After their trip to New Island and all the excitement had died down, it only took a few days for Annie to return to their hometown with Misty, Ash, and "Brock"—the place called Pallet Town, in that Kanto region.
Then, naturally, the three of them were given a warm welcome by their family and friends: Ash's mother, Delia, the Professor, and their classmates and buddies. They even held a grand outdoor banquet especially to celebrate the trio's return.
After all, they'd seen it on TV long ago: Ash had made it into the top sixteen at the Pokémon League's Indigo Plateau Conference. That was a pretty good result for someone who'd only recently become a Trainer, so a celebration was an absolute must!
Pallet Town was a tiny place, with only a handful of people, and nothing much had happened there lately. Now that Ash, who'd finally managed to leave town, had gotten a pretty good result, they had a perfectly good reason to celebrate. Sure, he hadn't become Champion, runner-up, or even third place. He hadn't even made the top eight. Still, he'd reached the top sixteen, so a celebration and banquet were only natural.
Though, really, the results probably weren't that important. Maybe they'd just been looking for an excuse to eat and drink and get everyone together?
"..."
(~)
Of course, to Annie, the reason didn't matter. They could celebrate whoever they liked. As long as she could join in and eat and drink her fill, she was happy. Nothing else mattered.
"Mhm!"
(￣~￣) Chomp!
"Tasty!"
See?
While Ash, Misty, and "Brock" were busy accepting their friends and family's congratulations and chatting with them, Annie had already found an empty table, sat down without a care in the world, and started eating on her own.
"Um..."
"Excuse