Chapter 025: Piplup Takes the Stage

"What happened?"

The sudden turn of events left Dawn struggling to keep up.

She'd thought Pikachu was about to make a move, but an attack from behind had unexpectedly relieved the pressure on Pikachu.

The Ariados, who moments ago had seemed certain of their victory, scattered like frightened birds, fleeing the scene in a rush.

Though Ariados weren't exactly timid Pokémon, they were clever.

Facing Aipom and Pikachu alone had already pushed them to their limits, and now with additional reinforcements on the other side, the Ariados knew they were outmatched and wisely retreated.

"So realistic, these guys…"

Watching the Ariados scramble away into the fog, Ash couldn't help but comment.

But that was just how reality worked, wasn't it?

While Ash was poking fun at the Ariados's hasty escape, Dawn let out a long sigh of relief, saying with a hint of gratitude:

"Phew~ Thank goodness we're okay… By the way, who helped us? Was it Brock?"

In her panic, Dawn hadn't caught Piplup's cry and assumed Brock had come to their rescue, but—

"It wasn't Brock. Brock doesn't have any Water-type Pokémon with him."

"Huh? It wasn't? Then who…"

As Dawn puzzled over the identity of their mysterious savior, a short, stout figure finally emerged from the thick fog. It strutted forward with its head held high, its eyes brimming with pride and defiance, like some young noble stepping out of a novel.

Under Dawn's gaze, it sauntered up to her, crossed its arms, and closed its eyes, declaring, "Piplup!"

Dawn: "…"

Time seemed to freeze in that moment. Dawn glanced at Piplup, then at Ash, and finally, under their puzzled stares, she slowly crouched down, reached out her hands, and grabbed Piplup in one swift motion.

"Ash! I caught the escaped Piplup!"

Ash: "…"

Piplup: "??!!"

Ash and Piplup's expressions perfectly captured their wildly different emotions.

Ash was holding back laughter.

Piplup, on the other hand, was simmering with rage.

"Piplup!!"

"Hahaha!"

Piplup was the first to break free from Dawn's grasp, furiously pecking at her, while Ash burst into laughter on the sidelines.

He never could've imagined Dawn would pull such an airheaded move in a moment like this.

Whether her brain had short-circuited for a second or she genuinely couldn't fathom that their mysterious helper was Piplup, he wasn't sure.

"Ow, ow, ow?! Why are you pecking me?! That hurts! Ugh~ Ash, why are you laughing over there? Help me!!"

The forest was suddenly filled with a lively, cheerful atmosphere.

…

"So… it was Piplup who stepped in to help Pikachu?"

"Piplup!"

Piplup puffed out its chest again, radiating smug pride. Dawn, looking at its demeanor, felt a strange sense of familiarity but couldn't quite place why.

"Yeah, if Piplup hadn't helped, Pikachu using an Electric-type move would've likely zapped us too. For that, we really owe Piplup our thanks."

"Piplup-piplup!"

Piplup nodded repeatedly, endorsing Ash's words.

It had been the one to swoop in and save the day, yet somehow this seemingly dim-witted human girl had grabbed it like it was some fugitive, which is why it had to punish Dawn for her rude behavior.

"Really…? If that's the case, I was rude earlier… I'm sorry, Piplup."

"Piplup~~"

Piplup's nodding slowed, adopting the air of a wise elder acknowledging the younger generation's apology.

But its lofty demeanor didn't last long. In less than ten seconds, its body began to wobble.

"Are you okay?"

Dawn hurriedly crouched down to catch Piplup before it collapsed, but Piplup's head was already drooping, barely able to make a sound, looking as if it were on the verge of fainting.

"Ash! Piplup, it's…"

"It's probably just hungry."

"Huh?"

Dawn hadn't expected such an answer from Ash and let out a confused sound, still processing.

"I'm saying Piplup's fine. It's likely just exhausted from hunger."

"But how did you know…"

Gurgle~~~

Dawn: "…"

Alright, after hearing that sound, Dawn finally understood why Ash knew Piplup had passed out from hunger.

"Even without hearing Piplup's stomach growl, didn't you hear what the researchers said? Piplup didn't even finish its lunch before escaping. Running from the lab to here, it's bound to be starving, right?"

"Sorry, sorry… I wasn't listening closely…"

Knowing she was in the wrong, Dawn hurriedly apologized again, but Ash didn't mind too much. After all, he hadn't been the one treated like a criminal, unlike Piplup.

"For now, Dawn, just feed it. Consider it making up for earlier, right?"

Ash said with a grin, then reached to pull some Pokémon food from his backpack. But as he turned, he realized something was missing.

"Hmm?"

Ash looked around in confusion but couldn't spot the figure he was searching for. He glanced down at Pikachu and asked, "Where's Aipom?"

"Pi?"

At Ash's question, Pikachu was about to point to the spot beside it, since in its memory, that's where Aipom had last been standing.

But when Pikachu turned, there was no Aipom in sight.

The spot was completely empty, devoid of any person or Pokémon.

"That guy…"

Ash helplessly clutched his head. He never would've thought that in just a brief moment of not paying attention, Aipom had wandered off on its own.

"For now, I'll leave this to you! I'm going to look for Aipom."

"Huh? Me…"

"Here!"

Dawn: "…"

Dawn stared at the Pokémon food in her hands, suddenly lost in thought.

So, was she supposed to just shove it into Piplup's mouth or what?

Dawn pondered this deeply.