"Are you okay? Did you miss a step?"
Dawn, who had been following closely behind Ash, couldn't help but lean forward with concern when she saw him seemingly take a tumble, peering down from above to check on him.
The stone steps leading down to the path were about a meter above the ground.
From up top, you could see the path below, but the small patch of ground right next to the steps was hidden from view.
In such a blind spot, tripping didn't seem all that strange, but Ash had looked so careful when he stepped down. Why would he still fall?
As Dawn poked her head out to ask about Ash's condition, Pikachu and Aipom had already hopped to his side. But when Dawn looked at Ash, his gaze…
No, not just Ash's—Pikachu's and Aipom's gazes weren't on themselves either. They were fixed on…
"Huh?!"
Following their line of sight, Dawn spotted someone squatting in the corner.
His back was turned outward, facing the wall in a pose that looked like he was reflecting on his mistakes, muttering
incomprehensible words under his breath.
On his back was a fresh footprint, likely left by Ash just moments ago.
The scene before them felt genuinely eerie.
"A-A-Ash… are you okay?"
Dawn jumped down as well, though she made sure to avoid landing near the squatting figure.
If she'd jumped to her original spot, she probably would've ended up like Ash.
"I'm… fine…"
"?"
What puzzled Dawn was that even after she came down, Ash's gaze didn't shift. He just kept staring at the squatting… somewhat tanned man? With a speechless expression.
"If you're fine, let's get going. He looks kind of weird. What if he's a bad guy…?"
(whispering)
Dawn leaned close to Ash's ear and whispered. Feeling the warm, slightly ticklish sensation by his ear, Ash finally snapped out of it. He looked at Dawn as if he wanted to explain something but ultimately gave up on verbal clarification.
Then, under Dawn's astonished gaze, he walked over to the crouching man, raised his hand, and gave his shoulder a hard slap.
"Wake up!!"
Dawn: "?!"
Dawn was startled by Ash's action, thinking he was angry about being tripped. She could understand—after all, who would've expected someone to be hiding in a place like this? Getting tripped up jumping down was a total fluke!
But this guy didn't look right no matter how you sliced it. He seemed like he might have some mental issues. What if he suddenly lashed out?
"Why… why did this happen… it shouldn't be like this…"
Ash: "…"
To both Ash and Dawn's surprise, even after being slapped, the man didn't notice his surroundings. He remained lost in his own world. Seeing this, Ash was genuinely at a loss and gave Pikachu a look, saying slowly, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt."
Dawn: "Huh? No, wait! That's going a bit too far…"
"Pika~chu~!!"
Unexpectedly, Pikachu, usually so level-headed, didn't hesitate at all upon hearing Ash's command. A flash of electric light instantly engulfed the man. After letting out a series of pained cries, he finally emerged from his own world.
"Who?! Who is it?! Who's ambushing… huh? Ash and Pikachu?"
"OKI!"
"And Aipom?"
Dawn: "???"
Only after seeing this strange man greet Ash and the others did Dawn finally realize the truth—they knew each other.
…
"Ugh, seriously… if you wanted to get my attention, did you really need to use Thunderbolt? Couldn't you just call out or tap me again?"
The man brushed the dust off his clothes, grumbling.
"What choice did I have? I already tapped you once. Heck, I even stepped on you when I came down, and you still didn't notice!"
"Pika~"
As Ash explained, Pikachu chimed in to back him up. After understanding the situation, it was the man's turn to feel embarrassed.
"Ha… haha… sorry, looks like it's my fault~ So, who's the one standing behind you…?"
While chatting with Ash, the man shifted his gaze to Dawn, who was cautiously hiding behind Ash. When she noticed his eyes on her, Dawn took two steps back in fear.
Though she'd suspected they might know each other when she saw the odd looks Pikachu, Aipom, and Ash gave the man, Dawn couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't in a good mental state. She'd dismissed her guess until now…
"Oh, I forgot to introduce her. This is Dawn. She's a rookie Trainer who just set out today to get her first Pokémon."
Ash introduced her to the man, then turned to Dawn and said:
"I didn't mention his name before, but I told you his stories. This is Brock, the guy I traveled with before, from Pewter City, the Leader of the Pewter Gym."
"Former Leader," Brock added.
"Huh?" Dawn asked in surprise, rapid-fire.
"The super reliable guy you said makes great food and is really good at raising Pokémon? But he doesn't seem like that at all…"
"…"
Dawn's bluntness left Brock speechless.
He'd just taken one hit, and now, barely recovering, he was struck again. If his personality weren't so "steady," he'd probably be back in the corner crying by now.
"Don't mind her," Ash said, patting Brock's shoulder. "The way you were acting just now would look off to anyone. Dawn's already being nice by not saying you seemed like a weirdo!"
"Is that how you comfort someone?"
"Huh? Was that okay to say? I was worried it'd be rude, so I kept it to myself."
Ash & Brock: "…"
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
Though their reunion was, to put it mildly, a bit bizarre, one way or another, the three had come together again in the Sinnoh region in a brand-new way.