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The trio was making good time on the final stretch to Jubilife City when a woman appeared on the trail, her presence immediately bringing the group to a halt. She was tall and elegant, but her shoulders were hunched, and she seemed to be having an intense conversation with the air before she noticed them. At her side stood a scarlet, metallic powerhouse—a Scizor that radiated disciplined strength.
"Excuse… excuse me," she stammered, her voice barely a whisper as her eyes darted between Ash and the ground. "I heard there's a new Gym opening nearby… do you happen to know where it is?"
She was a picture of delicate social anxiety, a demeanor that acted like a magnet for a certain dark-skinned breeder.
"My beautiful lady!" Brock shouted, his eyes transforming into hearts as he used Agility to close the gap in a blur. "Search no further! For I, Brock, shall be your guide, your protector, and—"
"Oh boy," Dawn muttered, covering her face. "Ash, is he... always like this?"
Ash didn't even look surprised. He was currently in a 'sage moment,' unfazed by the hormonal whirlwind. "Usually, there's a ten-year-old or a girl with a mallet around to stop this. Since we're short on both, I'll handle it." He stepped forward and firmly hauled Brock back by his collar before the poor woman, Minnie, could faint from the sheer intensity of his 'love.'
Minnie breathed a sigh of relief as Dawn stepped in to balance the energy. It turned out she was looking for a "Power Gym" she had heard about from a friend. Brock, having regained a modicum of sanity, frowned. "I've mapped every official League Gym in Sinnoh. There shouldn't be anything here."
"It's a Team Rocket scam," Ash said, his tone matter-of-fact. He knew the script. They weren't just here to save Minnie from a fake Gym; they were here to find the final piece of their traveling puzzle.
The "Gym" turned out to be a haphazard shack made of scrap metal and painted plywood. Jessie and James didn't even have time to finish their introductory taunt before Ash signaled the attack.
"Scyther, X-Scissor! Finish this before it starts."
Scyther didn't just attack; it executed. Its blades crossed into a lethal silver 'X,' tearing through the air and slamming into Jessie's Dustox and James's Carnivine simultaneously. The impact was so overwhelming that both Pokémon were unconscious before they hit the dirt.
"Since when did the twerp's bug become a monster?!" Jessie shrieked, her eyes bulging.
"We're getting power-crept, James!" Meowth screamed, already scrambling into the hot air balloon.
"Pikachu, let's give them the usual send-off. Thunderbolt!"
The golden lance of electricity hit the balloon's burner with pinpoint accuracy. With the familiar, resounding cry of "We're blasting off again!", the trio vanished into the stratosphere.
"Ding! 50 Gold Coins added." Ash ignored the system notification, his eyes scanning the bushes near the fake Gym. He watched as Minnie bowed in gratitude, her socially anxious heart finally settling.
"I can't thank you enough," Minnie whispered. "I would have lost my Scizor to those crooks."
Brock was back on his feet instantly. "No thanks are necessary, Miss Minnie! For a smile as radiant as yours, I would battle a hundred Team Rockets! Allow me to accompany you to—"
Thwip.
Brock's words died in a sharp, strangled gasp. His face went pale, and he clutched his side, his knees buckling.
"Hiss... my kidney..." Brock wheezed, collapsing into the grass.
Standing behind him was a squat, purple frog with bright orange cheek pouches that pulsed with a low, rhythmic croak. Its hand was still extended, its middle finger glowing with the fading purple light of a Poison Jab.
"Croak..."
The Croagunk didn't look angry; it looked bored. It reached out, grabbed Brock's ankle, and began dragging the paralyzed breeder away from Minnie with a slow, methodical indifference.
Ash and Dawn erupted into laughter. The "San Dai Mu"—the third-generation chaperone—had arrived.
"Looks like your 'Love Drive' just hit a roadblock, Brock," Ash joked, watching the frog maintain its blank, unblinking stare.
"Ash... help... need... Pecha Berry..." Brock groaned from the dirt.
"Don't look at me," Ash said, adjusting his hat with a grin. "I think you've finally met your match."
With Croagunk officially joining the team as Brock's personal "anti-flirt" security, the Sinnoh journey felt complete. The veteran, the novice, the breeder, and the frog set their sights once more on the horizon. Jubilife City was finally within reach.
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