"Professor Oak, why are you at my house again?"
"Hahaha, Ash, it's you!"
"You're heading off on your journey tomorrow. Make sure you come early to get your starter Pokémon—don't be late!"
At the door, Professor Oak dashed off like the wind.
Ash turned to look at him, confused.
But he quickly snapped out of it. Tomorrow marked a huge milestone—The first step toward becoming a Pokémon Master!He was finally getting his very own starter Pokémon.
As for Professor Oak's warning not to be late… Ash didn't take it seriously at all.
He'd already arranged everything with Natsume, who worked at the lab—he'd make sure to save him a good one.
The next day, at Professor Oak's lab—
"What?! They're all gone?!"
The startled shout scared off a bunch of Spearow roosting in the trees nearby.
Inside the lab, a boy clutched his head, clearly losing it.
Nearby, Professor Oak held a small notebook, shaking his head at the sight of the dejected Ash.
"Sigh… seriously, why would you trust Natsume to save a Pokémon for you? That kid never wakes up before noon."
Ash: "…"
The mood grew heavy.
But suddenly, a sharp whizzing sound broke the silence.
BANG!
A Poké Ball flew through the air and smacked Ash squarely on the head.
Unfortunately, the ball seemed to realize it hadn't hit a Pokémon, so the red light fizzled out without capturing him.
"Ow! Natsume! I've told you a million times—I'm not a Pokémon! Stop throwing Poké Balls at me, that hurts!"
Ash clutched his head and turned to the doorway, where a tall, slim teenager was walking in against the light.
As the boy stepped forward, his face came into view.
He wore casual athletic gear, had a clean, handsome face, fair skin, and carried a scholarly aura that made him seem gentle and easy to talk to.
Floating beside him was a smartphone with tiny lightning wings.
In response to Ash's grumbling, he just shrugged.
"Who knows?"
With that, Natsume sighed and picked up the Poké Ball on the floor, still beeping faintly.
32nd failed attempt to capture the strongest humanoid Pokémon.
[Ding! D-Rank Research Project – "Is Ash a Humanoid Pokémon?" decoding progress complete. Conclusion: Negative.][Reward: Scratch Card x1]
A grin broke across Natsume's face as he felt a scratch card appear in his system inventory.
Finally, he had saved up ten scratch cards.
Just as Natsume was thinking about heading home for a bath and maybe a celebratory ten-pull, Ash's pitiful voice interrupted.
"Natsume, what about the Pokémon you promised to save for me?"
Ash looked like he was about to lose it.
"Come on, you didn't forget, did you? Gary totally mocked me out there at the door!"
"Oh, that?"
Natsume turned to Ash with a sincere expression.
"Of course I didn't forget. The Pokémon I picked for you is very special—unlike anything the other trainers got."
"Extremely, extremely rare~"
The teasing tone caught Ash off guard. His curiosity was piqued.
Since Natsume was Professor Oak's assistant, he probably wasn't lying.
Ash's eyes lit up with anticipation.
What kind of rare Pokémon could it be?
Natsume stepped behind Ash and flipped a hidden switch.
Slowly, a yellow-furred rodent Pokémon was raised up from the mechanical platform.
"Whoa, cool! It looks strong!"
Ash's eyes sparkled as he whipped out the Pokédex Professor Oak gave him and scanned the creature.
A mechanical voice replied:
Pikachu – Mouse Pokémon. As common as stray dogs on the street.
Ash: "…"
"Natsume… didn't you say this was rare? Um… Natsume?"
He turned, but Natsume had vanished. Looking around, Ash spotted him outside the door.
Natsume pointed behind Ash.
Ash and Professor Oak turned around to find a very angry Pikachu.
Apparently, the blunt entry in the Pokédex had seriously offended it.
"Pika–CHU!!"
A massive Thunderbolt blast hit the room, knocking both Ash and the Professor flat.
"Natsume… you're seriously unreliable…"
Ash lay smoldering on the floor, his pajamas turned to charcoal. Trembling, he pointed accusingly at the untouched Natsume standing in the doorway.
Sigh… poor guy.
Watching Ash twitch on the ground, Natsume shook his head.
This Pikachu really was rare and precious!
[Ding! Special Pikachu variant detected!][S-Rank Research Project unlocked – "Decoding Ash's Pikachu."]
As expected—Ash's Pikachu was a special case.
Hearing the system's notification, Natsume couldn't help but smile.
