Advice

Some Advice To Show You're Looking Out For Him

Ash and Gary were on their way to Snowpoint City for "just a winter holiday", as the seventeen year old had suggested. It was freezing cold even in their fluffy, cotton jackets; their iceproof, woolly snow pants and their tramping, heavy snow boots. Even Pikachu and Eevee had their own set of snow clothes as they were obviously not adaptable to the freezing climate.

"Garyyyyy. I'm so cooooold! And I'm tired! Why couldn't we have flown on your Pidgeot or my Charizard? Or even caught a bus or ridden a car or train or...whatever?" The younger boy complained, dragging his feet against the snow in every heavy step he took.

"I told you already, Ashy! We're just stopping by somewhere south of Lake Acuity so that we could find the nearby campsite we booked in at!"

Knowing so didn't make Ash feel any better. He still believed they could have flown anyway. It was much too hard hiking from Eterna City to where they stood currently.

"But we could have just gone to Snowpoint City and THEN walked a shorter way to Camp Icinda, couldn't we?"

"We were already in Eterna City. We needed the exercise. You should be used to walking by now, Ashy, being the traveller you are. Besides, distance-wise, Camp Icinda is closer to Eterna. It says on the map."

Gary and his irrelevant technicalities... The Pikachu Trainer had no stand against him and his words. Oh well... Ash just hoped they were getting closer to their destination.

"Pika-pikaa!"

"Veeeee!"

Pikachu and Eevee yelped gladly in unison, jumping off their trainers' shoulders before running towards a sturdy-looking shack quite a walk away. It seemed that Ash wasn't the only one excited to finally find shelter. Unfortunately for the little furballs, their extra layer of clothes slowed them down a bit, making them appear to be trudging like Caterpies instead of running.

"Yes! A warm place! To rest! Even though it looks so far, it's still so close! To freedom! And food! Yesssss!" Ash voiced triumphantly to the cloudy sky, arms high up in the air in a fist pumping motion. Gary merely snickered at the cuteness that was his best friend. The little things that made him happy...

Ash tried to keep up with Pikachu and Eevee by attempting to sprint to the almost nearby campsite. The hazel-eyed boy had to work his muscles out just to catch up as the snow wasn't exactly the friendliest of pathways. The Pokémon Researcher lagged behind him, clever enough not to tire himself out in the cold weather lest he experience strains the following day.

"Hey Ash!" He called out worriedly.

"Yeah?"

"Ash, the snow around here is thick and it's hard to walk! Be careful!"

"Gaaaaaryyy, you worry too much! I'm fineeeee!"

The younger kept running, walking really, but running towards the Camp Icinda shack. Unfortunately for Ash...

"Ashy! Slow down! You might trip ov-"

"Waaaaaaaah!"

Thud! The sound of someone falling into the snow echoed audibly around the frost-filled forest.

"-over."

Ash laid in the snow for what seemed a long time, and he didn't get up at all. Even Pikachu and Eevee, who were about a hundred metres away, stopped in their tracks to check on the fallen boy.

"Ash? Ash! Are you okay?"

"Pi-pi-pi!"

"Eeveee-veee!

When Gary finally reached him, the older boy kneeled down and took the ravenette in his arms. 'Dear Arceus, he's so cold!' He let his gloves wander to Ash's rosy cheeks, wiping flecks of snow off of them.