Ash and his group walked into a forest shrouded in thick fog.
They were heading to Pokémon Tech.
At Professor Oak’s request, they were going there to pay a visit to the academy’s principal.
The damp mist wrapped around everyone like cotton candy.
Branches and leaves drooped low between the trees, and droplets of water slid along the veins of the leaves before falling into piles of decaying foliage with faint little sounds.
“Three, three… Three o’clock means snack time.”
Brock’s voice came from behind them, carrying his usual calm smile.
Ash turned his head and nearly dropped his jaw in shock.
At some point, Brock had taken a round table and chairs out of a universal capsule.
Bone china tea sets gave off a warm luster in the fog, and wisps of steam curled from the spout of a silver teapot.
“Afternoon tea time.”
“Please, aren’t we supposed to go to Pokémon Tech first?” Ash said, speechless.
Brock calmly took a sip of tea and revealed a gentle smile.
“Precisely because the task is important, we need to stay in our best condition.
Look, Misty is enjoying it too, isn’t she?”
Ash looked over and saw Misty taking the teacup.
She took a small sip, and her tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed.
“Mm… Darjeeling tea with rose jam scones.
Surprisingly fitting.”
She glanced at Ash, who was still losing his mind.
“It’s not bad to relax once in a while.”
The fog gradually took on the orange tint of the setting sun, and the scent of tea and sweet pastries drifted through the forest.
In the end, Ash was still dragged into sitting down by Misty.
He took a bite of a scone and muttered, “Only ten minutes.”
Brock smiled and added another piece of cake to Ash’s plate.
The clear sound of the silver spoon touching the porcelain dish became, strangely enough, the most special little interlude in the fog-filled forest.
Ash bit into the scone, his gaze sweeping over the misty forest.
But his thoughts drifted back to the plot in his memory.
In the original story, this forest was the practical training ground for the students of Pokémon Tech.
It had also just so happened to be where he ran into them while gathering firewood.
“Ash, try this jam!” Misty’s voice pulled him back to reality.
Seeing the expectant look in Misty’s eyes, and remembering how she had pestered him into joining them for afternoon tea, Ash sighed helplessly and took the jam, spreading it over his bread.
Anyway, by the time they finished afternoon tea, the commotion at the academy would probably have wrapped up.
Then they could go visit the principal, which would save them some trouble.
Brock wiped a teacup and said, “The fog in this forest is a bit unusual.
Once we finish eating, we should leave as soon as possible.”
Ash released his Aura.
In the fog, he could vaguely see figures moving around.
But Ash remembered his own plan.
As long as it did not affect their trip to the academy, it was better not to get involved in this mess.
Too troublesome.
…
After afternoon tea, Ash led the other two to Pokémon Tech.
After all, he had come here with Professor Oak several times before, so he was fairly familiar with the place.
Pokémon Tech’s iconic red-brick buildings gradually appeared through the fog.
An aged yet powerful voice came from the courtyard.
“Ah, Ash, you finally made it!”
Principal Yuto, leaning on a jujube-wood cane, hurried out from beneath the wisteria trellis.
His gray-white beard trembled lightly with his steps, and a few fresh blades of grass clung to his dark brown robe.
Clearly, he had just returned from the greenhouse.
“Principal Yuto, hello.” Ash took half a step forward and bowed respectfully.
The principal laughed heartily.
“Ash, you’re still as full of energy as ever!
Oak keeps talking about you.
Come, come, let’s go inside first!”
The principal turned with his cane.
The three of them followed Principal Yuto into his office.
The rosewood floor creaked faintly beneath their feet, and the air in Principal Yuto’s office carried the fragrance of aged tea.
Ash stared at the antique Poké Ball display cabinet in the corner and forced down the discomfort rising in his throat.
The cream puff Misty had forced him to eat during afternoon tea still sat heavily in his stomach.
Now, facing the celadon teacup the principal handed him, he could only stiffly press his lips together.
From the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a framed photo on the sandalwood desk.
Inside the frame was a young woman in a lace dress.
Her dark brown hair had been styled into an elegant bun, and the slight curve of her lips carried three parts pride.
“Ah, right.
That little girl Giselle talks about you every day,” Principal Yuto said.
His laughter startled Ash so badly that his hand shook, sending ripples through the hot tea near the rim of the cup.
“Pfft!”
