22. Frightened Fearow

Fearow quickly turned around, flapped its wings, and fled. The surrounding Spearows didn't dare to stay either. They turned around and left together with Fearow.

Even those who had been knocked to the ground didn't care about their injuries, limping into the air to join the fleeing flock.

"It really is that Fearow!" Ash said, watching it fly away, feeling a bit speechless. The world was really small. He felt a sense of familiarity but hadn't expected it to run away by itself, confirming his suspicion.

"What is it? Why did it run away?" the girl asked, still a little dazed. She had expected a fierce battle and was ready to help, even though there were many opponents. She couldn't just abandon him after he had saved her, but she was completely stunned by what she had just witnessed.

"Oh, I beat it three years ago," Ash replied nonchalantly. That Fearow was still wary of him!

Fortunately, it was scared away by that defeat three years ago. Otherwise, today might have ended in a fierce battle. Back then, he had relied on two Growlithes and the forest's advantage.

This time, it had learned its lesson. If it hadn't been scared away, it wouldn't have been fooled again. Pikachu now might not necessarily be a match for it. Although Pikachu had a type advantage, Fearow still had a large group of Spearows with it.

"Three years? Are you bragging? How old were you three years ago? You probably weren't even a trainer yet. How could you have beaten Fearow?" the girl said, obviously not believing him. He looked about her age. Trainers start at ten, so how could he have defeated the Fearow before then?

"Believe it or not, it's up to you!" Ash didn't care. The rain was getting heavier, and he planned to go back to the tent.

"You..." The girl was a little annoyed by his dismissive attitude. What was that about? She was the cutest girl in the universe, after all!

But Ash was not used to it. She didn't even say thank you and was still skeptical.

"Ah!!!!"

As he was about to leave, he heard a scream. Ash, who had already turned around, was startled.

"So what... uh..."

Turning around impatiently, he saw the girl pointing behind her with tears in her eyes. Ash looked behind her and was also speechless for a moment, several black lines appearing on his forehead. Even Pikachu had the same expression.

At the front of a linear crack in the ground was what could no longer be clearly recognized as a bicycle. It looked more like a pile of discarded metal than a bike. I don't know what kind of inhumane torture it had suffered to end up this way.

I must have seen it wrong. If I pretend not to see it, nothing happened.

Ash turned his head, pretending not to see anything, but the girl approached him aggressively.

"It's all your fault! You broke my bike! How are you going to pay me?" The girl looked like she was about to cry.

After all, she was still a young girl. Not long after starting her journey, her newly bought bicycle was destroyed. It was Pikachu's doing. No, Pokémon was right, but this guy had given the orders.

Ash was also speechless and couldn't help but look at Pikachu. You're a bicycle nemesis!

"Pikachu, you need to aim at the target when attacking the opponent in the future," Ash said, turning to Pikachu and raising his finger with a serious face.

"Pikapi~~~" Pikachu looked like it didn't understand, showing its cuteness with its ears slumped and head tilted.

"That's not the point, okay? You broke my bike, so you have to compensate me!" the girl shouted at Ash, even more annoyed by his nonchalance.

"I saved you, okay? Is this how you treat your savior?" Ash retorted.

"Who asked you to save me? Even without you, I could have gotten away!" The two started arguing heatedly.

The girl wasn't really ungrateful; she was just upset. Combined with Ash's blunt response, she felt a bit wronged.

Ash, on the other hand, was also feeling unappreciated. After all, he had saved her. He thought she should learn some generosity.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu tried to intervene, attempting to calm the argument between the two.

Boom! ! ! !

"Ah!!" Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed, startling the girl. She instinctively rushed forward.

"Woo!!" Ash felt her bump into his arms.

When the thunder passed, the girl realized she was in Ash's arms. Blushing, she quickly pulled away and turned around.

The rain was now pouring down, accompanied by more thunder. Seeing the worsening weather, Ash stopped arguing.

"It's raining heavily. You can take shelter at my place!" Ash offered. It was dangerous for the girl to travel in such weather.

"Thank you. Thank you!" The girl was a bit embarrassed. She had been overly excited before. Compared to her own safety, the bicycle seemed insignificant.

"Let's go! Pikachu, come on!"

The three of them entered Ash's tent. Fortunately, they hadn't been wet for too long, or there would have been no place to start a fire and dry off.

"Here you go," Ash said, handing out two towels—one for Pikachu and one for the girl.

"Thank you. About earlier... I'm sorry," the girl said, hesitating as she took the towel. She felt embarrassed thinking about her reaction before.