Another Road Repaved - Conception

Code of the Guardian

Winter was Dawn's favorite time of year, naturally. Even after Winter Solstice, the fun didn't end; on the outskirts of Twinleaf, she made merry in the generous white blanket of snow, hurling snowballs back-and-forth with Piplup and Buneary.

A snowball decked her in the side, thrown by a loudly victorious Piplup. Giggling madly, Dawn brushed off the snow, patting her own snowball together. "That's it. Now, you're gonna get it! Heads up- ow!"

Another snowball pelted her, this time right in the face, courtesy of Buneary.

Dawn spit out snow, brushing the rest of it off her mug. "Two on one? That's just not fair. Heads-up, both of you, because you're about to get it! Come on, Pachirisu, let's even the odds!" She rallied her Pokémon to action, packing snow into a ball. Though, there was no answer.

"...Pachirisu?" Dawn paused. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her for a bit, now. I wonder-"

Smack. A snowball hit her in the back of the head, leading to a very explosive Dawn. "OKAY, YOU CAN STOP THROWING THOSE, NOW!"

"Pip-Piplup!" Piplup rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly chirping his apologies.

"Now, I wonder where she ran off to..."

"Sol! Absol!" Absol dashed through the snow that matched her coat, making her nigh invisible, if not for her blue crescent.

"Huh? What is it, Absol?" Dawn turned to the Disaster Pokémon. "Is something the matter!?"

The dark-type nodded her head over her shoulder and motioned for Dawn to follow. She followed the quadruped towards a nearby tree, where lightning burst out in a flashy array.

"Chiiii!"

"Pachirisu!?" Dawn sprinted towards the commotion to the best of her ability in the snow. She found her Squirrel pinned to the tree bark by an angry Houndour's paw. She squirmed and wiggled to no avail, her fur burnt and greyed.

"Hey! You leave her alone!" Dawn demanded, pointing towards the canine. "Piplup, Hydro Pump!"

Houndour looked back at her, blinking dumbly. "Dour?"

"Pip-luuuup!" Piplup cried, firing a powerful torrent.

Before the dark-type knew what hit him, he was washed up, unconscious.

"...It's not that strong?" Dawn realized, lowering her guard. She shook the thought off and ran over to check on her Pokémon. "Pachirisu! Are you alright...? Did you get burnt? It looks like he did a real number on you." She crouched, inspecting the irritated squirrel who licked her wounds. It was only then, though, when she noticed something was amiss.

"Hold on," Dawn said. "What're you holding in your cheeks? Open up, girl."

Indeed, the Elesquirrel's cheek pouches were bloated. She refused to open her mouth, but Dawn did notice that her tail was coiled unusually tight. She tugged on it, and a half-eaten Oran Berry dropped into the snow.

"...Something's not right here," Dawn squinted. She turned her attention to the downed Houndour, where she picked up another clue. "There's berry juice in the snow, near his paws... and his claws! There's chunks of berry skin!" Dawn frowned, turning back to Pachirisu. "You stole from that Houndour, didn't you!?"

"Chi-Chi-Chi." Pachirisu chattered, shaking her head with no display of guilt.

"Kiiiss." Togekiss coasted in at last, landing beside the group. Dawn could only guess she'd overheard the quarrel, because she was wagging a wing at Pachirisu and scolding her.