Ash choked hard and sprayed out the tea.
Under the table, Misty’s shoe stomped hard on his ankle.
“Ever since you defeated her that time, she’s been like this,” the old man said, stroking his gray-white beard.
The look behind his glasses was meaningful.
He suddenly leaned forward.
The air froze instantly.
Misty’s shoe landed precisely on the top of Ash’s foot.
At the same time, her fingers quietly pinched the soft flesh at his waist.
Dangerous waves churned in the young woman’s eyes.
“Ash~ So it turns out you still have so many stories you haven’t told us?”
She dragged out the end of her sentence.
Her nails lightly twisted through the fabric, hurting Ash so much that he nearly jumped off the sofa.
Ash inwardly cried bitterly, but on the surface, he forced himself to stay calm.
Fine sweat began to bead on his forehead.
This old man was trying to get him killed.
He glanced at Misty beside him and saw her eyes wide with displeasure written all over her face.
Then he looked at Brock.
Brock was barely holding back laughter, his gaze constantly moving between Ash and Misty.
The atmosphere grew increasingly awkward.
“Principal, you really can’t joke about something like that.” Ash forced out a smile, though his voice trembled slightly.
He tried to escape Misty’s clamp-like grip, but Misty only pinched harder, making him grimace in pain.
Principal Yuto, however, seemed completely unaware of the tense atmosphere.
He continued stroking his beard with a smile, a sly glint in his eyes.
“Oh, I’m not joking.
Giselle really admires you, Ash.
If the two of you got together, you’d be a perfect match.
A truly ideal couple.”
Ash felt his head throb.
Inwardly, he cursed the old man for obviously stirring up trouble on purpose.
He silently prayed that this awkward conversation would end quickly and that no new complications would appear.
Unfortunately, misfortune always seemed to find the weakest point.
At that moment, Giselle pushed open the door to the principal’s office and walked in.
With the soft sound of the door hinge turning, a faint lavender fragrance drifted into the room.
“Grandpa, I heard guests had arrived…”
Giselle’s voice was clear and pleasant, but halfway through her sentence, her gaze landed on Ash.
At first, she looked pleasantly surprised.
But when she saw Misty beside Ash, her gaze turned far less friendly.
Misty glared right back without backing down, a trace of provocation in her eyes.
It was as if sparks were colliding between them.
“Oh, Giselle, you came at just the right time.” Principal Yuto seemed completely unaware of the change in the atmosphere and continued smiling.
“Ash and I were just talking about you.”
Giselle forced out a faint smile and walked toward Ash, her eyes full of expectation.
“Ash, long time no see.
I thought you’d forgotten about me.”
Ash awkwardly scratched his head and let out two dry laughs.
“How could I?
How have you been lately?”
“I’ve been fine.” As Giselle spoke, her gaze unconsciously shifted toward Misty.
“But it looks like you have new companions now.”
Hearing that, Misty immediately wrapped her arm around Ash’s, as if staking her claim.
“That’s right.
Ash and I are traveling partners.”
Ash felt his scalp go numb.
This situation was even worse than he had imagined.
Brock quietly shifted to the side, afraid of being caught in the tense atmosphere.
Pikachu and Eevee also sensed the tension and moved their little legs to the side.
“Cough, um…” Ash tried to break the awkwardness.
“Shut up!” both Misty and Giselle snapped at the same time.
Ash stood there with his mouth open like a frog that had been frozen in place.
His expression instantly stiffened.
His hand stopped in midair, and the words he had been about to say were forcibly choked back.
Principal Yuto sighed helplessly from the side and stroked his beard, his eyes full of resignation.
“Oh dear, you two girls have such fiery tempers.”
Then he looked at Ash.
“Ash, you’ll have to handle this relationship properly.”
Ash silently cried out in his heart.
What did I do to deserve this?
How did things turn into this?
Old man, if you hadn’t started it, would things have ended up like this?
In the end, their argument moved to the battle field outside.
Misty and Giselle each stood at one end of the field.
“Come out, Cubone.” Giselle threw her Poké Ball first, and white light flashed.
A Cubone holding a bone club appeared on the field.
“Go, my darling.” Misty refused to be outdone.
As the Poké Ball opened, a Milotic glowing with soft blue light appeared gracefully.
“Cubone, use Bone Club!” Giselle launched the first attack.
Cubone swung its bone club and quickly charged toward Milotic.
