As they climbed out of the sewer, drenched, disheveled, and reeking, they looked like they'd walked straight out of a barbarian tribe. Ash had ripped the sleeves off his shirt, tied them around his head like a bandana, and smeared some mud on his face for effect. Misty, on the other hand, fashioned a makeshift "barbarian cloak" from a filthy tarp they’d found. Pikachu and Togepi looked like survivors of a war zone.

Ash took a deep breath, clearly trying to embrace the part. "Okay, new plan. We’re barbarians now. Talk like barbarians and run as fast as you can to the forest. Got it?”

Misty crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. “And how exactly do barbarians talk, oh wise leader?”

Ash puffed up his chest and growled in an exaggerated, gravelly voice, “RAH! ME STRONG ASH! ME GO FOREST! YOU FOLLOW!”

Misty blinked at him, unimpressed. “Seriously? That’s your plan?”

Pikachu smacked its forehead with its tiny paw.

Ash pointed dramatically toward the forest. “JUST DO IT! RUN!”

Misty sighed, adjusted her tarp-cloak, and growled back in the worst barbarian voice imaginable, “ME FOLLOW BIG DUMB HUSBAND. ME FAST. TO FOREST!”

With that, they bolted.

Their “barbarian sprint” to the forest was anything but stealthy. They charged through the streets, growling and grunting loudly to sell the act. People stopped and stared, some even stepping aside to let the “wild savages” pass.

One man muttered, “Are those... barbarians? In this town?”

Another woman added, “I think they escaped from some historical reenactment!”

As Ash and Misty continued their chaotic sprint, the streets quickly cleared of bystanders, who were all too eager to avoid the loud, wild duo. Ash's makeshift bandana was slipping down his forehead, his face smeared with mud, and Misty was struggling to keep the tarp-cloak from dragging on the ground.

Pikachu, riding on Ash’s shoulder, let out an exasperated "Pikaaa!" as he clung on for dear life.

“RAH! ME STRONG! ME FAST!” Ash yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing down the empty street. He tried to keep up the barbarian act, but it was hard to take him seriously with the sleeve-bandana slipping off and the ridiculous noises he was making.

Misty, now sprinting beside him, was trying hard not to laugh at how absurd it all was. “Me follow dumb husband,” she grumbled, fully embracing her part. “Me no like mud. Me want to bathe!”

As they reached the edge of town, they finally entered the trees of the forest. Misty paused, breathing heavily. “Okay, seriously, I think I’m about to pass out. Barbarian life is exhausting!”

Ash, equally out of breath, panted, “You... You said you could... keep up!”

"Well, I didn't expect you to take your barbarian role so seriously!" Misty snapped, shaking the tarp-cloak off. "Look at me! I look like I’ve been dragged through the muck!"

Pikachu hopped down from Ash’s shoulder, taking a long sniff of the air and then groaning as he too looked thoroughly tired. “Pika... Pikachu.”

“I agree,” Misty muttered. “I think I’ve had enough barbarian life for today.”

Ash wiped his brow, laughing. "Well, at least we made it to the forest, right? That counts for something!"

But just as they were about to take a breather, a rustling sound came from the bushes ahead of them. They froze, eyes wide.

“Did you hear that?” Ash whispered, pulling Pikachu closer.

Misty looked over at him, frowning. “I don't know... maybe it’s just a wild Pokémon?”

Ash grabbed a nearby stick, ready for battle. “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it like true barbarians! Come on, let’s go!”

With a grunt, Ash charged forward, dragging Misty along with him. The rustling grew louder, and soon enough, out popped—of all things—a Butterfree. It fluttered in the air, its delicate wings shimmering in the dappled sunlight.

Misty and Ash exchanged a confused glance.

“… That was the big threat?” Misty asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Ash lowered the stick, slightly embarrassed. “Uh... yeah. Maybe we should’ve expected something a little less... fluffy.”

Pikachu hopped out of Ash’s arms and waved at the Butterfree. “Pikachu pi!”

The Butterfree paused mid-flight, turned, and then flew away, clearly unimpressed with the “barbarian warriors.”

Misty let out a breath of relief, shaking her head. “Well, that was anticlimactic.”

Ash chuckled, dropping the stick. “Yeah, well... I guess the forest didn’t get the memo about our barbarian strength.”

“Maybe next time we should be pirates,” Misty said, crossing her arms and looking back at the town they had left behind. “At least pirates look cool.”

