Love Me Like You Do (Ash Ketchum x Reader x Calem)

- 21 -

"Mamoswine? You mean we can rent them?" [Name] asked as she and Calem entered the building the Mamoswine were being kept in.

"That's right. In order for us to get to Anistar City, we'll need to rent a Mamoswine, who aren't bothered by the snow," Calem explained, placing his hands in his pocket.

The staff stopped next to the Mamoswine lined up inside their cages. A puff of white steam escaped the Mamoswines noses, revealing how cold it was. [Name] glanced at all of them, a smile on her expression. She's never rode a Mamoswine before.

"Alright, pick your Mamoswine," The staff announces, gaining the attention of the pair. "There are staff members waiting on the other side of the mountain, so please hand it over there. And remember, it's going to very cold. We also have snow gear in hand in case you want to rent any."

"Thanks. We'll do just that," Calem thanks the staff and turns back to face [Name]. She was already petting one of the Mamoswine, so he figured that was the one they were going to take. "Let's go put on the winter gear for now. Despite not being very cold, you can still feel the wind blowing from the mountains."

[Name] stands straight up and nods her head. "Right."

They walk over to the door where the snow gears are stored in and pick out their equipment. Heading to the dressing rooms, they change into the clothes, feeling warm already. 

Calem wore a black jacket and matching gloves. His red hat stayed on his hat, but the feather accessory was stored inside his backpack since he didn't want it to blow away. A white scarf was around his neck and snow boots were on his feet. [Name] had on a [F/C] jacket with matching gloves and a winter hat was on her head. A [S/F/C] scarf was wrapped around her and like Calem, she had on snow boots.

They headed outside where their chosen Mamoswine was already waiting, a harness placed on its back. With the help of Calem, [Name] sat on the seat and got into a comfy position. Calem jumped onto the Mamoswine, almost falling in the process had [Name] not grabbed him. Grabbing the reins, Calem gently tugged them as Mamoswine began to stand up from the ground.

"Wah!" [Name] gasped, grabbing onto the seat tightly as Mamoswine began to walk. "I feel like I'm going to fall off any second."

"Just don't look down and hold on tightly," Calem reminded her. "Just imagine it's Charizard or Altaria. If you could ride a Charizard from the air, you can ride a Mamoswine."

[Name] sends him a nervous smile, relaxing slightly, but still gripping the seat. They continued on their way towards the mountains, the path leading them straight to it. Hardly any trees resided in the area, the place being too cold to have any plants. The farther they got, the farther the small town could be seen and the colder it got. 

Finally arriving at the mountains, heavy snow covered the ground. Mamoswine's hooves left trails behind, its footprints showing how deep the snow was. The two Trainers look around the area, a sense of calmness filled the air. Wherever they looked, snow was there. Not an inch of the mountains wasn't covered by snow. A few Pokemon who could live up here were seen playing around and some searching for food. They soon arrive at a steep slope, making it difficult to climb up it.

"This is...an extremely steep slope," [Name] remarks, staring at it with wide, surprised eyes. "How will we be able to climb it?" 

Calem stares at it with uncertainty before gaining a bit of confidence. "Let's try climbing it. If we don't make it, we'll search for another route." He pets Mamoswine's head and gently pulls the reins again. "Okay, Mamoswine, let's go. Take it slow and easy."

Mamoswine begins to climb up, taking a small step each time. In the process, Mamoswine slips, but stops in time as Calem and [Name] held their breaths. The whole time, Calem is whispering encouraging words to Mamoswine, who continues climbing up no matter how difficult it was. Almost at the top, Mamoswine once again slips and again manages to dip his hooves into the slope. Finally arriving at the top, the two let out a breath of relief and look behind them at the slope.

"That was a close one," [Name] breathes and pets Mamoswine. "But thanks to all of Mamoswine's good work, we were able to make it up here."

"Mamo," Mamoswine grunts in pleasure, feeling proud. 

"Let's continue on. We still have a long journey ahead of us," Calem pulls the reins, urging Mamoswine to continue onwards. 

As they continue marching through the snow, they come across a wooden bridge, swaying slightly with the wind. Calem almost faints(and screams)as they cross through it and it didn't help the wind began to blow faster and stronger causing the bridge to swing. [Name], on the other hand, sits trembling in her seat, trying to hard to not look down. Despite her flying on Charizard multiple times, she was not used to riding Mamoswine.

Finally across the other side, Calem leans back, his back pressed against [Name]'s legs. He looks up and sees [Name] looking down at him. They make eye contact and hold it for a minute. Immediately, he sits back and lets out a nervous cough.

"Sorry," he apologizes, getting ahold of the reins again. 

[Name] looks to the side, embarrassed written all over her face. "It's alright."

Mamoswine lets out what sounded like a laugh, finding it funny on their interaction. Continuing on their journey, snow began to rain down. [Name] reaches her hand out, a snowflake falling on her glove. It melts immediately, leaving a wet mark on where it landed. Like a little girl, she giggles and sticks out her tongue. Calem chuckles at her actions, watching as a snowflake lands on her tongue. Deciding to do the same, he sticks out his own tongue. A snowflake lands on his tongue and melts. He shivers slightly at the cold touch of it. 

After a while of treading through the snow, [Name] gets bored sitting on Mamoswine and decided to jump down once Mamoswine stopped walking. She lands face first in the snow, but thankfully it acts as a cushion for her. Turning on her backside, a puff of steams escapes her lips. In a rhythm motion, she moves her arms up and down and her legs side to the side. A snow angel is born.

"Hey, Calem. You should join me!" [Name] calls out to Calem, who is still sitting on Mamoswine's back. "Let's have a little fun. We still have plenty of time before we get to the next town."

"No, thanks," Calem shakes his head. "I'll rather stay up here where its dry. Nothing you do will make me leave this spot."

Mamoswine and [Name] make eye contact, a mischievous look in both their faces. Mamoswine begins to sway side to side as Calem tightly holds onto the reins. Not a moment after, he falls off and into the snow. [Name] and Mamoswine laugh as Calem rises up, snow on his hat. Calem looks at them annoyed before grabbing snow into his hands and turning it into a snowball. 

[Name]'s laugh disappears as a snowball makes contact with her face. She wipes it off and turns to Calem who gives her a smirk. She returns the smirk and throws a snowball at him, knocking his hat off. Calem sits in shock before bursting into laughter; [Name] joins along too. In their mist of laughter, they failed to notice Mamoswine gather snow on his tusks. 

A shadow looms over them and they look up only for the snow to fall on them. [Name] pops out, shivering a bit. Calem soon follows up and shakes the snow from his head. The three look at each other and burst into laughter. Even if it takes them the whole night to get to the town, it was all worth it in the end.