“Milotic, dodge and use Hydro Pump.”
Immediately after, it fired a powerful Hydro Pump from its mouth straight at Cubone.
“Cubone, defend with Bone Club.”
Cubone hurriedly spun its bone club to block, but the force of Hydro Pump pushed it back again and again.
Giselle frowned and shouted, “Cubone, use Bonemerang!”
Following the command, Cubone hurled its bone club with all its strength.
The bone drew an arc through the air as it flew toward Milotic.
Misty calmly commanded, “Milotic, use Twister!”
Milotic’s tail quickly stirred up a powerful Twister, sweeping Bonemerang into the air and knocking it off course.
Just as the two sides were locked in a difficult battle, a familiar cloud of smoke suddenly spread across the field.
“What’s going on?” Giselle asked.
Then came the classic opening lines.
“Since you asked so sincerely!”
“We’ll be merciful and tell you!”
“To prevent the world from being destroyed!”
“To protect the peace of the world!”
“To carry out the evil of love and truth!”
“The lovely, charming villains!”
“Jessie!”
“James!”
“We are Team Rocket, traveling across the galaxy!”
“A white hole!
A white tomorrow is waiting for us!”
“That’s right, meow~!”
As the smoke cleared, the Team Rocket trio—Jessie, James, and Meowth—appeared in the center of the field.
“Haha, you were battling so wonderfully.
How could we miss it?” Jessie said with a loud laugh.
“A rare Pokémon like Milotic is obviously something we have to steal,” James said.
“Come out!
Ekans!”
“Go!
Koffing!”
Misty and Giselle were both furious at this sudden interruption.
They glanced at each other and decided to work together to drive Team Rocket away first.
Facing Team Rocket’s sudden interference, the anger in Misty and Giselle’s hearts instantly ignited.
Although the two had been at each other’s throats earlier, they now reached a surprising agreement.
“Milotic, use Hydro Pump!” Misty ordered.
Milotic fired a pillar-like stream of water from its mouth, blasting straight toward Team Rocket.
“Cubone, Bonemerang!” Giselle refused to fall behind, and Cubone threw its bone club with force, sending it slicing through the air in a sharp arc.
Before Jessie and James could react, Hydro Pump and Bonemerang came roaring toward them.
Ekans and Koffing were knocked back.
Meowth reacted quickly and shouted, “Bad news!
Dodge!”
But it was already too late.
The force of Hydro Pump knocked them off balance, and Bonemerang struck them precisely immediately afterward.
“Ah!” The trio let out miserable screams.
Misty and Giselle seized the opportunity and continued attacking.
“Milotic, use Twister and send them flying!” Misty shouted.
A powerful Twister rose from Milotic’s tail, sweeping the Team Rocket trio into it all at once.
“Cubone, use Take Down!” Giselle also commanded Cubone.
Cubone’s body lit up with white light as it charged into Team Rocket.
The powerful impact sent the Team Rocket trio flying.
“Damn it, how did this happen?!” Jessie shouted unwillingly while waving her fists in the air.
“We failed again, meow~” Meowth sighed helplessly.
James looked utterly dejected.
“Why does it always end like this?!”
“What a nasty feeling, meow!”
The three of them disappeared into the horizon.
Misty and Giselle watched the direction Team Rocket had flown off in and both let out a breath of relief.
“I didn’t expect us to work together so well,” Misty said, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly as she looked at Giselle.
“Yeah.
If they hadn’t interrupted, we could have settled the match properly,” Giselle said with a smile as well, the hostility in her eyes fading somewhat.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
The conflict between them seemed to fade quite a bit in that moment.
Misty and Giselle stood side by side, both with relaxed smiles on their faces.
The tense atmosphere from earlier had already vanished completely.
“I really didn’t expect Team Rocket to do something good this time,” Ash sighed inwardly.
Principal Yuto stood nearby, watching the scene with satisfaction as he stroked his beard.
“This is good, this is good.
Everyone getting along peacefully is the best.”
It was time for Ash and the others to leave.
Giselle stood in place, watching their departing backs, a trace of reluctance in her eyes.
But soon, she smiled again and said softly, “See you next time, Ash.
We’ll definitely meet again at the League Conference.”
Ash’s group set off on their journey once more, striding toward Vermilion City.
Waiting for them ahead would be new challenges and unknown adventures.