"This is great! I've got the Forest Badge, and now we can head to the next city!"
On their way out of the Gym, Dawn, wearing a cheerleader outfit primarily pink with white and blue patterns, leaned in front of Ash.
She held pink pom-poms for cheering, looking quite energetic as she celebrated Ash's victory.
"Yeah!"
Ash found the girl's cool attire quite pleasing to the eye.
"Speaking of which!" Brock, walking beside them, checked his map. "The next Gym is in Yuanzhi City, which is also where the The Tournament of Fate is held!"
Ignoring the two who were getting more and more excited talking back and forth, Brock looked at the map provided by his Pokédex, seriously reminding them both.
He mainly reminded the younger girl of the two.
After all, she was a new Coordinator just starting her journey, a bit naive in many aspects. Taking care of less experienced companions had become a habit he'd developed since childhood.
"Yay!" Hearing about the Contests, Dawn immediately cheered, "Since Ash has gotten his second Badge, I need to work hard too!"
She confidently clenched her fists, shouting loudly at Ash and Brock, as if she already considered the The Tournament of Fate medal hers for the taking.
"This…"
Looking at her blindly confident demeanor, which was exactly like Ash's in the past, Brock couldn't help but worry about her state and quickly began to advise:
"Dawn, Contests are not as simple as you think. You really need to put your heart into it!"
"I agree!"
Ash also chimed in from behind, as he remembered the girl had lost at the The Tournament of Fate, even more than once.
Afterward, she constantly had to "Charge" to find her rhythm in the Contests.
So, when Brock spoke, he quickly followed up, telling Dawn to be careful.
Facing their reminders, a mysterious look came over her blue eyes, and she waved the colorful ball in her hand, saying loudly: "No problem, no problem at all!"
However, Ash and Brock looked at the girl with suspicion.
Recalling her mother's evaluation, the suspicion in their eyes grew even stronger.
"What?! You two don't believe me, hmph!"
Dawn pretended to be angry, crossing her arms, pouting, and turning her face away, leaving a sliver of a glance in her eye, as if telling Ash to come coax her, and she would forgive them.
"Is that so? You're so disobedient, don't blame me then!"
Ash wouldn't fall for that. He moved his large hands towards the girl, opening and closing them, walking towards her menacingly, ready to use binding to teach the mischievous girl a lesson.
"No, no, no!" Dawn immediately showed her true colors, not daring to provoke Ash, this terrifying Great Demon King. "I'll listen, I'll listen, okay?!"
She knew Ash wasn't like Brock; he would really get physical, and every time he did, she'd end up sore all over.
She had learned her lesson and didn't want an Encore anytime soon.
"That's more like it!"
After getting Dawn's assurance, Ash finally put his hands in his pockets, nodding in satisfaction.
Pika~
Pikachu, on his shoulder, had already rolled its eyes, then nonchalantly continued to rest on his shoulder.
"Hmph, it's just a Contest, what could be so different?" Dawn mumbled to herself along the way, seemingly not truly taking the Contests seriously.
Ash saw this from the side and sighed helplessly.
But he didn't say anything more; only by experiencing hardship oneself would one grow faster.
It was just like him when he was a child; he always thought what the elders at home said was wrong and simply wouldn't listen.
As a result, after growing up and experiencing the harsh realities of society, he instantly understood the wisdom behind their words.
"Little devil, help!"
Just as Ash was deep in thought, a familiar cry for help reached his ears.
A light-blue haired man in a white uniform came into their view; it was James from the Team Rocket Trio.
He was holding a cactus-like Pokémon, Cacnea, crying and pleading to Ash: "Little devil, help! That Gym Leader wants to steal my Cacnea!"
Following James's gaze, the three saw Gardenia being firmly held back by Jessie and Meowth.
Gardenia was completely in an Attract state, her eyes filled with little pink hearts.
"How…how familiar!" Dawn covered her mouth in surprise, looking at Brock beside her.
"That look of yours is very impolite, hey!" Brock immediately became displeased. If it weren't for his squinting eyes, they would probably have widened into dumbbells by now.
"Uh…what's going on?!"
Seeing such a familiar scene, Ash instinctively asked.
"Well…actually…"
When asked about the reason, James immediately became hesitant, but pressured by the increasingly approaching Gardenia, he still held Cacnea and told the truth.
Simply put, the trio had snuck into the Gym, wanting to steal a well-developed Torterra to present to Giovanni, hoping for a promotion, a raise, and to reach the pinnacle of their lives.
However, because Torterra was too strong, they ultimately failed, and even attracted Gardenia, who was just about to restore her Pokémon's stamina.
The moment she saw the Grass-type Cacnea and endured attacks like Pin Missile and Needle Arm, the woman wanted to keep Cacnea.
James was so scared that he took off running and then ran into the trio.
"So, you originally wanted to steal Miss Gardenia's Torterra, but you ran into a tough opponent, and then she demanded your Cacnea!"
As a competent Brock, he directly ignored some of the irrelevant details and simply summarized.
"Ha! And you still have the nerve to ask us for help? You're always trying to catch Pikachu!" The girl looked gleefully, "Nyah nyah nyah~"
Mocked by Dawn sticking out her tongue, James had no temper whatsoever, only feeling a wave of embarrassment, as what she said was indeed true.
Thinking of this, James ignored the thorns on Cacnea and, holding it, turned to leave.
"The little girl is right, I really am desperate!" James secretly thought to himself.
"Wait!"
To Dawn and Brock's surprise, Ash called out to James.
"Little devil, you agreed!" James said excitedly.
"Cacnea~"
Cacnea's face, like a cactus, was also full of surprise. Did this mean it had hope of not being separated from its Trainer?
"Why?"
Dawn was very confused. Team Rockets bothered them every now and then, so why would they help them?
"Don't rush!" Facing the bewildered trio, Ash waved his finger, "This comes with conditions, and these conditions involve something from James!"
At this moment, Ash looked at James as if he were a big fat sheep, with a hint of mischievousness in his eyes.
"You, you, you…"
Facing the Little devil's terrifying gaze, James nervously placed Cacnea in front of his chest, showing his weak and powerless resistance.