The three of them walked across the plateau toward Mt. Coronet.
Beneath their feet was a convenient trail worn by travelers. It was narrow, only about a meter wide, but that was enough. Perhaps because so many people had walked it, only a few patches of weeds grew along it, while everything else had been trampled flat, unlike the lush green grassland on either side.
Just then, a shadow swept over their feet. Before the three could look up and see what had cast it, they heard someone calling out to them.
And that voice...
May turned to Xia You, puzzled. "Xia You, why does that voice sound so familiar? Do you think I've got altitude sickness and started hallucinating?"
"You're overthinking it." Xia You shook his head in amusement and sighed. "When something like this happens, it can only mean one thing."
Although he did not finish, May had already guessed. Her mouth twitched into a strained smile. "It couldn't be that much of a coincidence... We can't run into them everywhere we go, can we?"
They looked up and saw a hot-air balloon drifting slowly past from behind them beneath the blue sky. It was flying low enough for them to easily make out a boy in a red baseball cap in the basket below. With a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder, he kept waving at them.
Who else could it be but Ash!
"Xia You!! May!!"
Ash's voice rang out again. There was no denying how recognizable it was!
Xia You and May exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads with a chuckle.
It really was him.
The three stopped and watched the balloon descend in front of them. Before it had settled, while the basket was still a meter above the ground, Ash, Brock, and Dawn