Aiden watched as Ava slowly slinked out of the bush, patrolling around the bush. She walked around in circles, marching her feet into the soggy mud below. "Hup, two, hup, two, hup, two..." she muttered.

"What in the hell are you doing, Ava?" Aiden queried.

"Checking for bears? Duh? Just like you should be doing," she replied haughtily.

"Now, if there WERE any bears out there—"

"Which there are," Ava interrupted.

"If there were, marching around our bush isn't gonna do any good for you. It's only going to make it worse. All bears see you as a slab of meat with legs anyway," Aiden finished.

"That is not true."

Aiden laid back in the dirt, lying flat on his back. "Might be."

Ava kept marching, grabbing a large stick off the ground, marching around the bush with it in case of any more bears. She eventually got bored and stuck it in the mud, drawing tiny pictures with it to keep her entertained. Bulbasaur and Spinarak were happily cuddled together, rubbing against each other to keep warm. Aiden reached out a lazy hand to pet Spinarak as Pidove pecked quickly at his arm.

Aiden laid there curled up. He looked around, before quietly closing his eyes. Just then, he started hearing something. Something was touching his nose. He slowly woke back up to a Teddiursa pawing at Aiden's nose, sniffing it curiously. He gasped, slowly slinking out both hands under its armpits to pick up the Teddiursa.

Ava heard the squirming and opened the bush, to see Aiden holding a squirming Teddiursa in his hands.

"Lookit her... Ain't she the most adorable thing?" Aiden asked.

"...Aiden, no."

"I can't have anything here, can I," Aiden grumbled. The Teddiursa growled, trying to scratch at Aiden's face but ultimately missing. "Can I just keep her? Please?"
"The thing's about to claw your face in," Ava stifled a chuckle, poking Aiden with the stubbier end of the stick.

"She's just playing, like bear cubs do." Aiden outstretched a finger to tickle the bear cub's stomach, but the Teddiursa thought otherwise. It lunged at Aiden's finger, grabbing onto it with its teeth.

"Playing, huh. Yeah, like I'd call that playi—"

Ava was quickly interrupted by the sound of stomping. Her paranoia instantly caught up to her; the giant Ursaring was coming for her, and nothing would keep it from catching its prey. Ava immediately jumped inside the bush, making the already-cramped shrubbery even more compact.

Two teenagers, a Bulbasaur, a Spinarak, a Pidove, as well as a wild Teddiursa. All in the same bush, hiding from the same bear.

Ava and Aiden promised not to make a single sound. The stomping got louder. And louder. AND LOUDER.

Aiden was seconds from dropping everything and playing with death. Ava was seconds from pissing herself. The Pokémon, however, seemed almost calm and not terrified in the slightest. Well, you can't blame them. They didn't know what was coming.

The stomping got closer until it stopped directly in front of the bush. The Ursaring bent down, sniffing the air around it, and slowly pushing a claw into the bush. The claw felt around, tracing Ava's leg before drawing a line down Aiden's jawbone, until it could grab onto something solid. The Ursaring bent down fully, until its head poked directly into the bush. It let out a giant, ear-splitting roar. The Pokémon looked terrified now, but the Teddiursa looked impressed.

The Teddiursa jumped from Aiden's arms immediately into the Ursaring, wrapping its claws around it and hugging its head. Ava slowly removed her hands from her eyes and infatuatedly gasped.

"Awww... Aiden, it... it's a mother... she's a mother..." marveled Ava.

Aiden couldn't help but smile. "So, this was the big bad bear that chased you around... It was only looking for her daughter, and you... just happened to be in her path."

Ava nodded solemnly. "I guess so..."

"You best apologize 'fore it decides you're its lunch, Avesie," Aiden joked.

Ava slowly scooted closer. "Hey, uh... I... I apologize. For... For everything that happened back there. I never knew you were... a mother. Uh... and... And I never meant to run away from you. That really started all this, didn't it? And... uh... I don't know what else to say. I mean, I'm talking to a bear right now, and I'm pretty sure you don't even understand me—"

The Ursaring immediately put a paw on Ava's chest, signaling that was all she needed to hear.

"We're good now, right?" Ava asked one last time.

The Ursaring, thinking for a solid minute, roared quietly, as if to say yes. The Teddiursa, under Ursaring's chin, roared alongside her mother in a tiny voice.

Ava held out her hands in half of a hug. "Promise?"

The Ursaring leant in, pushing her face against Ava's head, nuzzling aggressively into her. Ava chuckled as she almost fell over. "Okay, okay, you promise..."

Aiden jealously looked up, crossing his arms. "I'm here too."

The Ursaring chuckled, rolling her eyes and leaning in to nuzzle Aiden's head. Aiden pat Ursaring's cheek as she lifted from the bush, carrying the Teddiursa in her arm.

Ava waved. "Bye."

Ursaring let out a roar, before slowly trudging off, her giant footsteps impacting the mud below.

Aiden stood up, wiping the dirt and remnants of mud from his face. "I guess now I can put 'have been bear-hugged by an actual bear' on my résumé now. Come on, we're still on our adventure."