"Master, we have arrived at Vermilion City in the Kanto region."
"Good, I understand."
Over ten thousand meters above the ground floated a massive Hikōkyū.
As they were entering a densely populated area, Aomori had the fortress travel above the clouds to avoid unnecessary trouble. He utilized the mist generators to disguise it as a large white cloud.
Vermilion City is a famous port city in Kanto, the very place where the luxury liner, the St. Anne, sets sail.
Aomori suddenly felt a surge of inspiration. "Aichan, keep the Hikōkyū moving slowly toward Viridian City. I'll head down and travel by land."
"Understood, Master."
Leaving Pidgeot in the Hikōkyū to serve as its guardian, Aomori took Absol, Darkrai, Ditto, Kobeni, and two other Pokémon from his collection. They departed the fortress and landed in a secluded grove.
Darkrai hid within Aomori's shadow as usual. Ditto and Kobeni transformed into human forms, while Absol walked faithfully by Aomori's side.
"If we're heading to Viridian City from here, traveling by water might be faster." Aomori and his group emerged from the grove and entered the bustling city streets.
"Wow!" Kobeni looked like a tourist seeing the world for the first time, rushing toward every novel thing she saw. Aomori didn't stop her, letting her enjoy herself.
As they meandered through the city, they reached a plaza where Aomori was suddenly intercepted.
"Hey! You look like a Pokémon Trainer. How about a thrilling battle with me?" a young boy invited enthusiastically.
Aomori noticed that Pokémon battles were happening all over the plaza; it was clearly a designated zone for trainers. Having not participated in a formal battle since leaving the Saffron Gym, he felt a bit of an itch. He nodded. "No problem."
The two found a suitable spot in the plaza and prepared to face off.
"Master, Master, do your best!" Kobeni cheered loudly. Fortunately, only Aomori could hear her Telepathy, so she didn't attract unwanted attention.
"Go, Marill! I choose you!" The boy tossed a Poké Ball, releasing a small, round blue mouse.
"The Dragon Slayer? I won't bully you then; I'll send out my weakest." Aomori smiled and tossed his own Poké Ball.
With a flash of fire, a tall, elegant figure stood before Aomori. It had white hair, a red body, and bandages wrapped around its arms.
"I've never seen that Pokémon before." Surprised, the boy pulled out his Pokédex to identify it.
"Blaziken, the Fire-type starter from the Hoenn region? Interesting! But I won't lose! Using a Fire-type against a Water-type is your first mistake," the boy said confidently.
"Is that so?" Aomori smiled without saying a word.
"Of course! Don't let my age fool you. I'm a top graduate from the Pokémon Tech school, and I'm currently gaining experience for the upcoming Indigo Plateau Conference. It's your misfortune to run into me. Get ready for a taste of defeat!" The boy's shouting drew a crowd of curious onlookers.
"A top graduate from Pokémon Tech? He looks like a tough opponent."
"I know him. He's been undefeated here for the past few days. I lost to him too."
"That Blaziken over there looks well-trained. This is going to be a battle for the ages!"
As the crowd grew, someone volunteered to act as a referee.
"The match will be a three-on-three! One Pokémon at a time until all of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Battle... begin!"
"We'll strike first!" the boy shouted. "Marill, use Water Gun!"
"Quick Attack, then Double Kick."
A glint flashed in Blaziken's eyes. It moved like a bolt of lightning, dodging the Water Gun and appearing before Marill in an instant, raising its long legs.
"Marill, Defense Curl!" the boy commanded, unfazed.
Marill immediately curled into a ball. Blaziken's heavy kick launched it high into the air.
Although it hadn't taken much damage, being airborne with nowhere to maneuver left it vulnerable. Many spectators began to sigh in pity.
"That Blaziken is going to win. Defense Curl just made it a sitting duck. What's the point of taking less damage if you can't move? It should have countered with Water Gun. If a Fire-type gets hit by that, it's game over."
"Only if it can land the hit. Did you see how fast that Blaziken was?"
As they discussed, Blaziken leaped into the air, appearing behind Marill. Intense flames enveloped its legs as it swung them like a whip toward the mouse.
The boy's lips curled into a smirk. "Now! Use Body Slam!"
Marill suddenly accelerated its descent, perfectly evading Blaziken's Blaze Kick.
"Now you're the one stuck in the air! Go, finish it! Marill, full power Water Gun!"
A jet of water much larger than before erupted from Marill's mouth, surging toward the falling Blaziken. Caught off guard, Blaziken was struck head-on. By the time it hit the ground, its eyes were swirling.
"Blaziken is unable to battle! Please send out your next Pokémon," the referee announced.
The spectators gasped. No one expected Marill to pull off such a reversal.
"Unbelievable... a total turnaround in an instant."
"This kid might actually be a candidate for the Indigo Plateau champion."
Aomori was also slightly surprised by the boy's maneuver. It seemed he had underestimated him.
"You worked hard, Blaziken." He recalled the Pokémon and tossed another Poké Ball.
This time, a massive, fierce-looking black lizard appeared. "Come forth, Charizard!"
"A Charizard? But why is it black? I've never seen a Charizard like that!"
"It must be a Shiny! Occasionally, individuals with different coloring appear in the wild. A Shiny Charizard must be incredibly rare," a knowledgeable spectator explained.
"And look at the size of it! It's much taller than a normal one."
The value of this Shiny Charizard was top-tier even in a collector's hoard. Its pitch-black appearance was striking, though a gold one might have driven people truly insane.
