Ash turned to Dawn. " Wanna hear about this one time me and one of my childhood friends caught a Pokeball and fought over it!"

Dawn raised a brow. " Really?"

Ash nodded. " Yep. My friend.... Let's just say he had... Issues."

" I did NOT!" a voice from the bushes yelled.

Ash froze. " D... Did you hear that?"

Brock nodded. " I did."

" Oh I think you're in trouble Ash." Dawn whispered.

Ash put one foot in the air and disappeared.

" Uh ..... Where'd he go?" Dawn.asksd.

Brock sighed. " Classic Ash. He's run."

" Where?"

Brock shrugged. " Who knows."

Just as Brock finished speaking, the voice from the bushes emerged, and out stepped Gary, arms crossed and looking less than amused. "Really, Ash? Talking behind my back now?"

Dawn blinked. "Gary?!"

Brock shook his head, laughing. "Told you, classic Ash."

Gary looked around, noticing the missing Ash. "Where'd that coward go?"

Dawn giggled. "He ran off the second he heard you. Guess he knew you'd come after him!"

Gary sighed. "Figures. He always does that when he's about to get in trouble."

Just then, Pikachu ran up to Gary, looking just as confused. "Pika pi?"

Gary crouched down and patted Pikachu's head. "Looks like Ash left you behind too, huh?"

Pikachu nodded, clearly unimpressed with Ash's sudden disappearance.

"Don't worry, Pikachu," Gary said, standing up. "I'll find him, and when I do..." He smirked. "He's got some explaining to do."

Brock chuckled. "Good luck with that, Gary. Tracking Ash down is like chasing a wild Tauros when he's scared."

" Aaaaaash. Oh aaaaaaaaash? Where aaaaare yooooooou?" Gary called inna singsong voice.

He looked around. " Aaaaaaaaash. I know you're here soooooomewheeeeere!"

" Pika pi?*

Gary looked at Pikachu. " You have a scent?"

Pikachu gave him an unimpressed look.

" What?*

" Chu. Pikachu."

Gary raised a brow. " Uh..... You want a collar?*

Pikachu arched its back.

" Yeesh, chill. I was just asking."

" Pika Pika pi."

Gary sighed. "Alright, alright, no collar. Just... help me find Ash, okay?"

Pikachu rolled its eyes but nodded, sniffing the air. After a moment, it perked up and dashed toward a nearby tree. "Pika!"

Gary followed, walking with his hands in his pockets. "I swear, if he's hiding up in a tree again..."

Sure enough, as they got closer, Pikachu stopped and pointed its tail toward the branches. There, clinging awkwardly to the highest branch, was Ash.

"Uh... hey, Gary," Ash called down nervously. "Fancy meeting you here."

Gary crossed his arms, smirking up at him. "Fancy meeting me? Really? You bolted the second you heard my voice!"

Ash scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously. "Well, you know... force of habit?"

Gary rolled his eyes. "Come down here, Ketchum. We're not done talking about that Pokéball incident."

Ash gulped, glancing at Pikachu, who gave him a pointed look. "Pikachu, whose side are you on?"

"Pika." Pikachu sat down, clearly choosing not to get involved.

Ash sighed and slowly started climbing down the tree. "Okay, okay, I'm coming..."

Gary crossed his arms, smirking. "You better. We've got some unfinished business."

Just as Ash reached the lowest branch, he suddenly grinned, jumped back up into the tree, and disappeared into the thick leaves.

Gary groaned, rubbing his temples. "Oh, not again!" he muttered.

Pikachu glanced up at the tree, clearly unimpressed, then looked at Gary with a tired expression.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Gary sighed. "How does he always do this?"

Pikachu shook its head, as if to say, "It's Ash. What do you expect?"

Gary grumbled under his breath. "I swear, one of these days, Ketchum..." He then looked back at Pikachu. "Alright, let's try this again. I guess we're playing hide and seek."

Gary and Pikachu spent the next hour playing an exasperating game of hide-and-seek with Ash. Each time they found him, Ash managed to slip away again, vanishing into thin air. It was as if he had become a ghost, popping up in the strangest places, only to disappear before Gary could catch him.

The first time, they found Ash hiding behind a large boulder near the riverbank.

"Aha! Got you this time, Ash!" Gary said triumphantly, pointing at him.

Ash grinned, waving cheekily. "You think so?"

In an instant, Ash dove behind the rock and rolled into the underbrush, disappearing before Gary could even blink.

Gary slapped his forehead. "Oh, come on!"

The second time, Pikachu caught his scent and led Gary to a tree. Ash was perched on a high branch, looking down with a smug grin.

"Nice try," Gary called, shading his eyes. "You're not getting away this time."

Ash waved. "You sure about that?"

Before Gary could say another word, Ash leaped from the branch, did a flip in mid-air, and landed behind a bush. By the time Gary and Pikachu reached the bush, Ash was gone again.

The third time, they found him hiding in the hollow of a log. Pikachu sniffed it out and peeked inside.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted in triumph.

