Croak!
Just then, a green figure rushed out from the nearby bushes, charging towards Misty.
"Misty! Look out!!" Ash instinctively shouted. Misty looked up and saw a figure charging aggressively towards her. Startled, she instinctively retreated.
But she was squatting, and when she retreated, she directly sat on the ground. Before she could react, the figure was about to collide with her.
"Stop, Bulbasaur!" Seeing this scene, May immediately shouted.
The figure stopped, and a startled Misty, sitting on the ground, looked up to see clearly that it was indeed the Bulbasaur they had encountered that morning.
Bulbasaur stopped at May's words, but it still stared menacingly and hostilely at Ash and his two companions, ready to attack at any moment. Seeing this, Ash reached out and pulled Misty up.
"Is this Bulbasaur also a Pokémon from here?" Misty looked at Bulbasaur, still shaken. It had easily defeated her Starmie earlier.
"Actually, this child is the bodyguard here!" May looked at Bulbasaur with a strange mix of emotions.
"Bodyguard?"
"Yes! Ever since this child came here and learned about the situation of the Pokémon here, it voluntarily stayed to protect the Pokémon here from outsiders."
"Because of the Pokémon's plight here, this child is also very wary of outsiders, but it's definitely not a bad child!" May also explained Bulbasaur's situation.
"I see, no wonder it rushed out to stop me when I tried to catch an Oddish this morning!" Misty finally understood after hearing May's words.
Croak!
At this moment, Bulbasaur approached step by step. Misty, a little scared, retreated behind Ash. Ash, however, didn't hide. Bulbasaur came forward and forcefully pushed Ash's leg with its head.
"Bulbasaur, don't do that!" May saw Bulbasaur's actions and knew what Bulbasaur meant, but she knew Ash and the others weren't bad people.
And they had even helped her find so many medicinal herbs, so she spoke up to stop it. But Bulbasaur seemed not to hear her, still pushing Ash's leg.
"It seems it doesn't welcome us. We should leave! Brock, what do you say?"
Ash looked down at Bulbasaur, then turned to glance at Misty, and then at Brock. Misty was definitely leaving; he didn't know about Brock.
After all, at this point, their relationship wasn't as deep as in later seasons of the anime, so Ash decided to ask.
Brock paused upon hearing this, glanced in May's direction, and couldn't help but recall when Ash and Misty had unhesitatingly followed him when he fell earlier. After a moment of silence,
"Then let's go!"
Ash was a bit surprised. If he remembered correctly, in the anime, Brock intended to stay. He only continued following them because May refused.
However, Ash didn't know that it wasn't just because Ash had unhesitatingly followed him down just now, but also because in Pewter City, it was Ash who persuaded his father, Flint, to return home.
Allowing him to pursue his dream, he had come out to pursue his dream. If he stayed in this place to take care of Pokémon, how was that any different from staying in Pewter City to take care of his younger siblings?
"Then let's go!" Ash took a step back. Bulbasaur's movements paused. Ash glanced at it without saying much, picked up his backpack, and turned to leave.
Misty and Brock, seeing this, said goodbye to May and left with Ash. May, seeing this, was helpless, her face filled with apology, but she couldn't bring herself to blame Bulbasaur.
"You really are something, you child..."
...
After Ash and his group left, Brock looked a bit dejected. For him, a relationship had ended before it even began, which was somewhat painful.
"Brock! You look unhappy, and you said you don't like May!" Misty couldn't help but tease him again when she saw his expression.
"What are you saying?! Don't talk nonsense, shut up, shut up!!" Brock was a bit flustered, blushing, and covered Misty's mouth to silence her.
"Actually, it's fine if you want to stay. There's no need to force yourself," Ash said inadvertently, listening. He wasn't particularly insistent on Brock staying, after all, everyone had their own path to walk.
Even in the end, there would always be times when they went their separate ways. Rather than separating then, it was better to part ways while their feelings weren't yet too deep.
"Never mind. Miss May might not need me. Besides, my goal is to become a Pokémon Breeder, and I still have a lot to learn. If I stay here, it's no different from staying in Pewter City to take care of my younger siblings."
Brock, hearing this, put away his dejected expression and looked up at the sky, speaking with yearning and aspiration. For him, his dream was still more important.
"Giving up love for a dream! How touching," Misty said, fanning the flames from the side.
"Didn't I tell you not to say that? Don't you guys have anyone you like?" Brock's face flushed again upon hearing this, then he shouted loudly.
"Me... This young lady is going to be the world's greatest Water-type Pokémon trainer. How could I be tied down by emotions?" Misty hadn't expected Brock to ask such a question suddenly. She paused slightly and secretly glanced at Ash beside her.
Seeing that Ash showed no reaction, she responded stubbornly.
"Then what about Ash??" Brock, hearing this, didn't think much and immediately looked at Ash.
"Hmm?? Me??" Ash hadn't expected the fire to spread to him either, and he paused slightly.
Hearing this, Misty immediately became nervous. She pretended nothing was wrong but perked up her ears, listening carefully, wanting to know how Ash would respond.
Looking at their gazes, Ash's mind instinctively conjured up the image of that crying straw hat girl from long ago in his memories.
"For now... no, I guess!" He replied indifferently, saying nothing more.
Brock had no doubts. After all, Ash usually focused on Pokémon matters, so it was normal for him not to be thinking about dating.
Misty, on the other hand, felt a little disappointed, yet also a hint of joy.
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