Sophie lead Pikachu into the forest, stopping roughly where the group had teleported in earlier that day. "Where are we going?" Pikachu asked, looking around. "You'll see!" Sophie said simply, trotting over to a tree. "Down here," she said, pointing at a hole among the tree's roots, right at the base. "Meet you inside!" she grinned, then leapt down there. "Wheeeee!"

Pikachu climbed in curiously, then tripped and started sliding down a dirt mound. The side he was falling down was worn like a dirt path, clearly from so much sliding. "Aah!" he yelped, panicking, but when he got to the bottom a few leaves were waiting to catch him and soften his fall.

"Have a nice trip?" Sophie giggled. She'd been waiting for him at the bottom of the dirt mound which she must often use as either a ramp to get to the exit or a slide to get into this cave thing.

Pikachu grabbed her leg and pulled her down next to him, making her shriek in surprise. They then started laughing, enjoying themselves. "So what is this place?" Pikachu stood up and looked around.

The walls, ceiling and floor were all dirt, easily giving the place a simplistic, natural feel. It seemed to be as large as one of the tents the Trainers were all sleeping in. Part of one wall was covered up by vines, which Sophie quickly moved to sit in front of. The only furnishing was a pile of leaves all woven together to form a sort of nest-like bed.

"This is my burrow," Sophie smiled. "My home." "I didn't know Eevees had burrows," Pikachu commented. "I don't think most of them do, but it works for me," Sophie shrugged. "Plus it's warmer down here."

It was true; Pikachu had already stopped shivering. "You can use my bed if you'd like," Sophie offered. "It's nice and big for when friends come to stay. It may not look like much, but it's actually really nice."

"You sure?" Pikachu asked hesitantly. "I mean, unless you wanna sleep on the floor," Sophie giggled, curling up on the far edge of the bed. "Here, we don't even have to touch."

"Uh, okay, then,"Pikachu agreed, climbing up onto the bed. Even by just curling up on the edge of it, he could tell Sophie was right; it was warm and cozy. Sophie passed him a large leaf and placed it over him, showing him that it was a makeshift blanket. He smiled at her and wrapped himself up, wanting to absorb the heat.

"Are you warmer now?" She asked. "Much," Pikachu nodded. "Thanks, Sophie." "No problem!" She smiled. Pikachu grinned back at her, then closed his eyes, deciding he might as well be well-rested for when Ash got back. Besides, it was so calm and quiet and peaceful...

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Both Pikachu and Sophie jolted up, shocked. They looked at the dirt mound. Someone had fallen into the burrow and was having an unexpected ride. Sophie leapt over to them.

"Chespin?! What are you doing here?" She asked, helping the Grass type Pokemon up on his feet. "Were you following us?" Pikachu asked, but of course they all knew that answer already. "I... I saw you guys leaving and I wanted to know what was going on!" Chespin said, glaring at Pikachu. "I thought you were going back to the berry bushes or something! I didn't know you were going here!... Wherever 'here' is..."

"Chespin, this is where Sophie lives," Pikachu explained. "You can't just drop in unannounced." Honestly, he didn't care too much whether Chespin was here or not. He just didn't want Sophie to think they were all rude jerks who barged into people's homes and didn't expect any consequences. Because who does that?

"Nah, it's fine, I'm used to it," Sophie shrugged. "If you were used to having a Pokeball, would you still like it?" Chespin asked, clearly not a fan of the thought of strangers dropping into Sophie's place. Sophie flinched at the words. Chespin instantly knew he'd said the wrong thing and immediately regretted it.

"Sorry, Sophie," he apologised, his ears drooping like hers had. "It's fine," she shook her head, her usual cheery smile back on her face. "I just brought Pikachu here so he could get out of the cold. You're welcome to stay here, too."

"Really?" Chespin's face lit up. "Of course!" Sophie giggled at his reaction. "Sleepovers are fun! Come on, let's get some rest!" She went back to the bed and curled up by the edge. Pikachu did the same opposite her. Looking at them both, Chespin went straight for the middle, glaring at Pikachu.

"She's mine," he whispered quietly to Pikachu. "By all means," Pikachu shrugged, not really caring what Chespin said. He wasn't exactly expecting Sophie to walk away from here with them at all, let alone with a little green Pokemon by her side.

Chespin huffed and rolled over so he was facing Sophie, then he smiled. She was already asleep and cuddling her own tail. If anyone said she wasn't cute, anyone would know they were lying.

After a while, the boys also managed to get to sleep.

~•~

When Ash returned late that night, he was exhausted from all the running. He'd managed to successfully clear his head and calm down.

I'm going to do what Serena did, he'd decided. I'll give Clemont a chance to win my trust back. I get that what he did was to protect someone he loved. I know I'd do anything to protect Serena.

So Ash came back calmly, then happily when he noticed the bowl of food waiting for him. It was still a little warm, much to his joy. It was a simple thing, but a great comfort to hold.

He sat beside the remains of the fire, eating. He ate fast since, like Pikachu, he found the strong winds quite cold. Steam from his food swirled in the air, warming his face slightly.

Serena wordlessly came outside and sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. Braixen pokes her head sleepily out of the tent for a moment to use Flamethrower at the old campfire, lighting it again. The couple smiled and cuddled up together, watching the flickering flames.

It may have been a cold night, but Ash Ketchum knew how to make it warm.