"Another Fire-type?" The boy didn't care about the size. He burst out laughing. "Are you a Fire-type specialist? You're in luck, or rather, out of it. You've run into a Water-type specialist like me. I'm your worst nightmare!"
"My apologies. Being a trainer is just a hobby. I am actually a Pokémon Collector. These are just my collectibles," Aomori said, shamelessly adopting Lawrence III's persona.
"A collector? Collectibles?" The boy's interest vanished. "No wonder you're so bad. Winning against you won't even be satisfying."
Aomori, being called "bad" (noob) for the first time, quirked an eyebrow. He whispered to the Shiny Charizard, "Fight. Fight hard. If you can't sweep his three Pokémon, don't expect any dinner tonight."
The Shiny Charizard, long since tamed by Aomori, shivered. It let out a mighty roar, signaling its determination.
Seeing no response from Aomori, the boy assumed he had surrendered. "Go, Marill! Take another victory! Use Water Gun!"
"Charizard, use Flamethrower."
"What? Is he crazy?" The spectators were baffled. "Using Flamethrower against Water Gun is useless!"
Fire and water collided, instantly creating a thick shroud of steam that turned the field white.
"So that's your plan?" The boy smiled contemptuously. "Marill, listen closely for his movements!"
Marill perked up its large ears, listening for Charizard, but all it heard was the whistling of wind. It looked up in surprise to see Charizard had already punched through the mist. Its massive talons filled Marill's vision.
BOOM!
Charizard stomped Marill into the ground and roared at the sky, celebrating its first win.
"Marill!" The boy gritted his teeth, recalled his defeated Pokémon, and sent out his second. "Come out, Poliwrath!"
A muscular frog leaped out, thumping its chest and glaring defiantly at the Shiny Charizard.
"When it comes to strength, Poliwrath won't lose to your Charizard!" the boy shouted. "Go, Poliwrath! Use Mega Punch!"
"Charizard, use Flare Blitz!"
Golden flames enveloped Charizard's body as it charged like a literal cannonball toward Poliwrath. Everywhere it passed, the ground cracked and shattered.
The flames collided with Poliwrath's fist, triggering a violent explosion. A massive mushroom cloud of smoke rose, visible even from a distance.
Down by the docks, Ash and his friends, just stepping off a ferry, saw the rising smoke. "Did something happen over there?"
"Let's go check it out!"
"Right!"
Always the ones to stumble into trouble, they ran toward the plaza. Before long, they reached the scene. Seeing the dense crowd, Ash used his strength to push through, reaching the front row with ease.
"Is this a Pokémon battle? That smoke was from the fight!" Ash's eyes lit up as he saw the two combatants. "A Blastoise and... a black Charizard? Why is it black? And so huge!"
"Because it's an incredibly rare Shiny Charizard! It's super strong, it knocked out two Pokémon in a flash. That Blastoise probably won't last much longer," a helpful bystander explained.
"I see... how amazing! I wonder how my Charizard would compare to it." Ash looked back at the field. By now, the black Charizard had hoisted the Blastoise into the air. After spinning several times in the sky, it slammed the Blastoise into the ground with overwhelming force.
"I know that move! It's Seismic Toss!" Ash shouted excitedly.
Following the massive impact, the Blastoise lay in a crater, unable to move.
"Blastoise... my ace... lost..." The boy fell to his knees, his spirit crushed. He couldn't forgive himself for losing to a "layman."
"It seems I'm still not strong enough. I need to keep training. I'm going to withdraw from the Indigo Plateau Conference and go back to Pokémon Tech for further studies." The boy walked up to Aomori. "The next time we meet, I won't lose."
"I look forward to it."
Letting go of his arrogance was a good step for the boy's future development.
I accidentally helped someone again. Truly, I am the paragon of heroes and the Chairman of the Hero Association, Aomori sighed to himself.
"Aomori-san!" Ash, finally realizing who was battling, shouted and ran toward him.
"Pika-pika!" Pikachu waved a greeting as well.
"Ash? Pikachu?" Aomori was genuinely surprised.
How did he keep running into Ash? Was this the gravitational pull between people? Did his presence naturally draw Ash toward him? Or, more likely, Ash's protagonist energy pulled him in.
"Aomori-san, it's been so long! What are you doing here?" Ash asked excitedly. "I was actually planning to go to the Saffron Gym to find you!"
"I left the Saffron Gym a few days ago. I'm continuing my journey through the Kanto region. What about you, Ash?" Aomori wanted to gauge Ash's progress.
"I've already won seven badges! I'm heading back to challenge the Viridian Gym for my eighth. But before that, I want to go to Mount Tensei in the Raizen Mountains to find traces of Ho-Oh," Ash said without reservation.
Mount Tensei? Ho-Oh? Aomori blinked. "Did you obtain the Rainbow Wing? Are you going to take on the trial of the Rainbow Hero?"
"Ah? Aomori-san, you know about that too? You're amazing!"
Suddenly jumping into movie plotlines... this timeline is a bit strange. Aomori kept his composure. "I happened to read about it in a book once."
"I see!"
At this point, Brock and Misty caught up. They were both delighted to see Aomori. Aomori introduced them to Kobeni.
"No wonder I didn't get a reaction, she's a Pokémon," Brock said, nodding as he studied Kobeni in her maid outfit.
"Hey, Brock, that's not something to be proud of," Misty said, cradling Togepi and giving him a side-eye.
"A Legendary Pokémon? How cool!" Ash was buzzing with energy. "But forget all that for a second. Aomori-san, have a real, full-out battle with me! A six-on-six! I want to show you how much I've grown!"
"Well... sure. Why not?" Aomori hesitated for a second before agreeing.
"Awesome!"