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"Come, come, these are the specialties I brought for everyone~"
After a few greetings, May took out two gifts from her bag and gave them to Ash and Brock: wooden carvings of Teddiursa and Ursaring.
"Thanks, May~" Ash replied with a smile, playfully holding the lifelike Teddiursa carving in his palm.
Brock, however, looked a bit puzzled, wondering what use this wooden carving could possibly have—was it for burning as firewood?
That was Brock's first thought upon seeing the wood, but he knew that certainly wouldn't do.
"May is so good, she actually 'bought off' Ash and Brock!"
Seeing their happy faces, Dawn's heart tightened once again.
Because Dawn just remembered that she had never given either of them a gift!
"Dawn, this is yours!"
May stepped forward and handed an exquisite gift box to Dawn, who was still in a daze.
"Dawn… Dawn…"
But Dawn was deep in thought and didn't react immediately, so May took a few more steps, directly facing Dawn's oval-shaped face, and called out loudly.
"Ah~"
Dawn immediately snapped back to reality, realizing May had approached her without her noticing, and instinctively took a step back.
"Dawn, don't worry, this one is for you~"
May didn't mind Dawn's reaction, simply attributing it to the fact that she hadn't given her a gift earlier.
"Huh, I have one too?" Dawn was a little surprised.
"Of course, how could I possibly overlook you, Dawn?" May said, winking.
Dawn, who had received the gift, felt a bit shy looking directly at May, thinking to herself if she had been too wary of this gentle and enthusiastic girl.
The other party clearly had no ulterior motives in that regard.
"Dawn, open it and take a look~" May urged.
Seeing this, Dawn opened the exquisitely designed gift box and found a necklace with a Piplup pattern inside.
"So cute~" Dawn commented instinctively.
At the same time, she bent down, letting her good partner Piplup admire it with her.
"Piplup~"
Seeing his handsome face printed on it, Piplup proudly puffed out his chest, looking at May with satisfaction, indicating that she had good taste.
"How is it, Dawn? I carefully picked it out~"
"Thank you, May~" Dawn scratched her head, thanking her awkwardly.
After all, the other person was so warm and natural, and even gave her a beautiful gift, so Dawn felt a little bad.
Immediately, all her previous thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind, and she enthusiastically chatted with May in front of her.
This harmonious scene made Ash, who had hidden his Teddiursa carving, smile and stand by, watching.
"Ah, what a pity!"
In contrast to Ash, Brock was stroking his chin with a sigh of regret, clearly showing his disappointment.
And Brock's gossipy demeanor made Ash feel an impulse to kick him into the lake.
Seriously, he couldn't stand to see two girls getting along, could he!
Actually, it wasn't just Brock who thought that way; there were others with the same idea…
Hiding five or six stories high in the distance were the Team Rocket Trio. The three of them were using their superhuman eyesight to pinpoint the location of Ash and his companions.
"The little girl we haven't seen in a long time is back, what a surprise!" James couldn't help but exclaim.
"It seems this guy's goal is also the Wallace Cup! Another formidable opponent~" Jessie said through gritted teeth.
She knew she couldn't even beat the current little girl, and now another one was here, plus the release of Dustox a while ago, which greatly reduced her chances of winning the Wallace Cup.
"Jessie, look on the bright side, with the little girl back, maybe we'll get to see a good show! Meow~" Meowth advised kindly.
Meowth had always been pessimistic about winning the championship.
Instead, he was quite interested in the drama between Ash and his two companions.
"No, I, your mistress, must win!"
Jessie, who had never won a ribbon, dragged James and Meowth, unwillingly going to find food and then train.
She completely ignored the unwilling expressions of the one person and one Pokémon.
…
"You really haven't changed, May, when it comes to eating, you're still the same!" Ash said with a smile.
As lunchtime approached, May, the true gourmet, patted her chest and announced that she had already booked the most prestigious seven-star restaurant nearby.
"Not at all~"
Teased as a glutton, May blushed and awkwardly scratched her head.
Dawn, on the other hand, looked at the slender May with surprise, not expecting such a slim girl to be such a big eater.
Seeing Dawn's gaze also turn towards her, May immediately pulled Dawn along to set off, diverting everyone's attention.
On the way to the restaurant, they also chatted about their recent travel experiences.
"Wow, May, you actually got three ribbons~" On the way, Dawn suddenly exclaimed in admiration.
It turned out that May showed them the three ribbons she had obtained in Johto, which made Dawn quite envious.
"Not at all, I'm still far from it! Drew, Harley, and Ms. Saori are all very strong, and I'm still far from collecting five!"
"Drew and the others are also here, so it seems May is under a lot of pressure, huh?" Ash's expression didn't change upon hearing those names.
Because he learned from chatting with May that she was currently traveling alone in Johto, and her relationship with Drew and the others was merely that of rivals.
"Speaking of which, May, why are you in Snowpoint City? That's the coldest city in our entire Sinnoh region!"
Seeing herself like an outsider, Dawn quickly interjected between Ash and May.
May didn't seem to notice anything amiss and, with a beaming smile, took out a Poké Ball and released a brilliant blue figure.
It was a fox-like Pokémon, predominantly brilliant blue, decorated with dark blue diamond-shaped spots.
Its identity was none other than Glaceon, evolved from a special rock.
"So Eevee evolved!"
"Pikachu~"
Although he knew the answer, Ash still offered his congratulations, with Pikachu and Brock following suit.
"That's right, since I came to Sinnoh, I thought about evolving Eevee!"
"Wow, it's Glaceon!" Dawn bent down to observe the cute Glaceon, "So that's it, you used the special frozen rock from Snowpoint City, right?"
"Of course, besides seeing Ash and Brock and participating in the Wallace Cup, it was also to evolve Eevee into its newly released form!"
May explained with a smile. Glaceon, as the newly released Pokémon, had attracted the attention of many Trainers, including her.
"It's so beautiful. I heard there's also Leafeon, which evolves by relying on mossy rocks. It's a pity I don't have an Eevee, otherwise I'd want to…"
"It's okay, you'll have a chance to meet one eventually~"
The two walked towards the seven-star hotel, discussing the cuteness of Leafeon.
They left the other two completely ignored, completely oblivious to the existence of Ash, Brock, and Pikachu.
The three pairs of eyes stared at each other for a while, then could only follow along.
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