" Ash, don't you want to go?" Brock asked as he turned to Ash, who was sitting on a stump in his regular clothes, petting Bulbasaur.

" Nah. You guys have fun. And take good care of my Pokemon."

" Pika pi!" Pikachu said as he looked through the eyepieces of his ghost costume.

" Char, Charmander." Charmander was wearing a pumpkin costume.

And Squirtle?

He was.... A tree.

Yeah, you read that right.

A tree, of all things.

But he looked cute.

Ash scratched his pokemon on the head and gave each of them a little bucket. " Make sure to mind your manners." Ash advised. " And don't eat too much ketchup, Pikachu. And Charmander, don't light anything on fire. An-"

" Ash, don't worry!" Misty laughed as she swirled around in her mermaid costume. " We'll be fine. Just.... Be safe, okay?"

Ash nodded, and misty hugged him. " Stay safe."

" I will. And misty?"

" Yeah?"

" Don't fall in love with anyone else."

Misty stared at him, then let out a laugh
" You too!"

" Hey!" Ash protested. " How could I fall in love with anyone else but my Cerulean princess?"

" Okay, okay, enough with the love stuff." Brock cut in.

Ash nodded. " Bye, you guys!"

" Bulbasaur, saur!*

As soon as they left, Ash sighed and stretched. " Whaddya wanna do, Bulby?"

" Saur."

Ash nodded. " I suppose it would be nice to just enjoy the peace."

Ash closed his eyes, and heard..... shouts.

" GRAPNDPA GET AWAY FROM THAT!"

" I'M TRYING GARY!"

Ash's eyes snapped open. " It's the professor and Gary! Bulbasaur, let's go!"

They ran through the forest, and came upon the duo.

" Bulbasaur, vine whip!"

But Bulbasaur did not do vine whip.

" Uh.... Bulbasaur?"

" Saur."

" Oddish."

" Bulba! Saur, Bulba!"

Ash's eyes lit up with understandment. " Ohhhh, this is your old friend, isn't it?"

" Saur."

Ash laughed as he helped Gary and Oak up. " Well, why don't you two catch up or something?"

" Saur?"

Ash smiled. " Don't worry. I'll be fine. After all, I have a ' plan old granpda' and Gary!"

" Hey!" Oak protested.

Ash chuckled. " Go on, now, Bulbasaur. Enjoy yourself."

" What're you guys doing here?* Ash asked as he gave them some tea.

Oak took a sip. " We came here on an expedition. There's a pokemon here that's quite hyper, and it was said someone had riden it. The Pokemon threw the person hard on the ground, and officials think the person is injured."

Ash kept a straight face. " Do the officials... Know how this person looked."

Gary leaned in. " That's the thing. The only picture they have is blurry. Show him, Grandpa."

Ash took the news clipping, and his worst fear was true.

There, grabbing onto the leg, was a boy with blue and white shirt, jeans, and shoes.

Except that blue and white shirt was a jacket.

His jacket.

Ash let out a shaky breath. " Uh..... Do they have any ideas how they're gonna track this person down?*

" Well that's just the thing. The person was smart. He left nothing behind."

Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

" But I know who it is, Ash Ketchum, and you'd better explain."

Ash froze. " Uh.... I think you're mistaken. That's not me."

" Oh, give it up already, Ash! I'm a researcher who watched you ride an Aerodactyl  the first time it happened on the island! I think I know it's you."

Ash slowly backed into the bushes. " Gary, think this through. I mean, why would I want to ride an Aerodactyl?"

Gary crossed his arms, a knowing smirk on his face. "Oh, I don't know, Ash. Maybe because you have a habit of getting into crazy situations? Sound familiar?"

Ash scratched the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "Look, I just... happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

Professor Oak sighed, shaking his head. "Ash, you need to be more careful! Riding an Aerodactyl? You could've been seriously hurt!"

"I wasn't trying to ride it!" Ash exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "It just sort of... happened! You know how these things go with me."

Gary raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and that's the problem. You keep getting into these wild situations, and one of these days, you're not going to get so lucky."

Ash shrugged, trying to play it cool. "I mean, everything worked out, right? I got down safely."

"By falling off the thing?" Gary retorted.

Ash winced. "Well, I was aiming for a softer landing."

Professor Oak rubbed his temples. "Ash, listen, you have a good heart, but you can't keep taking these risks without thinking. This isn't just about you—it's about the Pokémon and everyone else around you."

Ash’s expression softened. "I know, Professor. I promise I’ll try to be more careful next time."

Gary narrowed his eyes. "You better be. And don’t think you’re off the hook just because we’re not chasing that Aerodactyl anymore. You still owe me an explanation."

Ash groaned, his escape plan foiled. "Fine, fine. I’ll explain everything... after I finish this tea." He took a big gulp, trying to delay the inevitable while the others watched him closely, clearly not buying his nonchalant act.

