"Who's that guy?" Ash wondered, taking out his Pokédex to analyze Mr. Mime's data. "Mr. Mime, the Barrier Pokémon. It's skilled at making people believe illusions are real. It's said that walls created through pantomime performances actually appear."
"It's a Mr. Mime! How lucky to encounter such a rare Pokémon!"
With that, Ash quickly reached for the Poké Ball at his waist.
"Alright, I'll capture it right away!"
"Wait!"
Before Ash could throw his Poké Ball to catch Mr. Mime, a pleasant female voice suddenly called out from behind, stopping Ash who was about to throw the Poké Ball.
Ash's trio turned around in confusion, only to discover a woman with beautiful blue hair and an attractive appearance, wearing a gorgeous uniform, looking at Ash with pleading eyes.
"Please let me capture that Mr. Mime!"
"No way, I found it first!" Ash said displeasedly. He wasn't Brock, so he wouldn't easily give way.
"Don't be so impulsive, Ash!" Brock said urgently, stopping Ash.
Under Ash's confused gaze, Brock looked at the woman with a blushing, shy expression. "Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Brock. Miss, please go ahead and capture that Mr. Mime!"
Red and Misty looked speechlessly at the blushing Brock, not expecting Brock to decisively choose to betray Ash in favor of a pretty woman.
But while Ash and the woman were discussing, the Mr. Mime above had already finished climbing the light screen and leisurely descended and left.
"Mr. Mime, I need you!"
The anxious woman immediately threw the Poké Ball in her hand, only to find it blocked by the light screen in front, falling pathetically to the ground.
"What should I do?" The woman said dejectedly, covering her face.
"Miss, do you have some kind of trouble?"
The considerate, warm-hearted Brock immediately came over, asking the woman kindly.
"Hm?"
The woman was clearly stunned for a moment, not instinctively answering Brock's question.
"As long as it's something I can help with, just ask! It's no problem!" Brock insisted.
Afterward, under the disdainful gazes of Red's trio, everyone followed the woman to a Pokémon circus near Pallet Town.
Through the woman's self-introduction, Red and the others learned that this woman was Stella, the leader of the Pokémon circus.
"Stella, you're amazing! To be a leader at such a young age," Brock praised, wanting to use this opportunity to express his feelings of admiration. Unfortunately, Stella chose to ignore it, which really made Brock feel down for a while.
Afterward, Red's group of four also learned from Stella's explanation why she desperately wanted to capture Mr. Mime.
Because of Stella's overindulgence, the circus's original Mr. Mime had become willful, no longer cooperating in performances, and wouldn't even participate in training. It just ate snacks on its own, completely immersed in its own world.
"Your training method is wrong!" Ash complained. This was the first time he'd seen such a lazy Pokémon, and he spoke a bit too quickly.
But next, Ash would pay a minor price for his quick tongue...
"But I want to make it perk up no matter what, so I need a rival to stimulate it!" Stella explained.
"I see, so that's why you wanted to capture another Mr. Mime!" Brock said thoughtfully.
"Indeed, Ash is exceptionally enthusiastic about Gary!" Misty teased.
"Misty, what are you saying about Gary? That guy doesn't count as my rival!" Ash immediately retorted.
"See?" Misty teased, showing an "I knew it" smile.
"Your idea is too selfish. If you're just capturing another one to stimulate this Mr. Mime, wouldn't that be too cruel to that Mr. Mime?"
Red's words instantly made the atmosphere fall into dead silence, because these words truly revealed the truth.
For a moment, Stella also fell into embarrassed silence. Only now did she understand how selfish her idea was; thankfully, she hadn't successfully captured the Mr. Mime from earlier.
But for now, Stella was also troubled about how to arrange Mr. Mime's performance afterward, since this was the circus's signature act.
"I got it, leave this to me!" Brock said confidently.
"Really? Mr. Brock, then I'm counting on you," Stella said gratefully.
"Just leave it to me completely!"
With that, Brock laughed boastfully.
"Here we go again. Is Brock okay?" Misty complained.
"How do you plan to catch that Mr. Mime?" Ash said speechlessly, still thinking about the Mr. Mime that had escaped earlier.
"Heh heh heh... No need to catch it, just make one."
As soon as he finished speaking, Brock looked at Ash with gleaming eyes. Originally, Brock had also wanted to include Red as a target for "making."
But then he thought better of it, since Brock didn't want to die young...
"Make?" Ash asked in confusion, not understanding why Brock was looking at him with such gleaming eyes.
"Heh heh heh... Don't worry, Ash. Just leave your body to Master Brock to handle."
Brock actively moved his hands closer to Ash's body, somehow giving off the vibe of a creepy uncle luring a little girl.
"This atmosphere is way too intense..." Red complained weakly. If he didn't know Brock's character, Red would really be worried about Ash's physical safety.
"Leave my body to you?"
Ash said fearfully, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Then Brock placed his hand on Ash's shoulder.
"Ahhhh!"
Afterward, everyone came to the circus's training area, where Ash was dressed up as Mr. Mime under his "friend" Brock's "recommendation."
"Making me dress up like this, why don't you just do it yourself, Brock!" Ash complained, trying to remove his disguise.
According to Ash, this was a promise Brock made, but he was the one executing it, which was really unfair.
"No way, I'm too tall!" Brock explained with a helpless expression, refusing Ash's request.
"I'm too cute, so I can't help it," Misty said shyly.
"Don't look at me, I'm half a head taller than you," Red immediately refused. Red didn't want to do this thankless job, but he was still looking forward to Ash's upcoming performance.
"Damn it, Misty and Brock are so shameless..." Ash complained.
Ash didn't dare criticize Red, so he could only vent his complaints on Brock.
"Please, Ash, help me out," Stella pleaded.
"But..." Ash hesitated.
Seeing this, Misty and Brock also pleaded for Stella.
"The problem is I don't know any juggling!" Ash said helplessly. The warm-hearted Ash definitely wouldn't refuse Stella's request, but he really had no experience in this area.
"You don't need to worry about that. Miss Stella will gently, kindly, and carefully take care of you, teaching you hands-on step by step," Brock explained, turning to look at Stella. "Right, Miss Stella?"
"Leave it to me. Ash will definitely learn quickly!" Stella promised, not forgetting to indirectly praise Ash, earning some goodwill points.
Ash hesitated awkwardly for a moment, then three circus ladies appeared behind him, pitifully pleading for Ash's help.
"Since you all say so, then I'll do it," Ash said shyly, agreeing to everyone's request.