The Pokedex, a handheld Pokemon encyclopedia, beeped at me as I groaned and lifted myself off the cold, rocky ground. I wouldn't recommend stopping to rest on the dreary beach of the Seafoam Islands this time of year. Freezing sea spray isn't the best environment to stick around in for long. I regret ever coming here. Ah, but before I explain all this I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Neil Stryker, OAC Special Operations Team Leader. Why did I spend nearly a week in one of the most inhospitable parts of the world? Earlier this month, I was contracted for a high priority mission involving one of the legendary Pokemon, Articuno. My team was to determine whether this creature, the subject of dozens of myths throughout history, actually exists. If so, we were to capture it and hand it over to a particular...government agency. I'm not at liberty to say which agency that is, but you can figure it out. The interested party wanted the bird for its weapons research division. Yeah, right. I had every intention of capturing Articuno, but no plans whatsoever of giving it up.

An ashy, cold cloud layer completely blanketed the sky far above. Standing on the harsh, frozen beach, I wiped off my hands and felt a bitter chill emanating from the cave opening nearby. I stared into the dark gray maw of the cave and felt anxious to get all this over with. This was it, the last place in these God-forsaken islands that Articuno could live. I couldn't believe that we'd combed nearly every inch of this rock without finding even a shred of evidence, let alone the actual animal. I mean, I've lived in extreme environments at bad times, but I can honestly say that this just sucked. I had icicles permeating every piece of clothing I was wearing, and I had some heavy-duty stuff on!

As you've doubtlessly guessed, the Seafoam Islands are in a barren, cold, rocky, wet, isolated, and overall wretched part of the world. There aren't exactly hundreds of Carnival cruise lines over here. About a week ago, my team traveled here on a raft pulled by my Gyarados. Ah, Gyarados. The old saying is true: if one will obey you, nothing is more reliable. Yet.

The government gave us all the tools and personnel we needed to complete the mission. It was given the codename Operation Arctic Chill, or OAC for short. We were granted field equipment and a top secret Pokedex expansion file, and I was also allowed to select two men to assist with the mission.

First, there's Alan Greylin, a.k.a. Hunter. Alan is the survivalist of the group. He's a wilderness authority from Pewter City, and he makes sure that we stay alive out there. He's usually a quiet, serious guy but he loves to joke around. Next, there's Jack Turner, a.k.a. Tech. Jack's our field equipment techie from Celadon City. He maintains the electronics. Tech can be geeky at times, but he's a highly trained, all-around nice guy. And then, there's me, the expert Pokemon master. Battle Strategy and Tactics is my specialty, and it's why I'm the best there is at what I do. The government contacted me for the OAC position because of my status as "Undefeated" and my impressive reputation. Plus, let's just say that I've dealt with this government agency before... I'll leave it at that.