Gary leaned down, peering into the log. "There you are, Ash!"

Ash gave them a sheepish grin from inside the log. "Hey, Gary."

Gary lunged forward to grab him, but before his hands reached the log, Ash crawled out the other end, running into the woods, laughing as he disappeared once again.

Gary groaned. "Seriously? This is getting ridiculous."

The fourth time, Pikachu heard a rustling in the bushes. They approached cautiously, sure this time they'd catch him.

"Ash, we know you're in there," Gary called, trying to keep his voice steady.

Sure enough, Ash popped his head up from the bush with a playful smile. "Hi, Gary!"

Gary rolled his eyes. "You're not getting away this time!"

But just like before, Ash dove back into the bush and vanished, leaving Gary to stand there, fuming.

The fifth time, they found him crouched behind a cluster of rocks near the base of the mountain trail. Gary approached slowly, not wanting to give Ash a chance to bolt.

"Pikachu, surround him!" Gary ordered.

Pikachu dashed to the other side of the rocks, but before they could trap him, Ash darted out and disappeared behind the ridge.

Gary threw up his hands in frustration. "This is impossible!"

By the time they reached the sixth attempt, Pikachu had caught Ash's scent near the riverbank again. They followed the trail, only to find Ash calmly leaning against a tree, waiting for them.

Gary was panting by this point, completely out of breath. "Ash... this... stops... now."

Ash laughed. "Gary, you're really out of shape, huh?"

Gary glared at him. "I'm going to catch you this time."

But, of course, Ash simply gave him a mock salute and ran off, disappearing into the trees again.

The seventh time, they found him hanging upside down from a tree branch, casually swinging like a Spinarak.

"Gary!" Ash called, swinging back and forth. "You're getting close!"

Gary crossed his arms, not even bothering to look up. "Ash, get down from there."

Ash let go of the branch, flipped in mid-air, and landed in a crouch, only to spring back into the undergrowth before Gary could even react.

"Not again!" Gary groaned, rubbing his temples.

The eighth time, they found Ash sitting on a large rock near a pond, looking out over the water as if he hadn't a care in the world. Pikachu hopped onto the rock, glaring at Ash, as if to say, "Seriously?"

Gary, panting heavily, collapsed onto the ground next to the rock. "Alright, Ash. Enough. No more games."

Ash smiled down at them. "What games?"

Gary was about to lunge, but before he could, Ash slipped off the rock and sprinted into the woods once again.

"WHY DOES HE KEEP DOING THIS?" Gary shouted into the sky, his voice echoing through the trees.

The ninth time, Pikachu found Ash balancing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the valley below.

Gary approached slowly, his voice pleading. "Ash... please. Just... stop running."

Ash turned to look at him, but before he could respond, he did a dramatic backflip off the edge of the cliff, disappearing into the trees below.

Gary ran to the edge, looking down in disbelief. "Oh, come on!"

The tenth time, they found Ash hiding behind a waterfall, grinning from ear to ear as he peeked out from behind the cascade.

Gary was drenched, Pikachu was drenched, and both were exhausted. "Ash... I swear... if you disappear one more time-"

But before Gary could finish his sentence, Ash gave them a wave, ran through the waterfall, and was gone yet again.

By the time they reached the clearing again, both Gary and Pikachu were too exhausted to continue. They sat down on a rock, breathing heavily.

Gary wiped sweat from his forehead, looking around. "Alright, Ash... you win. I give up."

Suddenly, Ash appeared from behind a tree, grinning sheepishly. "Hey, you guys okay?"

Gary stared at him in disbelief. "Where do you even go? How do you keep disappearing like that?"

Ash just shrugged, smiling innocently. "I'm fast."

Gary sighed deeply. "I need a vacation."

By the time they made their way back to Brock and Dawn, Gary was practically dragging Ash by the arm, looking completely exhausted. Ash, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, a carefree grin on his face as he was being pulled along.

"Sheesh, Gary," Ash muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not that deep. We were just playing around!"

Gary shot him a deadpan look. "Not that deep? Ash, we spent hours looking for you, and you disappeared every single time!"

Ash shrugged with a laugh. "Well, you gotta admit, it was kind of fun."

Gary sighed, shaking his head. "Fun for who exactly? My legs feel like they're about to fall off!"

Dawn raised an eyebrow as she watched them approach. "What happened to you two?"

Brock chuckled from where he sat, arms crossed. "Let me guess. Ash gave you the runaround again?"

Gary let go of Ash's arm and collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. "If by 'runaround' you mean disappearing ten times in a row, then yes."

Ash stretched his arms and smiled. "Come on, guys. I was just keeping things interesting."

Gary gave him a tired glare. "Interesting? You're lucky I didn't just leave you out there!"

Dawn shook her head, holding back a laugh. "Ash, I think you're the only one who found this whole thing entertaining."

Ash winked. "Hey, it's all about the adventure, right?"

Gary rolled his eyes, lying back on the grass. "Next time, you're the one doing all the running, Ash."

Ash grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "Deal."