"Hehe…"
Sam half-retreated cautiously.
Flushed with power(or perhaps sheer obsession), Brock was moving toward him, rubbing his hands and squinting like a mastermind plotting something ridiculous.
That expression…
That aura…
Sam automatically sensed a shiver run down his spine.
"Something's wrong."
"Brock…" Sam warned slowly, his eyes narrowing.
"What do you want?"
"Hehehe~" Brock cackled once more, resembling a cunning trader on the verge of selling a deal of a lifetime.
Then, in a hushed voice, as if he were revealing a state secret, he finally admitted:
"I… I want an autographed picture of Miss Diantha…"
Sam: "???"
"Diantha? You mean Kalos's superstar actress Diantha?"
Noticing Sam's puzzled expression, Brock sat up straight away and explained, as if this was a sacred task:
"Yes! That Miss Diantha!"
"I heard that Cynthia, Miss Cynthia, your fiancée, is close friends with her!"
"So I thought… maybe… just maybe… You could help me get one!"
"I'm her #1 fan! President of her Kanto Fans Association!"
As Brock spoke, he took another step forward, his hands grasping in desperation.
"Please, Sam!"
"If you can get me her personal, signed, autographed photo."
"I'll do anything!! I'll climb a mountain of swords, dive into a sea of fire, you name it!!"
Sam bristled.
This was somehow more pressure than his fight with Ash.
"Brock… take two steps back first."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Brock jumped obediently backward, eyes still twinkling like stars.
Sam finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"For a moment there, I thought you were going to suggest something nuts…" he grumbled.
"Fine. I'll… ask Cynthia for you." (T/N: You so dead)
"YES!!!"
Popped like a rocket, spring-loaded, Brock burst into full celebration mode.
He took Sam's hands and pumped them up and down like he'd just won the Pokémon League.
"THANK YOU, Sam!"
"You don't know what this means to me!"
"I've watched all of Miss Diantha's films!"
"I even went to the 3D opening of 'Steel Princess: Radiant Heart', twice!"
"Without her autographed picture, life just… isn't whole!"
"I get it, I get it, enough!" Sam released his hand.
Getting grabbed like that by another man, yeah, no thanks.
Brock didn't mind.
He grinned ear to ear, his mood restored.
"Then I won't bother you anymore tonight, Sam, sir, boss, legend!"
"Sleep tight! And thank you again!"
And so Brock whirled about on his heel and strode off to his tent, humming a Diantha theme song to himself.
Sam let out a sigh and at last reclined in his tent, drawing the blanket over him.
The stars shone brightly. The air was chilly.
And the camp grew silent.
"Anime didn't lie to me after all…" he said to himself.
Whatever Ash, Brock, or Dawn, a right bunch just like they were in the television show.
Ash: confident, a bit dim, but perpetually persistent.
Brock: romantically inclined to a fault, but utterly faithful.
Dawn: lovely, intelligent, and silently insightful.
Through this short adventure with them, Sam felt at ease.
The combination of anime, games, and manga could have changed some things.
However, the world's heart remained the same.
And that made Sam feel sure of himself.
The future of this world was something he could maneuver, and perhaps even influence.
With a deep breath and a slight smile, Sam at last closed his eyes, falling asleep under the stars.
Before dawn the next morning,
Sam had just emerged from his tent when Brock was already stirring around the camp, bubbling with energy and radiating excitement.
"Sam!" Brock greeted with an eye-dazzling smile, waving a wooden tray like a five-star room service attendant.
"I cooked this breakfast just for you!"
"Kanto Premium Miltank milk!"
"A soothing Lola porridge, warm and gentle on the stomach!"
"And a high-fiber salad, good digestion!"
He indicated Lucario beside him.
"And I didn't miss your partner either! Lucario has his share, specially balanced for high-performance fighters like you!"
Sam blinked.
"Thanks?"
Brock wasn't finished.
"Oh, and there, "
He pointed to a basin of water just off the trail.
"I've already gotten your water ready. Fresh mountain spring. Want it warmer? Just let me know, I'll heat it right up!"
Sam: "."
Ash and Dawn, hovering in the background, exchanged bewildered glances.
"Did we miss something?" Dawn whispered.
"I thought he told us Sam was the 'Public Enemy of Sinnoh' last night?" Ash grumbled.
Dawn nodded. "Now he's like a butler from a Kalos romance drama…"
Even though the transition came out of nowhere, Sam graciously accepted the hospitality.
After washing up and taking a seat, he discovered the meal, surprisingly enough, to be tasty.
"Just like in the anime," he thought.
"This Brock really can cook."
Following a filling breakfast and some rapid camp cleanup, the group departed once more.
With Lucario around, they saw no wild Pokémon whatsoever.
The journey continued peacefully and quickly.
And at dusk, they exited the thick cover of the Psychedelic Forest.
Under the warm light of dusk, the outline of Canalave City stood out before them.
The sea city stretched between a series of linked islands, each of which was connected by sweeping bridges over glinting waterways.
At the distant end towered high buildings, factory cranes, and moored cargo vessels.
But their intended destination was not the central city; it was the farthest island, Mine Island, the entrance to Canalave.
There stood the Canalave Gym, a steel-type fortress renowned throughout the Sinnoh region.
"Ah, as per the map, this must be Mine Island!" Dawn attested, extending her hand with the paper spread wide.
They could now observe it distinctly in the distance, rust-red rock, factory complexes, and mining rails sparkling under the sun.
"Awesome!" Ash smiled, tightening his fists.
"I'm gonna put all the tips Brother Sam provided to good use and challenge the Gym Leader!"
"I feel completely pumped!"
Sam smiled at his excitement and led the way.
"Let's go."
But as the saying goes, a mountain visible from far off might be close, but it might take until night to walk to it.
Despite the fact that the island seemed near, the group didn't even step foot on Mine Island until the sun had all but disappeared into the ocean.
Sam looked at the declining sun and sighed to himself.
"I need a Flying-type Pokémon…"
As the team strolled along the creased streets of Mine Island, something felt different right away.
The streets weren't full.
There weren't cheers from kids or cries from tourists.
Instead, all the passersby they encountered walked with bent backs, slow, plodding steps, and drooping eyes.
Most were half-asleep, bearing bags under their eyes and vacant, lifeless faces.
Ash and Dawn also slowed down, obviously feeling the atmosphere change.
"Is it just me, or does everyone here look? completely exhausted?" Dawn murmured.
Even Pikachu, usually full of energy, furrowed his brow in confusion.
Sam narrowed his eyes, scanning the area.
"This atmosphere."
"It's not natural."
The Mine Island workers and residents weren't only exhausted; they were also at risk of harm.
They were depleted and worn out from something more than long hours and hard work.
And Sam, sensing an odd tension coming off the air, something on the edge of existence, furrowed his brow.
"Could it be… because of him?"
A whorl of Aura energy stuttered weakly through his form.