.
"Is that supposed to be a Gible, or an egg? Hahahaha~"
"I told you to stop!"
Cynthia stood up abruptly and grabbed Steven's ear with two fingers.
"Ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay! I'll stop, I'll stop!"
"Hmph." Cynthia let go with a soft snort, puffing out her cheeks in clear annoyance.
He could laugh a little — fine. But did he have to be so loud about it?
"Pfft… hahahaha!"
Not even a minute passed before Steven started up again.
"You're still laughing?!" Cynthia grabbed his ear again, this time with much less patience.
"N-no — hahaha — look at that — hahaha!"
Steven reached up to grab the hand pinching his ear, his face scrunched up in pain, yet still unable to stop laughing.
"Hm?"
Cynthia followed the direction he was pointing.
Diancie had just clapped her small hands together, the satisfied look on her face suggesting she had finished her work. She spun around toward them and called out cheerfully.
"Cynthia! Come look at the snowman I made!"
"Pfft—"
Cynthia couldn't hold it in. She burst out laughing.
Diancie's snowman was… a lump. A round, shapeless blob of snow. Cynthia genuinely couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a snowman or some kind of snow sculpture of a Muk.
"What are you two laughing at?!"
Diancie planted one hand on her hip and pointed the other directly at Steven.
"If you can't even guess what this is, I'll poke Steven with a Diamond Storm!"
Steven's laughter cut off instantly.
"Wait — why only me?!"
"Because making Steven suffer is already punishment enough for Cynthia~"
…
Wow.
She said that so calmly. So matter-of-factly.
And honestly? It made complete sense.
Steven stared. Was this really a Pokémon talking?
His own smile refused to leave his face — it had just moved over to Cynthia's instead.
Cynthia pressed a hand over her mouth, but her shoulders wouldn't stop shaking. She was doing impressively well not to burst out laughing again.
"That's not fair!" Steven protested.
"It's perfectly fair. Right, Cynthia?"
Diancie glanced over at Cynthia and gave her a little wink.
"Hey! You're sending signals right in front of me?!"
"What signals?" Cynthia said, composing herself just barely. "I agree with Diancie. It's fair."
Steven walked over to Diancie's creation and slowly circled the blob, examining it from every angle.
"…Is this supposed to be a Carbink?"
"See? It's obvious, isn't it?!" Diancie nodded with great satisfaction.
Obvious.
Steven had nearly pressed his nose against it trying to figure it out. The only reason he had even guessed Carbink was that one pointy bit at the top still faintly resembled the rocky crown of a Carbink elder. Without that detail, he never would have gotten it.
"What a shame~" Diancie spread her hands with a small, helpless shrug.
"What a shame," Cynthia agreed, copying the gesture perfectly.
Steven looked between the two of them.
So you both really want to see a Diamond Storm fly through my chest, huh?
He had nothing more to say.
"Whoa — is that real?!"
"That's incredible!"
A wave of excited voices rose up nearby. Steven turned around to find a crowd had gathered not far behind them, all staring and pointing at something with wide eyes.
He didn't need anyone to tell him what it was. He saw it immediately.
A snow castle, standing over three meters tall, had been built right in the middle of the open area. Near the very top, a small yellowish-green Pokémon was carefully pressing its tiny fists against the surface, adding the finishing touches.
Steven blinked.
…Is that Larvitar?
Wait. Something wasn't adding up.
A Larvitar in its normal state weighs around 72 kilograms. So how was it standing on top of a snow structure without sinking straight through? Even with Sandslash positioned below and using Powder Snow to pack the surface tighter, there was no way regular snow could hold that kind of weight.
This wasn't just packed snow.
"Tar!"
Larvitar gave one final pat to the top of the castle and jumped down, landing cleanly on the ground. It straightened up and turned toward the crowd, which had broken into cheers and applause. Larvitar gave a small bow.
From a short distance away, Sandslash watched with a slow, satisfied nod.
Years of experience as a veteran Pokémon had taught him one thing — when your partner performs well, you share in the glory too. If Larvitar looked impressive, then as the senior Pokémon here, he had done his job right.
The truth was that the two of them building a three-meter castle wasn't particularly difficult. The real problem had been the finishing details. If Larvitar walked along the top of the snow to carve them in, the whole thing would have collapsed under its weight.
Sandslash hadn't been stumped for long.
He had quietly used Icicle Spear to construct a firm internal frame first, then layered snow on top of that. The result looked like an ordinary snow castle from the outside, but the core was solid ice. When Larvitar stepped up to work on the final details, the structure held without any issue.
As long as nobody had watched the whole process closely, no one would ever know.
"Slash…" Sandslash gave a slow, quiet shake of his head.
Even I'm a little impressed with myself.
Click — click — click —
Steven snapped out of his daze. All around him, cameras and Pokétech screens were flashing as people took photos of Larvitar, Sandslash, and the castle.
Larvitar stood with its hands on its hips and its small chest puffed out, wearing an expression that said plainly: That's right. I did that.
Sandslash, meanwhile, scratched the back of his head with a slightly awkward look.
Why are we the ones getting photographed?
Shouldn't they be taking pictures of our Trainer?
"Larvitar and Sandslash are already a hit!" Diancie said with a bright laugh.
"I'd be just as popular if I took off my hat and glasses," Steven said, glancing down at her.
Diancie tilted her head and put a small hand to her lips thoughtfully.
"But isn't this Sinnoh? Wouldn't Cynthia be the more popular one here?"
"Diancie, you've gotten a little cheeky lately."
"Nyah nyah nyah~"
Diancie stuck her tongue out at Steven with cheerful defiance.
Steven quietly withdrew the compliment he had once given her — that Diancie was the most well-mannered Pokémon he had ever met. Since leaving the Diamond Kingdom and joining them on the road, she had clearly decided to enjoy a little more freedom.
Though to be fair, that side of her only ever came out around Steven and Cynthia.
Boom—
A deep, rumbling sound broke through the air above them.
Those still admiring the snow castle looked up at once.
Steven raised his head. A massive aircraft shaped like a pyramid was cutting through the sky overhead, its shadow sweeping briefly across the snow below before passing on.
"What is that?" Diancie asked, her small face tilted upward in curiosity.
Steven and Cynthia exchanged a glance.
"It could be…" Steven started.
"A flying pyramid?" Cynthia finished.
A beat of silence passed between them.
"Well," Steven said, "these days, what can't fly…"