Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

"Hey...are we sure we're not lost? It's getting darker and darker around here...."

Hikari followed closely behind Ash, looking at the increasingly dense trees around them, and asked in a low voice.

"Of course it'll get darker and darker, right? After all, we're going to cross a forest, and the vegetation will definitely get denser the further we go..." Ash complained helplessly. "By the way, Dawn, aren't you usually not afraid of the dark? You were fine before, so why are you so scared here?"

"There's nothing I can do! It's called the Forest of Bewilderment... A name like that always gives people the feeling that something unclean might appear in there," Hikaru replied.

"Unclean things... even if such things really exist, at most they're just..."

"Ghost-type Pokémon," Brock answered quickly.

"Yes, yes, yes~ Even if there are unclean things in this kind of place, they would only be Ghost-type Pokémon. After all, if they want to hide in this environment, ordinary people simply cannot find them. Most of the paranormal events mentioned in newspapers and magazines are actually the work of Ghost-type Pokémon."

“Pikachu..…”

Pikachu's ears drooped, looking listless as if it had thought of something bad.

"Yes, yes, at most it's just a Ghost-type Pokémon. Besides, this place is called the Forest of Confusion only because of Stunning Deer, right? Stunning Deer is much cuter than Ghost-type Pokémon." Ash nodded, looking very much in agreement.

"Yeah......"

Hikari, who was initially a little worried, felt a bit more cheerful after seeing how confident the two of them were. After all, it was her first time traveling, and there were still many things Hikari hadn't seen before. She could only hope that she would gradually accumulate experience in the future and eventually become as mature as Ash and Brock.

"OKI!"

Just as Ash and the others were talking, Aipom, who was standing on the tree, suddenly shouted and kept pointing to the side, perhaps because it had spotted a Stunning Deer.

"If it's a startled deer, it seems we need to scare it away... The book says that the startled deer in the Forest of Confusion will attack passersby on their own initiative."

Brock spoke to Ash in the dim light, and Ash understood what he meant.

"Is it far?" Ash called out to Aipom.

“OKI~” The long-tailed monster shook its head in response.

"It seems the Stunning Deer that Longtail Hand discovered isn't far from here. Shall we go together?"

Ash looked at the two of them and asked them this question.

After all, in the forest, especially in this kind of special forest, it is generally better to travel together. However, the location pointed out by the longtailed hand is not the place they need to go. Driving away the startled deer in advance is only to prevent them from being hit on the way. It seems unnecessary to have everyone go together.

"If it's not far, we'll just wait for you where we are. Staying here shouldn't cause any problems."

"Yes, I agree!"

Since Brock and Dawn have both said so, Ash can only go and return quickly. Anyway, both Brock and Dawn have Pokémon, and Brock is an experienced traveler, so it's unlikely that anything will go wrong.

.......

After making his decision, Ash began to follow the Aipom hanging in the tree in the direction it pointed. However, ten minutes passed and Aipom still showed no sign of stopping, which Ash found rather strange.

"Pikachu..." (Hasn't it arrived yet...?)

Pikachu also sensed something was wrong. After all, it hadn't spoken to them since they started following Aipom, and had just been jumping around in the trees on its own.

"Hey! Aipom, aren't you here yet?!"

Out of a slight worry, Ash called out to Aipom, trying to wake it up.

Even though Ash had spoken, Aipom still didn't reply and even started to accelerate. At this rate, Ash and Pikachu would soon be left behind.

"No way..."

Ash's lips twitched twice, as if he had thought of something. He quickly took out Aipom's Poké Ball to recall it, and then released it again.

"OKI?"

After being released from its Poké Ball by Ash, Aipom started scratching its head and looking around, seemingly unaware of what had happened.

"Stop looking!" Ash patted its head helplessly and asked, "Didn't I tell you to watch the Scarab? Where did the Scarab go?"

"OKI!?"

After Ash pointed it out, Aipom finally remembered what it had been doing. It had indeed seen the shadow of Stunner in the tree, but just as it jumped out, it only remembered a flash of white light, and then it knew nothing more.

"really......"

Seeing Aipom's current state, Ash realized that it had probably fallen for Stunning's trick. Stunning must have also noticed Aipom's presence and then cast an illusion on it when Aipom jumped out.

To be fair, that startled deer was quite clever and alert. Was it because it was used to seeing this kind of scene?

"Never mind, let's go back and meet up with Xiaogang and the others first. It wouldn't be good to leave them for too long and make them worry."

Since they couldn't find the Stunning Deer, Ash had no choice but to go back the way he came, explain the situation to Brock and the others, and then continue on his way.

Of course, Ash's idea was good, but—

"What about people?!"

Back at the original spot, Xiao Gang and Xiao Guang, who were supposed to be waiting for him, were nowhere to be found. Only two empty fallen leaves remained, which didn't seem like they had left there as a signal.

After all, this thing can't transmit any information.

"Sigh." Xiao Zhi sighed deeply.

Xiao Guang is one thing, but how could Xiao Gang make such a basic mistake? Anyway, if they weren't here, they'd probably have been kicked out by the Steller's Deer... I wonder how they got hypnotized.

"Mukl, go find... um?"

Just as Ash was about to send Stark to find out where Brock and the others had gotten lost, a rustling sound coming from the bushes nearby caught Ash's attention.

............