Above the Sinnoh region, a flight from Saffron City in the Kanto region to the suburbs near Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh region is operating smoothly.
Maybebecause it is currently a weekday, the spacious cabin is less than half full.
A young boy named Ash is sitting by the window, his head drooped as if he is asleep, and a creature resembling a yellow mouse is lying on the boy's shoulder, sleeping with him.
"Ugh... uh?"
The boy's eyebrows trembled slightly, as if he had had enough sleep, or as if he had realized something, and he opened his eyes.
The first words he uttered after opening his eyes were not a complaint or satisfaction with his sleep, but -
"Where is this?"
He frowned, completely unaware of where he was.
I mean, in his memory, he was clearly still participating in the Pokémon Master Challenge, but now he was not on the stage of the competition, but in an unknown place.
Although it was easy to determine that he was on an airplane from the surrounding environment, he had great doubts about why he was here.
"Pikachu?"
Ash felt the movement on his shoulder, gently turned his head, and saw his old partner Pikachu sleeping peacefully on his shoulder, looking very tired.
Seeing this, Ash quickly kept quiet, but the next second he seemed to notice something and began to cough lightly.
This voice?
He thought with a frown.
His voice didn't sound heavy, but rather had a sense of youthfulness.
With this doubt, he quickly looked out the window, and with the cover of a cloud, he finally saw his current appearance clearly.
This is... me... no, this is me from before!
A moment of panic flashed in Ash's pupils.
The reflection in the glass showed not his familiar self in his twenties, but his appearance from more than a decade ago when he was still young.
A dream? Or did I go back to the past?
He incredulously pinched his cheek, the sharp pain almost making him cry out, but he quickly regained his composure after noticing Pikachu in the corner of his eye.
Clearly, this was not a dream.
The constant pain in his face told him that he was in reality, meaning he had traveled back to the past.
Being in the Pokémon world, time travel, while
not a common occurrence, wasn't unusual for Ash.
I mean, from the beginning of his journey to the Pokémon World Coronation Series, he had traveled through time dozens of times, even more often than he had taken a plane.
The only difference from his previous time travels was that this time there was no indication or event.
He didn't know if he had a mission or if he would ever return to that time point to continue the Pokémon World Coronation Series where he was still one match short.
"Hoo~"
Ash took off his hat and scratched his hair in annoyance, the expression of a mature sigh completely mismatched his current youthful appearance.
"So unwilling..."
He muttered to himself, gazing at the scenery outside the window, his thoughts in disarray for a moment.
He was clearly only one step away from becoming a Pokémon Master.
He would have succeeded as long as he defeated Leon.
But why did he transmigrate at this moment? What is the deep meaning behind this transmigration?
He couldn't understand.
This sudden, unexplained transmigration baffled him.
In Ash's opinion, even if he had to transmigrate, there should at least be a reason, right? Just like he did back then, who exactly was he supposed to help? Or was he supposed to experience some event as a witness or participant?
With a reason, the goal would be clear.
Otherwise, who could muster the energy for a vague and uncertain factor? Even if he was a born optimist, it wouldn't work... He really didn't want to experience the feeling of losing when he was only one step away from his dream.
"Rustle~~"
"Huh?"
Just then, Ash seemed to hear a sound coming from the backpack he had placed on the seat next to him.
With a bit of doubt, he picked up the backpack.
It's a bit heavy.
He thought to himself.
With a mix of curiosity and nervousness, Ash slowly unzipped the backpack.
Then, something like an arm...or a tail? reached out from inside.
Ash was really startled and involuntarily loosened his grip on the backpack.
The backpack fell to the ground, followed by a sorrowful cry from within.
"o~ki?!"
"Huh?"
A familiar voice, I've definitely heard it somewhere.
Ash's first thought was about the voice, but he quickly realized what that peculiar tail belonged to.
"A-, Aipom?!"
With an incredulous voice, Ash called out
the name of the Pokémon hidden in the backpack.
"o~ki?"
After hearing Ash's call, Aipom crawled out of the backpack, its face adorned with a smile that seemed to never falter, even after being discovered, Aipom still didn't feel embarrassed or apologetic.
Facing Ash's somewhat dazed gaze, it simply jumped with a grin onto Ash's other empty shoulder, then reached out its hand-like tail to snatch Ash's hat and put it on its own head.
"pi~pika~?"
Such commotion naturally woke Pikachu up as well.
Pikachu opened its eyes, looked at Ash, and then turned its head to see Aipom grinning and making faces at it.
The last bit of sleepiness in its mind instantly vanished.
"pi~ka?!"
Pikachu was so startled that it fell off Ash's shoulder.
After falling to the ground, it rubbed its butt while staring at Aipom with the same look as Ash, seemingly wanting to ask why it was here.
"o~ki!"
The next second, Aipom jumped onto Ash's head again, continuing to make faces at Pikachu, looking triumphant, like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.
Aipom, so this is...
Aipom was interacting "friendly" with Pikachu, but Ash's thoughts had already drifted to the continent below the plane window.
The Sinnoh region, he would never forget what happened in this region.
This is the region where he truly matured in Pokémon battles for the first time.
This is the region where he truly transformed bonds into power for the first time.
This is the region where he sent out old teammates in an official Pokémon League competition for the first time.
This is the region where he reached the top four for the first time.
This is the region where he was closest to victory for the first time.
This is...
The first region where he truly felt unwilling and unconvinced after a League competition.
Also, now he has the experience and memories of the future, although many memories about the Sinnoh region have become somewhat blurred, but it doesn't matter... This is a good opportunity to experience the original feeling with a brand new mood.
Just?
Huh? By the way, did I take a plane to the Sinnoh region back then? Why do I always remember going by boat?
Ash, sitting in his seat, fell into a new confusion.