Gary's jaw clenched the moment he saw Ash stumble out of the bushes, looking like he had just gone ten rounds with a Machamp. His clothes were torn, blood was splattered across his shirt, and bruises covered his arms and face. Yet, despite his battered state, Ash just grinned like nothing was wrong.

"Hey, guys! What are you all looking at?"

Dawn gaped. "ASH!" She ran up to him but stopped short when she saw just how bad he looked. "What the heck happened to you?!"

"Pika?!" Pikachu cried, jumping onto Ash’s shoulder and nuzzling him worriedly.

Ash just laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, you know… just had to check something out."

"Check something out?!" Gary snapped, pushing off the car and storming up to him. "You look like you got thrown off a cliff! What did you do?!"

Ash blinked, looking at Gary like he was overreacting. "Relax, I just ran into some of Hunter J’s goons, that’s all."

Gary inhaled sharply, his hands balling into fists. "You what?"

Rowan stepped forward, his expression grave. "Young man, that was incredibly reckless."

"Yeah, well, I had to make sure they weren’t still after the Sheildon," Ash said, rolling his shoulder like he wasn’t in excruciating pain. "I also found their base. They were packing up, so I made sure to delay them."

Gary’s eyes widened. "Ash, tell me you did not go in there alone."

Ash hesitated for half a second. "Uh… well, not exactly alone…"

Gary groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable!" He turned to Brock. "Get my bag. Now."

Brock nodded and hurried to grab it, while Dawn waved her arms frantically. "Hello?! Are we not going to talk about how insane this is? Ash, you charged into Hunter J’s base alone and picked a fight? What if you got captured?! What if you—"

"I didn’t get captured," Ash interrupted, giving her a reassuring smile. "And I got the last Sheildon out, didn’t I?"

Gary let out a frustrated sigh, grabbing Ash by the wrist and dragging him toward the car. "Yeah, well, that won’t mean much if you bleed out, you reckless idiot. Sit down before you fall over."

"I’m fine, Gary—"

"Sit."

Ash huffed but relented, sitting on the ground with a heavy sigh.

Gary immediately got to work, pulling antiseptic wipes and bandages from his bag. He ripped open a packet and grabbed Ash’s arm. "This is gonna sting."

"Wait, what—AHH!" Ash flinched as the antiseptic made contact with his scrapes. "Geez, Gary, could you be a little gentler?"

Gary gave him a flat look. "Could you stop almost getting yourself killed every five minutes? No? Then deal with it."

Ash grumbled under his breath but let Gary clean his wounds.

Dawn crossed her arms, still fuming. "I swear, Ash, one of these days you’re gonna give me a heart attack."

"You and me both," Brock muttered, shaking his head.

Rowan sighed. "Officer Jenny, I trust you’ll be launching a full-scale search for Hunter J’s remaining base?"

Jenny, who had been silently processing everything, nodded. "Absolutely. Thanks to Ash’s recklessness—I mean, efforts, we have a lead now."

Ash grinned proudly. "See? It was worth it."

Gary shot him a glare. "No, it wasn’t." He pointed at the bruises forming across Ash’s ribs. "Look at yourself! You’re a mess, Ash! One day, you’re gonna push too far, and I won’t be there to patch you up!"

Ash blinked, surprised by the uncharacteristic frustration in Gary’s voice.

Gary sighed, running a hand through his hair before kneeling back down to continue treating him. "Just… stop throwing yourself in danger like this, okay? You’ve got people who care about you."

Ash was quiet for a moment before giving Gary a small smile. "Yeah… I know."

Gary huffed, wrapping the last bandage a little tighter than necessary. "Good. Then stop making my job harder."

Brock smirked. "You know, Gary, I think you worry about Ash more than I do."

Gary scoffed. "Somebody has to."

Dawn giggled. "Aww, see? Deep down, you do care."

Gary rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it.

Ash just chuckled, looking up at the sky. Yeah, maybe he was reckless. Maybe he pushed himself too far.

But as long as he had his friends watching his back… he’d always be okay.

Gary’s eyes widened in alarm the moment he saw Ash stumble out of the bushes. His usual cocky attitude was completely overshadowed by his injuries—bruises covered his face and arms, his lip was split, and dried blood stained his already-tattered shirt.

“Ash!” Brock called, rushing forward, but Gary was faster.

“What the hell happened to you?!” Gary demanded, grabbing Ash by the shoulders before he could collapse.

Ash grinned weakly, rubbing the back of his head. “Ah, you know… just a little scuffle.”

“A little scuffle?!” Gary snapped, his eyes scanning Ash’s injuries. “You look like you went twelve rounds with a Machamp!”

Dawn gasped. “Ash, you’re bleeding!”

Professor Rowan and Officer Jenny exchanged glances, but they could see that Gary already had everything under control.

“I told you not to do anything reckless!” Gary continued, already dragging Ash toward the car. “And what do you do? You run straight into danger! You’re lucky you’re even standing right now!”

Ash coughed weakly. “I had to make sure the Sheildon got away safely…”

Gary groaned in frustration. “You are a Sheildon, you idiot! Always throwing yourself in front of danger!”

“Come on, Gary… You know me.” Ash chuckled.

Gary shot him a glare. “Yeah, that’s the problem.” He pushed Ash onto the back of the car and grabbed his bag, already pulling out antiseptic and gauze. “Stay still.”

Ash flinched as Gary dabbed at a particularly nasty cut on his forehead. “Ow, ow, ow!”

“Quit whining.”

Brock leaned in, observing Gary work. “You really know what you’re doing.”

Gary scoffed. “Yeah, well, when you have an idiot like Ash as your best friend, you have to know first aid.”

Dawn knelt beside them. “What exactly happened out there, Ash?”

Ash sighed, wincing as Gary applied more disinfectant. “I was right. Hunter J had one last trap set up. That baby Sheildon was still in danger. So I, uh… went after it.”

Gary froze for half a second before glaring at Ash. “Alone?! Are you serious?!”

Ash gave a lopsided grin. “I got it back, didn’t I?”

Gary grumbled under his breath as he wrapped Ash’s arm. “One day, you’re gonna get yourself killed, and I refuse to be the one to explain that to your mom.”

Ash chuckled weakly, his energy already fading. “Aww, you do care.”

Gary clicked his tongue. “Shut up and hold still.”

Officer Jenny sighed. “Well, reckless or not, you did a good thing, Ash. You saved that Sheildon.”

Rowan nodded. “And the mother Sheildon would never leave without her child. If not for you, we might’ve lost them all.”

Dawn smiled. “You really are amazing, Ash.”

Ash’s eyes fluttered as exhaustion took over. “Thanks, guys…”

Gary rolled his eyes but adjusted his grip as Ash slumped against him. “You’re an idiot,” he muttered, softer this time.

Brock smirked. “He’s your idiot, though.”

Gary huffed, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he tightened the bandage on Ash’s arm and let him rest, silently promising to keep him out of trouble—at least until the next reckless stunt.