Pokemon The time traveler

Ch 48 Best Rivals

The group had left Joanna's house early in the morning to get a head-start to Sandgem Town. Dawn told her mom not to worry and that she would do her best in the Pokémon Contests and make it to the Grand Festival. The two shared a heartfelt hug and exchanged a sad goodbye. Everyone else also said their goodbyes and began heading towards the forest leading to their destination.

"Hey, Brock, how much more 'til we get to Sandgem Town?"

"It shouldn't be too long, May," Dawn responded before the breeder could estimate. "I'd say another ten minutes or so; I remember the trees were smaller closer to the exit, and if you haven't noticed, they have been getting smaller."

May curiously glanced around her surroundings to the trees and realized Dawn was right.

"They have been getting smaller," she thought as she peered. "The ones we saw when we first entered the forest were way taller."

At the moment, they had been treading down the path for half an hour. May, Brock, and Dawn were leading the way while Ash and Pikachu were slowly falling behind them; the latter two were in deep thought regarding everything they learned the night before.

"There are four more other trainers trying to kill me and Pikachu..." Ash kept reciting the sentence in his head. He was still trying to fathom that there were others like the man who challenged him yesterday. He realized that he would have to be better prepared just in case another appeared at random, so he concluded to carry six Pokémon with him—something he didn't want to do at the start of the journey. "I can't risk being unprepared; what if more than one challenged me at the same time? One was tough enough...I have to be able to protect my friends."

"Ash?"

The trainer's trance was broken when he heard his name.

"Yeah, Brock?" He asked in a calm voice, noticing the breeder had fallen behind to talk with him.

"Is something wrong? Ever since you woke up, you've been kinda...lost."

Ash smiled and slowly shook his head dismissively. "No, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired with everything I did yesterday."

"Alright, if you say so," Brock replied uneasily, still unconvinced.

"There's no need to worry," the trainer reassured. "Pikachu feels the same way. Right, buddy?" He turned to his shoulder to see the little mouse asleep in a safe and comfortable position. "Well, I guess that proves my point."

"Yeah, I guess it does," Brock chuckled as he viewed the peaceful expression on Pikachu's face. "I'll go tell May and Dawn that you're both just tired. They seemed really worried about you."

"Well, like you said, I'm not really acting like myself, so I wouldn't doubt that they are."

"True," Brock agreed wholeheartedly. "They were actually gonna come check on you, but I told them I'd do it."

"Good call," Ash praised. "I don't think they would've believed a word I said even with Pikachu asleep...and even if they did, I doubt they'd let me walk on my own for the rest of the way."

"Don't worry," he eased. "I'll keep them walking ahead of you until we reach the lab or until you catch up. Sound good?"

"Thanks, Brock. I appreciate it."

With that the breeder increased his pace to meet up with the girls and tell them what he knew. When Brock was away at a safe distance, Ash spoke up.

"Nice job, buddy," he commended his Pokémon.

"Pikachu," the little mouse said lowly, still in the same position with his eyes closed to keep the illusion.

"You know for a moment, you had me convinced, too."