They didn't make it far before the shouting started.
"Hey! Watch it!"
Ash turned just in time to see a flash of blue and white skid across the street. A bicycle clattered, sparks flashing as it scraped stone, and its rider tumbled hard into a stack of crates by the canal.
"Whoa—!" Ash ran forward. "Are you okay?"
The girl pushed herself up, orange hair sticking out at odd angles beneath a helmet that had clearly seen better days. She stared at the bike first. Then at Ash.
"My bike," she said flatly.
Ash winced. The frame was bent near the wheel, chain slack and twisted. "I— I'm sorry. I didn't see you coming."
"You didn't see me?" She grabbed the handlebars and tried to straighten them. The wheel wobbled uselessly. "This thing was brand new."
Maya stepped in, calm. "The turn here is tight," she said, glancing at the corner. "Hard to see around it."
The girl shot her a look. "It's still broken."
Ash rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. That part's on me."
She finally looked up properly, eyes flicking past Ash to the Pokémon behind him. She paused when she reached Charizard, gaze traveling up, then back down.
"…Big one," she muttered.
Charizard stood still, unbothered.
The girl sighed and dropped onto the crate, helmet coming off with a thud. "Great. Just great. Stuck in Cerulean with a wrecked bike."
Ash swallowed. "I'm Ash. Ash Ketchum. I'm from Pallet Town." He straightened a little. "I'll make it right. Somehow."
She studied him for a moment, then snorted. "Figures. I'm Misty. And that 'somehow' better not be 'sorry'."
Maya smiled faintly. "He's good for his word," she said. "Just sometimes late to figure out how."
Misty glanced at her. "And you are?"
"Maya," she replied. "Traveling with him."
Misty stood, brushing dust off her shorts. "Then I guess I'm traveling too. At least until I get a new bike."
Ash blinked. "Wait—what?"
She pointed a finger at him. "You break it, you fix it. Simple."
Ash opened his mouth, closed it, then nodded. "Okay."
Misty grabbed the bent bike and started walking toward the Pokémon Center. "Come on, Pallet Town. You can explain how you plan to pay for this on the way."
Ash exchanged a look with Maya.
Maya shrugged. "You did say 'somehow.'"
Charizard followed as they went, tail flame steady, casting long reflections across the water as Cerulean City watched the group move on together.
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T/N:
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