" When will you stop drinking tea?!" Gary exclaimed. " That's your tenth cup.*

" I will when I feel like it ." Ash retorted.

" Look, Ash, you love helping pokemon, sure. But you realize you're risking your own life, right?"

" Yeah."

Gary sighed. " You still don't get it, do you?*

Ash raised a brow, but before he could, there was a roar, and the next thing they knew there was a dodrio running. Its three heads were stuck in tight bottles.

Ash jumped. " Oh, no!"

Before anyone could react, Ash was running after it, calling, " it's okay! I'm here to help!"

Gary sighed and turned to Oak. " We should follow him, shouldn't we?"

Oak nodded. " We have to."

They ran behind the duo, jumping over logs and ducking under branches.

When they caught sight of the dodrio, Ash was on it, trying to take the bottle off.

" Would you mind running a little slower?" He requested as he tried to pull it off.

The dodrio looked back and saw the human and ran faster.

" Wait, wait, wait! I said slower, not faster!"

He grabbed its neck as it jumped and lunged, yelping each time they landed.

" Ash, now!" Gary yelled.

" Jump Ash, jump!"

Ash obeyed, rolling on his shoulder until he rolled to a stop, clutching his head

" Ash!" Gary exclaimed as he ran to Ash's side.

"are you okay, ash?" Oak asked.

Ash nodded. " Yeah. But the dodrio isn't! I have to-"

" Listen carefully, Ash." Gary said firmly. " You are going to sit here and you are going to REST."

" B.. bu-"

" No buts!"

Ash opened his mouth to protest, but the stern look on Gary's face made him stop. He sighed in defeat. "Fine, but only for a minute."

Professor Oak placed a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Gary's right. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. You need to recover your energy, or you won’t be able to help any Pokémon."

Ash looked down, knowing they were right but still feeling restless. "I just want to make sure the Dodrio is okay."

"We’ll take care of it," Gary assured him, glancing toward the Dodrio still frantically running in circles, its three heads bobbing with the bottles stuck on them. "Just stay put for once."

As Gary and Professor Oak approached the Dodrio cautiously, Ash sat back, wincing as he touched the side of his head where he had rolled. Bulbasaur, sensing Ash's frustration, nudged him gently.

"I know, Bulbasaur. I just... I hate sitting out when there’s a Pokémon in trouble."

Bulbasaur gave him a comforting look, his vines reaching out to pat Ash on the arm as if to say, "You’ve done enough."

Meanwhile, Gary managed to catch up with the Dodrio, cornering it against a tree. "Hold still!" he ordered, grabbing one of the bottles. With a swift yank, he pulled the first bottle off.

The Dodrio squawked in relief, but its other two heads thrashed around wildly. Oak moved in, managing to calm it with soothing words as Gary carefully removed the remaining bottles. Finally free, the Dodrio gave a grateful nod, shaking its feathers.

"See? We got it," Gary called over his shoulder to Ash. "You didn’t have to do everything alone."

Ash gave a small smile, but inside he knew—resting wasn’t in his nature. He'd always be ready to jump in, no matter the risk.

" We're baaaaack " misty called as they appeared from behind the bush. She stopped when she saw a banged up Ash and the Oak family.

" What happened here?*

" Nothing." Ash quickly replied.

Ash's pokemon ran to him. " Pika pi!*

Ash looked at his Pikachu. " I'm fine, Pikachu. Really, I am."

" Char? Charmander."

Ash nodded. " Yep. I found them."

Bulbasaur and Squirtle were talking to one another, each sharing the highlight of their day

" Ash, why in the world do you look like you just had a world war two?* Brock asked as he crossed his arms.

" Because.... I just had a rough evening."

Gary shot him a look. Ash countered it.

Misty raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying Ash's casual response. "A rough evening? You look like you wrestled with a Gyarados."

Ash shrugged, trying to play it off. "Just a Dodrio situation... no big deal."

Brock shook his head. "Ash, I don’t know why you’re always trying to brush these things off. You’ve got to take better care of yourself."

"Exactly!" Gary cut in, his arms crossed. "He never listens. I keep telling him to stop being so reckless, but—"

"Gary," Ash interrupted, locking eyes with him. "I do listen, okay? But sometimes you’ve got to act fast before things get worse. That's just how it is."

"You're impossible, Ash," Gary said, rolling his eyes.

Misty knelt next to Ash and examined his scrapes. "You need to clean these up before they get infected. Honestly, Ash, I can’t leave you alone for two seconds."

Ash smiled sheepishly. "I guess I got a little carried away."

"Pika pi!" Pikachu scolded, tugging at Ash’s pant leg as if to say, "You always do!"

Ash chuckled and scratched Pikachu behind the ears. "Okay, okay, I’ll be more careful next time. Promise."

"Good," Misty said, standing up. "Because if you keep this up, you’re going to give all of us heart attacks."

Gary sighed. "He already has."