005: Apology Ceremony!
"Apologize? What apology?" Gary asked with his chin up, playing innocent despite the guilt flickering in his eyes.
"Oh? I didn't expect you to be this good at pretending." Ash stepped forward, his tone teasing, his expression a mix of mockery and amusement.
"Gary, it's only been two days. Don't tell me you've already forgotten pushing me into the river?" Ash's words cut through the act like a well-aimed Razor Leaf.
"Didn't Delia Aunt say he wouldn't blame me? Then why is he looking at me like that…" Gary muttered, staring down at his shoes, the weight of his guilt clearly visible.
"What was that?" Ash leaned in, eyes narrowing.
"N-nothing! I mean yes, it was my fault for pushing you into the river that day, but it was only because you tried to snatch the Poké Ball I reeled in!"
Gary flailed, eyes darting around, scrambling for justification.
"Ha??"
Ash blinked, clearly unimpressed. With the memories from his original life now merged with his six-year-old self, he remembered exactly how it went down.
"When was that Poké Ball ever yours? Didn't we pull it up together?" Ash said flatly, eyebrows raised.
"Okay, okay fine. I may have overreacted. So to make it up to you, I decided to split it in half. I'll be generous and give you the top part."
Gary huffed, quickly trying to shift the topic, visibly embarrassed.
"Stop talking nonsense. That Poké Ball was ours. We both pulled it out of the river together, remember?" Ash said. His tone had matured slightly, shaped by his dual identity six-year-old body, but mentally split between that and his 22-year-old past life. The fusion left his current mindset balanced between youthful stubbornness and reflective maturity.
The math was simple: 22 (mental age) + 6 (physical age) = 28. Divide by 2, and you get 14 a teenager's soul awkwardly trying to fit into a child's skin.
"Ughhh, fine!" Gary groaned. "Let's just say we caught it together. That's why I brought this our 'Victory Poké Ball.'"
Gary placed the two gift-wrapped boxes onto the desk with exaggerated care. He opened the first one and presented its contents.
"I want the top half," Ash said immediately, pointing to the fully red dome of the classic Poké Ball.
It wasn't rare just a standard issue 200 PokéDollar red-and-white Poké Ball, probably lost by some careless Trainer after a failed catch attempt. For adults, it was trash. But for two six-year-olds dreaming of their Pokémon journey, it was priceless.
"Fine by me," Gary said, handing over the top half. "I'll take the bottom."
Ash hesitated as he took the piece. It was such a silly thing half of a broken Poké Ball, not even usable. And yet... the moment he held it, a tingle of joy flickered in his chest.
"…Man, what am I even doing? I'm arguing over broken toys with a kid. This doesn't even have any real use…" Ash thought, feeling a little ridiculous. But at the same time, the joy he felt couldn't be denied.
Before he could say anything more, Gary who had just picked up the second gift box froze.
"Ash, um…"
"I'm really sorry for pushing you into the river that day. I didn't mean it. I just… got caught up in the moment. I was wrong. Will you forgive me?" Gary's voice cracked slightly, his lips trembling as he bit down on them to stop from crying.
Ash paused, caught between pride and empathy.
Part of him wanted to toss the Poké Ball piece back, to keep some semblance of adult composure. But the emotional memory of young Ash clung tightly to the keepsake. And now, seeing Gary usually proud and loud genuinely trying to make amends, his heart softened.
Gary's eyes shimmered with tears. He took Ash's silence for rejection.
"…Is it really that bad?" he whispered.
"No no no! I mean, really, I didn't blame you at all!" Ash rushed to say, waving his arms in a panic. "And look! I'm totally fine now, aren't I?"
"Really?" Gary blinked, hope returning to his voice.
"Really," Ash nodded, more sincerely this time.
Gary's expression lifted. "Then… we're still friends, right? Best friends?"
Ash smiled a real, sunny grin that came straight from the heart.
"Of course. We're still best friends."
From his merged memories, Ash recalled the times Gary had stood up for him in Pallet Town—when other kids teased him for not having a dad, Gary was always the first to jump in. Even if he said things like "Only I can call him the tail-end," Ash now understood those words masked something deeper: loyalty.
Funny, really. In his past life, Ash had never had close friends just acquaintances.
And now? His first real friend turned out to be a six-year-old rival with spiky hair and a temper.
"A six-year-old best friend. Man, this really is a reset," Ash muttered to himself, amused.
"Oh! Gary, what's in that other box?" he asked, glancing at the unopened Present.
Gary straightened, a bit of pride returning to his posture.
"Well, I felt bad after… everything. So I picked out something special for you."
"We caught that Poké Ball together, and sure, we argued but I never wanted to hurt you."
"I heard from Grandpa and Mom that you were finally discharged today, so I brought this with me. Consider it a formal apology gift."
He handed over the box with both hands, cheeks faintly pink, but eyes sincere.
Ash reached out to take it his fingers brushing against Gary's as the apology gift changed hands.
And with it, the beginning of something stronger than rivalry:
A real, lasting friendship.
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