Riolu is Born, Ross Saria POV

It was a warm summer evening on the ranch and Jenna decided that everyone would enjoy it if dinner was held outside.  A balmy breeze was blowing for all to enjoy, and there was not a cloud was in the sky.  The combined light of the innumerable stars and the full moon gave the illusion of daylight.  All of the Pokemon were gathered around a small campfire, chatting idly as their master prepared the food.

"Wowwww," Saria said in awe "The stars are beautiful tonight."  She sighed in content as she lay by the campfire.  "Speaking of beautiful… I wonder where my favorite Raichu went."  Saria picked up her head and looked around.  She saw most of the gang around her, but not Ross.  Getting up, Saria asked the group, "Has anyone seen Ross?"

Rupert replied with, "I think I saw him near the edge of the forest."

"Hmmm…" Saria glanced at the direction of the woods and decided to wait awhile to see if Ross would return.

Meanwhile, Ross was in a panic. Scratch and Sibelius had wandered off without so much as a hint as to where they were going.  And since the trees obscured the moonlight, Ross was worried that the two would get lost in the woods.  Although Ross was familiar with this part of the forest, the darkness and the eerie moonlit shadows around him made him jumpy.  The distant hooting of a Noctowl did not help his present state of mind.

"Scraaaaaaaaaatch?!!  Sibeliuuuuuuussss?!!! Now where could those two be?  I hope Jenna isn't getting too worried.  Ohhhh, please don't be lost…"

Suddenly, someone called out "Aah! Ghosts!!!"  Ross' ears perked up.  He turned around and ran over to the source of the sound.  Parting the bushes, Ross found Scratch, who had jumped on top of Sibelius, cowering in fear.

"There you are!  I've been looking all over for you!  Now you two, let's go."

"Okey, big brother…"

"Scaredy skitty…" Sibelius said smugly.

"Shut up…"

"Come on.  The others are waiting."  Ross wanted to get back to the group quickly because he knew that Jenna would start to worry, but more importantly, Saria was waiting to spend a romantic evening with him.  Ross walked up to the campfire with Scratch and Sibelius in tow.  He sat down next to Saria and smiled brightly at her.

"So you found the two explorers" Saria observed. "Here, I saved you some food."

"Thanks. You know, it's a really nice night" Ross said while he nibbled on some cheese.

"It's wonderful! Look! You can see the summer triangle."

"Yeah, Wow! And there's Ursaring Major!"

The two continued gazing up at the night sky, marveling at the different constellations.

"Hey Saria…" Saria turned to look at Ross, her ears perking up.

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH."  The whole group turned to stare at Ross, whose eyes were tearing up.  Scratch had chomped down on Ross' tail, and now, the Pachirisu was looking at everyone sheepishly.  Matthew and Elizabeth shook their heads in disapproval. Edna gasped.  Rupert blinked and took another sip of his PokéCola.  Napoleon and Cotton continued cuddling, and Veruka and Vincent went back to their reminiscing.

"Oh Scratch" Saria sighed. "Come on Ross, let's go inside and get you fixed up."

"Way to go Scratch…" Sibelius commented.

"Shut up…"

Saria held the door open as Ross stepped through, holding his injured tail in his hands.  "Let's see, master keeps the medical supplies in the top cabinet" Saria said as she leapt onto a chair and then onto the counter and began searching.  "Here they are!"  She landed gracefully next to Ross and opened a small bottle.  "Sorry Ross, this will sting a little."  Ross winced as Saria rubbed the disinfectant on his wound.  She then proceeded to bandage his tail.  Ross couldn't help but blush as Saria worked.  He noticed that she was carefully wrapping each layer, giving his tail more attention than he thought was needed.

"Thanks." Ross smiled

"No problem, I'm glad that I could help." Saria beamed back at him.  "Oh Ross, what was it that you wanted to tell me before Scratch bit your tail?"

"Oh… ummm… I was going to ask if…" Ross glanced down at his feet.

"If what?"

"If you wanted to go somewhere special tonight." Ross looked back up at her.

"Awww Ross I'd love to, but maybe another time.  I think we should get back to the others."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ross sighed and looked away, only to be pecked on the check by Saria.  Surprised, Ross look up.

"Don't worry, I promise, some other time.  Now come on." Ross followed Saria out the door and back to the campfire.

Scratch saw the two coming back from the house and ran up to them.  "Big brother, I'm really sorry for biting your tail."  Scratch's guilt-filled eyes looked pleadingly up at Ross.

"Don't worry about it," Ross said cheerfully. "I forgive you."  Scratch grinned.  He ran back over to his best friend Sibelius to share the good news.

Around the campfire, everyone was winding down.  The fire had died down considerably and Cotton and Napoleon were already asleep.  Saria and Ross sat down in their usual spot, and Scratch and Sibelius snuggled between them, quickly falling asleep.  Ross watched the cinders smolder for a while before drifting off to sleep himself.

"Night," Ross mumbled.

"Night." Saria put her head down and she too fell asleep.

Somewhere near the edge of the forest, a distant "Why so serious?" went unheard by the sleeping Pokémon.