"You two must be Zoey's Glameow and Misdreavus!" It wasn't hard to tell, feeling the familiar Aura of the Glameow that appeared later, combined with Misdreavus's conversation with Pikachu.
"No wonder these two Pokémon felt so familiar~" Zoey looked like she had just realized something.
"Mis~"
"Meow~"
The two Pokémon nodded in succession, then anxiously turned around, ready to lead Ash and the others.
The three exchanged glances, wasting no words, and quickly followed behind the two Pokémon.
Soon, led by Glameow and Misdreavus, they moved away from the forest and arrived at a patch of hard rock.
A girl with short orange hair was sitting there, holding her right foot still, and even when she saw Ash and the others approaching, she didn't stand up to greet them.
"Zoey, what happened to you?!"
Seeing her familiar friend and rival, Zoey keenly noticed that something was wrong and quickly ran to Zoey to check.
"Ah! How did your foot get such a serious injury?!"
Zoey pulled away Zoey's concealing hands and found that her ankle was already bright red, looking quite serious, and she gasped in surprise, covering her mouth.
"I accidentally twisted it while training with Glameow just now, but it's nothing serious!" Zoey answered stubbornly, enduring the pain.
"It's red and swollen, how can it be nothing?" Zoey rolled her eyes speechlessly, preparing to get medicine to treat Zoey.
But after rummaging through her backpack, she found that besides pretty dresses, a tent for Sleep, and daily necessities, there was no medicine.
"Oops~ I accidentally forgot, all the medicine and such are prepared by Xiao Gang!" The girl playfully stuck out her tongue, then looked back at Xiao Gang.
"Forget it, let Ash do it!"
Xiao Gang looked at Zoey's injured ankle; it was so red that it would be difficult to recover quickly with just medicine, but Ash's Tokiwa Power was different.
"Oh right! I forgot again!"
Xiao Gang's words enlightened the girl, and she clapped her hands excitedly, quickly hugging Ash's right arm and pulling him in front of Zoey, saying proudly:
"Ash awakened Tokiwa Power not long ago, which is a special ability that can heal any injury. Even Sinnoh Champion Cynthia greatly appreciates Ash!"
The girl's performance was very exaggerated, constantly boasting about Ash's performance at the time, completely forgetting the purpose of treating Zoey.
Ash himself was fine, after all, he was the one being praised.
Zoey, the person involved, directly rolled her eyes and openly complained about Zoey's behavior.
"Alright, I know your boyfriend is amazing and has you completely captivated!"
"What~ Boyfriend or whatever, that's not it at all!"
Due to the fatal blow, Zoey had already turned into a ripe tomato, her face so red that water could be squeezed out, and faint steam even floated from her blue bangs.
Such a cute appearance made people want to take a bite.
"Pfft~" Zoey's shyness made Zoey unable to help but laugh out loud.
She had long seen the hints between the two, but she didn't expect that just a slight mention would make the other party display such a coy demeanor, forming a huge contrast with her usual graceful composure.
"Alright, Zoey, come over here first!"
Although Ash really wanted to continue teasing this cute girl, due to the crowd, he first moved Zoey aside to treat Zoey's injury.
"Oh!"
Zoey turned into an obedient Pokémon and responded, allowing Ash to do as he pleased.
"Thank you for your trouble~" Seeing Ash about to act, Zoey politely thanked him.
"Mhm~"
Ash showed a slight smile, then carefully examined the condition of Zoey's sprained ankle.
Just as Zoey said, swelling had begun to appear, and it looked like a serious injury.
However, for Ash, who had obtained Tokiwa Power, everything was a small case.
Ash placed his right hand a few centimeters above Zoey's ankle, and a second later, a glowing green light appeared in his palm.
It flowed along his fingers into Zoey's swollen ankle, making her feel a warm sensation in her ankle, and the original pain disappeared.
"Amazing~ Thank you so much!"
Three minutes later, Zoey looked at her fully recovered injury in disbelief, unable to help but exclaim in admiration.
Just moments ago, it was red and swollen, but now she could move it freely without any pain, completely returning to its state before she fell.
"You truly are Zoey's boyfriend! As a good friend and rival, I approve~" After a slight stretch, Zoey said to Ash.
"Haha, not at all~" Ash didn't deny it and laughed towards Zoey.
"Zoey, what are you talking about~"
Facing the "nonsense" of Zoey, Zoey quickly walked over and forcibly closed her mouth.
She also glared at Ash and Xiao Gang, who were watching the show, signaling them to leave on their own accord.
"Alas, what a pity!"
Xiao Gang, unable to watch the show, could only move away from the spot. Since the sun was already overhead, he found a relatively open area and took out pots, bowls, and utensils from his spatial backpack, preparing today's lunch.
"Pikachu~"
The electric mouse also followed behind Xiao Gang, a rather regretful expression on his face.
Ash's eyes widened; when did his Pikachu get along so well with Xiao Gang, even acting like a spectator?
Is this good? This is not good!
He quickly chased after him, picked up Pikachu, and went to the other side, preparing for today's training.
"Hmm~"
After seeing the two people and one Pokémon walk away, Zoey finally released Zoey's big mouth, allowing her to breathe.
"Seriously, Ash didn't even deny it, but you're the one getting shy first!"
Feeling the fresh air again, Zoey first took deep breaths, successfully recovering, and then complained about Zoey again.
"It's different, we're not that kind of relationship yet!" The girl lowered her head, her cheeks flushed as she retorted.
"Ha~ Not yet?!"
Zoey was a little surprised. The two were clearly much closer than last time, yet there had been no substantial progress.
"We've only been traveling for one or two months, how could it be that fast?!" Zoey carefully counted the time and retorted exasperatedly at Zoey, who was blindly stirring up trouble.
"Alas, you can't say that. Liking someone isn't about the length of time, but about the depth of that person in your heart. How can you think that progress can't be that fast just because you haven't been together long?!"
"…So you mean…"
Zoey, who originally thought the time together was too short, pondered Zoey's words, fell silent for a moment, and actually found them quite reasonable.
Indeed, it shouldn't be measured by time, but by the depth of the person in one's heart.
As for how deep…
Zoey recalled every past event, and her small face unconsciously became flushed again.
"Foolish~" Zoey looked like she was disappointed, "Forget it, I'll teach you!"
Facing the stern criticism, Zoey dared not retort. She leaned her ear close to Zoey, humbly asking for guidance.