"Ash, your strength is clearly so much higher than mine... why did you still investigate my battle style so thoroughly?" Lily asked privately after the match.
Lily had been crushed. Her two Ground-type "trump cards" were countered perfectly by Ash. She had assumed Ash would look down on her, but instead, he had dismantled her with surgical precision. She wondered if he had... special feelings for her?
"Because Red told me: no matter how weak your opponent seems, never underestimate them! Scorn them in spirit if you must, but respect them in tactics!" Ash replied with a grin before turning to leave.
Lily sighed as she snapped out of her self-indulgence. Of course... Ash is the guy who didn't even react to a direct kiss. If he actually liked me, that would be the real miracle.
With the Top 8 over, the semi-finals were set to begin the next day. Ash's next opponent was a trainer named Yoshihara.
Though the Indigo League was often teased as a "Baby Cup" by the legends, anyone reaching the Top 4 was no pushover.
Ash continued his high-pressure training under Red. He had become a workout demon, training alongside his Pokémon.
He raced Pikachu for speed, competed with Squirtle for endurance, and jumped with Froakie to test his vertical leap.
His team didn't complain; their trainer was working ten times harder than they were. Meanwhile, Pidgeotto was showing signs of evolution—it wouldn't be long before it became Pidgeot!
Around 4:40 PM, Steven Stone and the others gathered at the Oak Institute's backyard. They preferred the open air and the company of the Pokémon to a stuffy room.
"By the way, Steven, what's the status of Team Magma?" Lance asked. "We've made a lot of arrests," Steven replied.
"But mostly low-level grunts. Many didn't even know what the organization actually did. They were just smooth-talked into it." "Sounds like Team Rocket," Lance grunted.
As 5:00 PM struck, the screen flickered to life.
[Ultra-Large Scale Ranking — Ash's Road to the Master Class (Part 1)]
[Reward distribution is active. This ranking may include Q&A and betting modes.]
The world erupted in chatter. The Road to the Master Class? This was the journey of "their" world's Ash! They had expected him to reach the top eventually, but to see it now was exhilarating. Who did he replace in the Top 8? When did this start?
The Footage Begins—
The screen showed a young Ash, excitedly showing a poster to Delia about Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp.
The scene shifted to a wild Pichu. It was adorable and lively, but it was also lonely. All the other Pokémon had families and friends of their own species.
This Pichu was a solitary soul—until it met a mother Kangaskhan. She took the Pichu into her pouch, raising it as her own son. Pichu finally had a family.
Years passed. The Summer Camp began, but Ash overslept. By the time he woke up, the other kids had already left.
At Oak's Backyard: "Ash, you've been a late riser since you were a kid!" Misty teased. Ash rubbed his head sheepishly. "Yeah... I missed the camp, but I went to another one later where I played with plenty of Pokémon."
The Footage Continues—
The screen followed a group of kids at the camp, including a dark-skinned boy and a young girl. In the Cerise Laboratory, Chloe immediately recognized them: "That's... Goh and me." She remembered this day—and it wasn't a happy memory.
Goh, obsessed with finding rare Pokémon, led Chloe far outside the camp's boundaries. They encountered a fierce Nidoking. Terrified, the two kids ran. Because Chloe was slower, she fell behind and called out for help.
The audience watched as Goh's silhouette kept running, leaving Chloe behind.
[Lance: What kind of person is this? He causes the trouble and then abandons his companion?]
[Cynthia: The difference in character between him and Ash is... night and day.]
[Steven: Regardless of being a child, abandoning a partner is wrong and repulsive.]
The world's impression of the boy named Goh plummeted instantly. If he was like this as a child, what kind of adult would he be?
In the footage, Chloe tripped and fell. The Nidoking closed in. Goh finally turned his head. "Chloe, run!" he shouted from a safe distance, but he didn't move a muscle to help. He literally only turned his head.
Just as the Nidoking prepared to strike, a small, pink, cat-like Pokémon appeared. Mew! Mew used Teleport to move Chloe to safety.
When the angry Nidoking tried to attack Mew with Fissure, Mew teleported away and counter-attacked with its own Fissure, one-shotting the Nidoking.
Goh's eyes sparkled with obsession at Mew's power. Chloe's eyes, however, held a mix of fear and gratitude. She began to fear Pokémon, yet felt a lingering warmth from the one that saved her.
When the danger passed, Goh tried to "catch" Mew to play, but it vanished. "That pink Pokémon is so cool!" Goh declared to a shell-shocked Chloe.
"One day, I'm going to catch it and make it mine!" Chloe looked at him with pure disgust. From that moment on, they weren't friends anymore; they were barely strangers.
[Professor Cerise: How arrogant! To think he'd "catch" Mew! Goh... he did that to my daughter?!]
The Professor was furious. No wonder Chloe had grown to dislike Pokémon for a time. Goh still had the nerve to visit the lab and try to hang out with her every day? The audacity was staggering.
Goh, watching from his home, turned even darker. "I forgot about that part... I only remembered Mew. Why is the ranking showing my 'dark history'? I hate this! I'm not watching anymore!" (But his eyes remained glued to the screen).
The Footage Shifts—
Mew, after leaving the kids, played with a baby Kangaskhan. The baby accidentally fell off a cliff, but Mew saved it. Seeing the mother Kangaskhan crying and hugging her child, the watching Pichu realized something.
That night, Pichu crawled out of the pouch. He looked at the sleeping mother and child with tearful eyes. He realized he didn't belong here. They were a true family, and he needed to find his own destiny.
Under the moonlight, Pichu glowed with a brilliant blue light. Evolution! Pichu evolves through friendship.
The bond he shared with the Kangaskhan family allowed him to become a Pikachu. He began to run across the fields, heading toward an unknown future.
The screen flickered. As Pikachu ran, a ghost-like silhouette of Ash appeared beside him. It was "The" Pikachu! This was the origin story of Ash's partner before they ever met.
At Oak's Backyard: "Pikachu... you went through all that?" "Pika~" "Don't worry. You'll never be alone again. You have me, and everyone else!" "Pikapi!"
The Footage Continues—
The timeline jumped to the present. Ash was sleeping in his room, surrounded by trophies—including the Alola Champion Trophy! There were photos of him with Misty, Dawn, Serena, May, Lillie, and more.
The "Road to the Master Class" began right after his victory in Alola. This Ash was already the first Champion of Alola, and his Pikachu possessed power comparable to a Sub-Legendary.
His alarm went off. Ash threw it out the window, shattering it. (A moment of silence for all the clocks Ash has murdered). Finally, Delia woke him up. Professor Oak had invited him and Delia to Saffron City for the opening of the Cerise Laboratory.
Ash, Delia, Mr. Mime, and Pikachu headed to Vermilion City. Along the way, Oak asked if Ash was still pursuing his dream.
"Of course! We're going to be Pokémon Masters together!" Ash shouted, hugging Pikachu. "Well, as the first Champion of Alola, try not to be so reckless," Oak teased.
Upon arriving at the lab, Ash saw a yellow puppy-like Pokémon—a Yamper. Excitedly, he hugged it, only to be blasted by electricity.
Ash slumped to the ground, charred. Pikachu, completely unbothered, started playing with the dog.
[Lance: Is this the partner who said they'd become masters together?]
[Cynthia: Pikachu probably knows that level of shock won't hurt Ash at all.]
[Alder: Is he... acting?]
Indeed, the world knew "Super Pallet-man" wouldn't be downed by a Yamper. Ash was likely just mimicking Pikachu's usual antics.
In the footage, the grown-up Chloe was returning from school for the lab's opening. On the stairs, she saw a black, unidentified charred object lying on the ground...
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