"Mi… Mii~~"
Buneary swiftly picked up Pikachu and leaped away.
At that very mont, Officer Jenny hit the brakes just in ti, stopping abruptly.
Ash, Anabel, and Dawn hurried over, only to witness a rather peculiar scene—
Pikachu, still wearing Ash's cap, was being gently placed on the ground by Buneary.
Pikachu, looking slightly dazed, quickly smiled and chirped, "Pika Pika," thanking Buneary.
However, Buneary, flustered, imdiately covered its face with its fluffy fur, trying to hide its embarrassnt.
A faint pink blush spread across its little face.
"Wow! This Buneary is so adorable! Ash, Ash, Anabel, look! It's so shy around Pikachu!"
Dawn's eyes sparkled with excitent as she observed the scene in fascination.
"Pika, Pikachu."
Even Pikachu seed a little lost on what to do and instinctively turned to Ash for help.
But Ash? He wasn't about to ruin Pikachu's mont.
Luckily, Buneary was just too shy to handle the situation. It kept pulling its fur over its face while nervously hopping backward.
Then—
Thud!
It wasn't watching where it was going and crashed straight into a tree.
"Aww, it ran away! What a sha… That's another Buneary I failed to catch."
Dawn pouted, realizing she had been too caught up in the mont to even think about capturing it.
"Piplup…"
Piplup shot her a look of pure disappointnt, as if silently judging her slow reaction ti.
"You guys need to keep a closer eye on your Pokémon! You can't just let them run across the road like that!"
Officer Jenny, still sitting on her motorcycle, scolded them sternly. After all, she had nearly run over Pikachu just now!
Ash and the others quickly nodded in agreent, acknowledging their mistake.
"But that's weird… Why didn't Officer Jenny recognize ? Back in Sandgem Town, we talked a few tis. She even knows my mom!"
Dawn frowned as she watched Officer Jenny ride away.
Ash and Anabel exchanged knowing looks, barely holding back their laughter.
"Dawn… There are lots of Officer Jennys. They all look the sa! Look—this is Kanto's Officer Jenny, this is Johto's, Hoenn's, and here's Sinnoh's…"
Anabel pulled out her PokéNav and showed Dawn multiple identical images of Officer Jenny.
Dawn blinked at the screen, her mind struggling to process it all.
"Okay… But how does anyone even tell them apart…?"
Her helpless tone reminded Ash of a certain soone… Soone who could distinguish between every single Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny with pinpoint accuracy—Brock.
But Brock already had soone special in his life now…
He and Lucy were probably doing just fine together.
By noon, Anabel had returned from the Pokémon Center with the Stantler she had rescued.
The little Pokémon's injuries were no longer serious; it just needed proper rest. Fortunately, its Heal Ball would continuously aid its recovery.
As for Dawn…
She practically dragged Ash and Anabel along, insisting they find Buneary first before doing anything else—not even signing up for the Jubilife City Pokémon Contest!
Buneary was just too cute! She couldn't resist!
Eventually, they found Buneary under a large tree.
But—
It had been captured by Team Rocket's robot.
To understand how things had gotten to this point, we need to rewind a bit—
After Buneary had run off that morning, it had found a nice, quiet tree to nap under.
That was when Team Rocket, who had been tailing Ash's group, spotted it.
The mont Jessie laid eyes on the irresistibly adorable Buneary, she was enchanted.
Without hesitation, they deployed a robot originally designed to capture Pikachu—except this ti, it snatched up Buneary instead.
"Team Rocket! Ugh, it's you three again! Let go of Buneary! Can't you see it doesn't want to go with you?!"
Dawn fud, glaring at them.
Ah, here it was—the mont they had been waiting for…
Team Rocket's grand introduction!
"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"
"It's speaking to loud and clear."
"Floating on the wind..."
"Past the stars..."
"In your ear!"
"Bringing chaos at a break neck pace..."
"Dashing hope, putting fear in it's place."
"A rose by any other na is just as sweet..."
"When everything's worse, our work is complete."
"Jessie!"
"And it's Jas!"
"owth, now that's a na!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place..."
"...Team Rocket..."
"...We're in your face!"
"Wooobuffet!"
"Mi! Mi!"
"Ahh… It feels so good to say our intro properly again!"
BOOM!
Just as they finished their speech, Ash casually sent out Tyranitar.
Before they could even react—
Tyranitar blasted them sky-high.
The robot, which they had painstakingly built to capture Pikachu, couldn't even handle Buneary before it exploded.
Buneary, caught in the blast's impact, was flung into the air.
And Team Rocket?
"This can't be happening…!"
Ding!
They beca a twinkling star in the sky.
"Well done, Tyranitar!"
"Tyran!"
"Mi… Mi… Mii…"
Buneary, still dizzy from the explosion, tumbled downward.
"Buneary, watch out!"
Dawn didn't waste the opportunity—she dashed forward and caught Buneary just in ti.
"There, there, you're safe now."
She gently stroked Buneary's fur, smiling reassuringly.
Buneary nodded, grateful—
But then, its gaze shifted toward Pikachu once more.
Without hesitation, it bounced over, playfully nudging Pikachu with its long, fluffy ears.
Pikachu, however, seed slightly overwheld by the attention.
Awkwardly, it pushed Buneary away a little and shook its head.
"Pika Pika!"
Buneary's ears drooped.
Had Pikachu… rejected it?
Tears welled up in its big, round eyes.
Pikachu panicked—How had things gone south so quickly?!
"Pika, Pika Pika, Pika Pikachu…"
Dawn, watching them, finally understood.
She leaned close to Buneary's ear and whispered—
"Buneary, you really like Pikachu, don't you? Well, how about coming with on my journey? That way, you'll always get to see Pikachu!"
"Mi? Mii?"
Wait… Was this even an option?!
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