Ever since crossing over into the Pokémon world, he'd been bound to a Pokémon Research System.
As long as he continued studying rare variants within common species, the system would keep rewarding him.
And the first Pokémon that came to mind was, of course, Ash's legendary Pikachu.
After all, a single Thunderbolt from it could make even Arceus reach for a Plate—clearly not your average Pikachu.
Looking at the scorched Ash and Professor Oak, Natsume's smile softened.
"Ash, I already told Aunt Delia—I'll be traveling with you."
At the lab's front gate—
A large crowd had gathered.
Today, five new trainers were leaving Pallet Town, and people had come to see them off.
Three had already set out. Now it was Ash and Natsume's turn.
In the crowd, Delia was busy stuffing Ash's arms full of gear.
"Here's your water bottle, tent, rope, rubber gloves—you never know when you'll need these!"
"Alright, alright, Mom!"
Ash was practically buried in supplies.
Delia smiled warmly, then said gently:
"Oh, and remember—Natsume's traveling with you."
"I know, he already told me back at the lab."
Ash scratched his head.
For some reason, he felt like the neighbors were way more enthusiastic than they'd been for Gary or the others.
"Haha, that's good. Just make sure to keep an eye on Natsume while you're out there, okay?"
"Okay, Mom. I'll listen to Natsume—wait, what?"
Ash looked completely baffled, pointing to himself with a face that screamed:
"You want a ten-year-old to take care of an eighteen-year-old?"
But the neighbors didn't seem to find it strange at all.
Instead, they chimed in one after another:
"Yeah, Ash, we're counting on you to look after Natsume!"
"Exactly! He's from Sinnoh, not Pallet Town—make sure people know that!"
"Uh, sure…"
Overwhelmed, Ash scratched his head and agreed to everything.
Everyone's acting really weird today…
Just then, a voice called from the distance:
"Ash! Over here! Let's go!"
It was Natsume. He wore a clean set of sportswear and carried a travel bag, waving at Ash.
Seeing everyone there to send them off, Natsume felt a wave of emotion.
Five years in Pallet Town flashed through his mind.
What a warm and wholesome anime world… everyone's so simple and kind!
Just wait—once he became a true Pokémon Research Master, he'd return to give back to the townsfolk of Pallet!
"Go on, Ash! Don't give up on your dreams!"
"That's right! You're the future Pokémon Master! But before that—make sure Natsume stays on track!"
The crowd cheered.
"Alright then! I'll be off! When I become a Pokémon Master, I'll come back to see you all!"
Ash waved, grinning, then set off with Natsume on their journey.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long on the road.
Back at the lab entrance—
As Natsume and Ash disappeared down the road, the villagers' sorrowful expressions instantly vanished.
Replaced by pure joy.
"He's gone! Natsume the devil is finally gone!"
Cheers erupted.
"Praise Arceus! Ever since he moved here from Sinnoh five years ago, my Ponyta hasn't slept peacefully a single night!"
"And my Oddish! That boy kept mixing its poop into its food, saying he was 'studying if Grass-types could achieve self-sufficiency'!"
"Waaah! I only found out after a year—I've been feeding it crap for over a year! Now it won't eat anything else!"
"Don't even get me started. He kept taking my Geodude for CT scans, saying he was researching kidney stones!"
"…"
The crowd grew increasingly outraged. Professor Oak shrank into the crowd, trying not to breathe.
It wasn't just the townsfolk—even the Pokémon in the lab's backyard took to the skies and trees.
Once they confirmed that Natsume was truly gone, they broke into celebration.
Several Primeape even pulled out drums from who-knows-where and started pounding away.
The entire town exploded into festivity like it was a national holiday.
Back on the road—
The distant drumbeats grew faint in Ash and Natsume's ears.
Ash's nose tingled.
"They… they really didn't want us to go, huh…"
The smiles, the cheers, the heartfelt goodbyes—all burned into Ash's memory.
His eyes began to tear up.
"Natsume, maybe we should go back for a little while… just to be with everyone a bit longer."
Ash wiped his eyes and looked up at the taller boy beside him.
After all, Natsume had used his patent earnings to pave roads and build a power station for the town.
He had to feel the same way… right?
Natsume glanced at him and gave a weird expression.
After all, Ash was still just a ten-year-old boy heading out on his first journey.
Smiling with all his youthful teeth, Natsume slapped Ash on the back and declared loudly:
"No looking back, Ash!"
"A real man leaves behind a bold and decisive back view!"