“Pirates, huh?” Ash grinned. “Yeah! I could pull off the pirate look. What do you think, Pikachu?”

"Pika!" Pikachu gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, clearly ready to take on the next ridiculous idea.

Misty rolled her eyes. “I can already see it now... ‘Pirates Ash and Misty, terrorizing the seas of Viridian.’”

Ash grinned, pulling out a Pokéball. “Why stop at seas? We could also have Pokémon battles! Pirate battles!

Misty raised an eyebrow. “We’re in the middle of a forest, Ash.”

Ash, ever the optimist, was already imagining their next absurd adventure. “Oh, right. Forest Pirates!”

Misty groaned, but then, despite herself, she smiled. “Just... just don’t get us chased by more Butterfree, okay?”

Ash's grin widened. "No promises!"

Ash adjusted his fake patch and grinned. " This looks real."

Misty adjusted her pirate bandana and sighed. " Okay remember the plan. Spend a whole day without anyone recognizing us."

Ash nodded. " Got it."

Suddenly the bushes rustled. The two turned.

" Arrrrr.... Who goes there?" Ash grumbled in his best pirate accent.

Someone's head peeked from the bushes. " Ashy Boy?!"

Ash froze but maintained his disguise. " Are you here to take our property?!"

Gary stepped out from the bushes, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Ash and Misty, both looking completely ridiculous in their makeshift pirate costumes. "Ashy? What are you—"

"Arrrr, ye scurvy dog!" Ash interrupted, puffing out his chest and raising his fake patch-covered arm like he was wielding a sword. "Ye be trespassing on the high seas, matey! Prepare to meet the wrath of Captain Ash!"

Misty, playing along, crossed her arms and scowled. "Aye, what he said! Ye best be handing over yer loot, or we'll be forced to make ye walk the plank!"

Gary blinked at them in disbelief, his face slowly morphing into one of utter confusion. "What... what are you two doing?"

"Ye don’t ask questions, ye just surrender yer treasure!" Ash roared, making a wild swiping motion with his stick, which was supposed to be a sword.

Misty raised an eyebrow, trying to suppress her laughter. "Arrrr, we be pirates now, Gary. We don’t like anyone meddling with our plunder!"

Gary took a step back, clearly unsure whether this was some sort of joke or if they were both genuinely losing their minds. "I... I thought you two were just going for a walk. What happened to the ‘barbarian’ thing?"

Ash puffed out his chest even further. "Barbarian? That was yesterday, Gary. Today, we be pirates!"

Pikachu, now perched on Ash's shoulder, also joined in the act, raising a tiny paw and waving it around like it was a sword. "Pika pi!" it shouted, trying to sound fierce.

Gary’s eyes darted between Ash and Misty, then to Pikachu, and he slowly took a few more steps back. "Okay, no. I’m out. This is... this is too much."

Misty shot him a sly grin. "Aye, ye better run, matey. Unless ye want to be part of our crew!"

"Yeah, we don't take kindly to stowaways!" Ash added with a laugh, his voice sounding even more absurd now that he was so into the pirate persona.

Gary shook his head, unable to deal with it anymore. “I’m not dealing with this... I’ll leave you two to your ‘pirate’ stuff.”

He turned quickly, practically sprinting in the opposite direction, muttering to himself. "This is insane. You two are totally losing it."

Ash and Misty watched as Gary dashed off, still trying to keep their pirate act going.

"Ye best be running, ye landlubber!" Ash yelled after him, trying to sound menacing.

Misty crossed her arms and smirked. "Well, that went well."

Ash grinned back at her, clearly pleased with himself. "Pirate life is the best life."

Pikachu hopped off Ash’s shoulder and did a little victory dance. "Pika pika!" he cheered, still caught up in the excitement of the chase.

Misty shook her head, but despite herself, she couldn’t help but chuckle. "You’re ridiculous, Ash. Absolutely ridiculous."

"Yeah, but it’s fun!" Ash laughed. "We should find more people to scare. Maybe we can take over the whole forest!"

Misty sighed dramatically. "As long as we don’t end up scaring more people like Gary. I think he might actually call the cops next time."

Ash's eyes widened at that thought. "Oh, we can't do that. We’re just playing pirates, Mist. No real harm!"

“Sure,” Misty said, rolling her eyes. “Pirates. Right.”

Ash smiled and continued to march through the forest like a proud pirate, even as the last remnants of their ridiculous stunt began to wear off. It was clear that they weren't getting anything accomplished—but honestly, that was part of the fun.