Another Road Repaved - Conception

Another Road

The travel hours passed by as they ought to have; Ash riding atop Charizard with mild monotony, entertained only by the occasional passing flying type. As it turned out, flying to Twinleaf from Veilstone was a far longer venture than it would have been to go straight from Canalave; the venture spanned over the next day, and into the early evening hours.

Swooping down in front of Dawn's two-story home, Asin grinned, hopping off Charizard's back. "Thanks, big guy. We'll call you back out for dinner, alright?" Charizard grunted, and he gestured an index finger over his mouth. "We're gonna surprise 'em, so try to keep it down, alright?"

Uninterested, but humoring his trainer's antics, Charizard nodded before retreating to his Poké Ball.

Ash then exchanged a mischievous look with Pikachu, and tip-toed his way up onto Dawn's porch. Hoping no one was the wiser, he knocked a tune on Dawn's door.

From the inside, he heard muffled chatter; confused, by the sounds of it.

"I've got it!" Dawn could be heard from the outside, her voice muffled by the door. Pulling it open, Ash could watch her face shift from mild curiosity to flabbergasted surprise. "Ash!? Pikachu!?"

Standing in the doorway, Ash grinned. "Surprised to see us?"

"Well, duh. It's not like you called!" She grinned, shoving Ash's shoulder. "What're you waiting for? Come on in!"

As soon as Ash stepped inside, a steadily growing cry drew near. Dashing clumsily down the stairs was Piplup, who sprinted towards Ash. "Pip-pip-lup! Pip-lup!" Tearfully rounding the corner, he jumped up to hug the trainer's leg.

"Oh! Hah, hey, Piplup! I missed you too, big guy." Ash gave an apologetic smile. But that wasn't the end of the parade of affection; a small, bouncing rabbit was just behind, hopping on top of Piplup's head to bounce up to Ash and Pikachu's eye level. "Bun-Buneary~!" She waved a paw to them both; though the wink that came with it was surely for Pikachu.

"And it's great to see you, too, Buneary!" Ash grinned, reaching for his belt. "Come to think of it, at long as we're catching up..." He clicked the center button on a Poké Ball, spawning a small, blue canine atop his shoulder.

"Come on, guys, give them some space!" Dawn chided, picking the two eager Pokémon up. Holding onto a fussing Piplup, she blinked, noting the unfamiliar Riolu. "Hey, you've got a new friend!"

Wide, ruby eyes scanned the stranger. A gleeful girl, staring right at her.

"She's a little slow on getting used to strangers," Ash explained. "This is Rosemary. Or Rosa for short! I hatched her a couple of weeks ago!" He gestured to Dawn and her Pokémon. "Why don't you say hello?"

"Rio..." She hummed, looking over the new faces. Two Pokémon, and a human. ~Oh. Um... hello!~

Dawn's mouth hung agape. "Did you... did you just talk!?"

"Aura's a pretty handy thing," Ash added.

"I never knew Riolu or Lucario could do that..." Looking back, hadn't Ash been able to reach that Aura Sphere Riolu telepathically? Shaking the thought off, Dawn beamed. "It's nice to meet you, too! My name's Dawn."

"Pip, Piplup!" Piplup gestured to himself.

"Bun-Buneary!" Buneary greeted, waving with her hanging ear.

Ash watched the Aura Pokémon absorb the information. This was enough activity for her, for now. "Hey, Pikachu. Why don't you catch up with Piplup and Buneary?"

"Pi-ka!" Getting the message, Pikachu hopped down to the floor, gesturing for his friends to follow.

Piplup hurriedly squirmed out of Dawn's arms, hopping down, only to land on his rear and roll. Snorting, he scraped together his dignity, and ran over to Pikachu, ready to pull him into a hug. At the last moment, though, he stopped! "Piplup, Pip. Lup!" Posturing with one wing on his hip, the other hanging casually by his side, he played himself off as cool and collected.