Another Road Repaved - Conception

Out of My Depths

There was but one refuge from Viridian Forest's wilderness within its many twists and turns; a lone cabin, furnished over years of Samurai's occupation. The structure that once guarded from angry Beedrill now housed three trainers and their Pokémon who had come to the same swarm's defense, today.

The group's first priority was to care for the Pokémon who had fought so hard for them. While Pikachu and Buneary were easily treated with Potions and Antidotes, Butterfree naturally woke from her slumber, and Pinsir benefited from the irritating Acid being wiped from his eyes, the other combatants needed rest and care.

Laid out on a blanket by the fireplace were Piplup, Absol, Beedrill, and Rosa. Ash quietly approached them, and gently scooped up the sleeping Riolu, setting her back down, belly-up. "There we go!"

"What was that for, Ash?" Dawn asked, tilting her head.

"She rolled over and put the weight of her legs on top of her arm," Ash explained with a smile as he took a seat at Samurai's kitchen table. "Most of Riolu's muscles are in their legs, so she was putting a lot of weight on her arm. If she woke up from sleeping like that, she'd complain about her arm falling asleep!"

"I never would've thought of that." Dawn blinked.

"You pick up these things, when you raise a kid, yourself!" Ash grinned. He turned his attention back to the sleeping Pokémon. "They really outdid themselves, back there. I guess we're not having our battle, tonight."

On the other end of the room, Pikachu and Buneary were chatting with Butterfree and Beedrill; Pikachu and Buneary were making wide gestures that resembled some of the tricks they'd pulled against Jessie and James to show the bug-types. They were merry, but sluggish enough in their movements that they clearly weren't up for a fresh fight.

"Tomorrow morning would be most prudent," Samurai agreed. "Our nerves will be clear, and we'll be well-rested for our battle. We wouldn't want a repeat of our last match, would we?" The hermit shot a smirk towards Ash.

"Huh? What happened, last time?" Dawn rose a brow, looking towards Ash.

"...Erm, It's nothing! Just that spring humidity, y'know?" Ash laughed nervously, waving it off. It was obvious that something about it embarrassed him.

Dawn shrugged it off and pulled at her jacket. "So, does this place have indoor plumbing, or am I going to have to try my luck at a river?"

"It does. I've been here too long to not have those kinds of accommodations. Bathing in the forest where bug and water types run amok isn't the most pleasant." He heard Pinsir chatter in offense and rolled his eyes. "You know I don't mean you."

"Thank goodness!" The blue haired girl glanced Ash's way; he earned his name today, that was for sure. "You could use a bath, too, you know."

Ash chuckled at Pinsir's interjection before turning to Dawn, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "Hah, I guess you're right! I'm gonna guess you're gonna want to go before me though, right?" While Ash didn't feel like going to bed sooty, he knew good and well which one of the two cared more about cleanliness.

"You know me!" Taking that as her cue, Dawn followed the hall she assumed the bathroom had to be down with her bag in hand, happy to discover this was so.

With Dawn gone, Samurai turned to Ash, speaking up to fill the silence. Pardoning the sound of Pokémon chatter, that was. "So, Ash. Who is this Dawn girl, anyway? She seems like an adequate partner to travel with."

"She is! She's a friend of mine that I met in Sinnoh a lil' over a year ago. She's a Pokémon Coordinator, so we ended up traveling together while we chased badges and ribbons. So now she's trying out the Kanto circuit."