"That's great! We got the Forest Badge, and now we can head to the next city!"
Leaving the Gym, Dawn, wearing a pink cheerleader uniform adorned with white and blue patterns, leaned close to Ash. She held her pink pom-poms, looking lively as she celebrated Ash's victory.
"Yeah!" Ash found Dawn's refreshing outfit quite pleasing to the eye.
"Speaking of which," Brock said, walking and consulting his map, "the next Gym is in Hearthome City, which is also the venue for the Hearthome Contest!" He ignored the two who were growing increasingly excited, seriously reminding them, especially the younger girl.
"Hooray!" Hearing about the Contest, Dawn cheered immediately. "Since Ash got his second badge, I need to work hard too!" She confidently clenched her small fist, shouting at Ash and Brock as if the Contest ribbon was already hers.
"Well..." Seeing her blindly confident attitude, which was exactly like his younger self, Brock grew worried and quickly advised her: "Dawn, Contests are not as simple as you think. You need to be serious about this!"
"I agree," Ash chimed in right away. He remembered Dawn failing in the Hearthome Contest, perhaps more than once, before she finally found her rhythm.
Faced with their warnings, a mysterious look crossed Dawn's blue eyes. She waved her pom-poms and declared loudly, "No problem, no problem at all!"
However, Ash and Brock looked at her skeptically, especially remembering her mother's assessment of her skill.
"What is it? You two don't believe me, hmph!" Dawn pretended to be angry, crossing her arms and pouting, glancing back with a side-eye as if telling Ash to come and humor her.
"Oh really? So disobedient? Don't blame me then!" Ash wasn't going to fall for that. He made playful grasping motions with his hands and walked toward her, threatening to restrain the mischievous girl.
"No, no, no!" Dawn immediately dropped the act, not daring to provoke the terrifying "Demon King." "I'll listen, I'll listen, okay!" She knew Ash wasn't like Brock; he would genuinely use physical moves, and every time, it left her sore. She had learned her lesson and didn't want to repeat it.
"That's better." Ash put his hands in his pockets and nodded in satisfaction, having received her promise.
Pikachu, resting on Ash's shoulder, merely rolled its eyes before calmly resuming its rest.
"Hmph, it's just a Contest. How different can it be?" Dawn grumbled secretly along the way, still not truly taking the competition seriously.
Ash noticed this and sighed quietly. He decided not to say more; sometimes, the only way to grow faster is by experiencing hardship oneself.
"You brats, help me!"
Just as Ash was lost in thought, a familiar cry for help reached their ears.
A short-haired man in a white uniform—James of Team Rocket—came into view. He was clutching a cactus-like Pokémon, Cacnea, crying desperately to Ash: "You brats, save me! That Gym Leader is trying to steal my Cacnea!"
Following James's gaze, the trio saw Gardenia being firmly held back by Jessie and Meowth. Gardenia was utterly smitten, her eyes filled with pink love hearts.
"That... that looks familiar!" Dawn gasped, covering her mouth and looking at Brock.
"That look is very rude!" Brock protested immediately. If his eyes weren't naturally squinted, they'd be bulging like dumbbells.
"Uh... what is going on?" Ash instinctively asked.
"Well... actually..." James stammered as he started to explain, but with Gardenia closing in, he quickly presented Cacnea and told the truth.
In short: Team Rocket had snuck into the Gym, intending to steal a well-developed Torterra to present to Giovanni for a promotion. They failed because Torterra was too strong. This disturbance drew the attention of Gardenia, who was about to heal her Pokémon. Seeing the Grass-type Cacnea and enjoying a barrage of its Pin Missile and Arm Thrust attacks, the Gym Leader became obsessed and wanted to keep Cacnea. This terrified James, who fled and ran into the trio.
"So, you tried to steal Gardenia's Torterra, ran into trouble, and then she tried to steal your Cacnea?" Brock, the resident pragmatist, quickly summarized the core events.
"Ha! And you have the nerve to ask us for help? You spend all your days trying to steal Pikachu!" Dawn gloated, sticking out her tongue.
James felt a surge of embarrassment, unable to argue as Dawn spoke the truth. He ignored the spikes on Cacnea and turned to leave.
"The girl is right. I must be truly desperate to ask them for help," James muttered internally.
"Wait!" To Dawn and Brock's surprise, Ash called out to James.
"You agree, you brat?" James asked excitedly.
"Cacnea!" Cacnea's cactus-like face lit up with surprise, thinking it might not have to be separated from its trainer.
"Why?" Dawn was confused. Why help Team Rocket when they constantly harassed them?
"Hold on," Ash said, waving his finger at the confused trio. "There are conditions, and the condition involves something James owns!"
At this moment, Ash looked at James like a walking cash cow, a slight, mischievous glint in his eyes.
"You, you, you..." Faced with the terrifying look of the boy, James nervously clutched Cacnea to his chest, a futile gesture of resistance.