The midday sun filtered through the gaps in the forest canopy, casting mottled spots of light onto the spread-out picnic cloth.
Shinji portioned out the prepared Pokémon food and called Elekid, Piplup, and the others over to eat.
On the other side, Hikari carefully arranged the bowls, chopsticks, and drinks in an orderly fashion.
"It's time to eat!" Hikari clasped her hands together and announced energetically before eagerly taking a bite of the dish Shinji had prepared.
The fresh aroma of the ingredients instantly exploded on the tip of her tongue; the texture was soft and waxy yet retained a pleasant chewiness, and the seasoning was just right—it didn't seem at all like it came from the hands of such a cold-natured boy.
Her deep blue eyes widened instantly, sparkling with a surprised light. "This is delicious! I never would have thought you were such a great cook, Shinji!"
"Mm." Shinji didn't even look up, merely letting out a short hum from his nose. He continued eating his own portion focusedly and quietly, as if Hikari's praise was nothing more than a breeze passing by his ears.
For someone who had traveled alone for over two years and had been skilled at cooking in his past life, preparing a delicious outdoor lunch was no difficult task.
Seeing Shinji's cold reaction, Hikari couldn't help but puff out her cheeks, muttering somewhat gloomily in a low voice, "Hmph, I knew he'd react like that... what a blockhead!"
She decided to turn her frustration into appetite, ignoring the cold guy across from her and burying her head to focus on the delicacies before her.
After eating and drinking her fill, Hikari patted her stomach with satisfaction and leaned back without any regard for her image, propping herself up with her hands and letting out a comfortable sigh.
Her originally flat belly was now slightly bulging; she had clearly overeaten.
Shinji glanced at her but said nothing. He simply began silently cleaning up the remains on the picnic cloth, gathering the dishes with clean, efficient movements.
Just then, a rustling sound came from the nearby bushes. A Pokémon with curled ears that resembled a rabbit carefully poked its head out, its pink nose twitching slightly as if attracted by the scent of food.
"Ah, so cute!" Seeing Buneary appear, Hikari instantly perked up.
Her previous laziness vanished instantly. She jerked upright from the ground, her eyes shining as she stared at the Pokémon.
At the same time, she quickly pulled the Pokédex from her backpack and aimed it at the creature to scan it.
"Buneary, the Rabbit Pokémon. It will resist desperately when in danger. It uses its curled ears to deliver a Pound, with enough power to shatter rocks." The pokédex's characteristic synthesized mechanical voice echoed through the woods.
Hearing the sound, Shinji also looked up. His gaze swept over Buneary, and with a thought, the system panel instantly surfaced in his mind:
[Buneary ♦]
Level: 12 (Advanced)
Type: Normal
Ability: Run Away
potential: Poor
base stats: 35
Moves: Pound, Defense Curl, Quick Attack
Poor potential, low level—it was just an extremely ordinary Buneary. Shinji felt no inner wave of interest and withdrew his gaze.
However, this was the first time Hikari had encountered a wild Pokémon. He was somewhat curious how this rookie trainer, who had just set out on her journey, would handle it.
Hikari put away the pokédex and stared intently at Buneary, turning to ask the Piplup beside her, "Piplup, do you know the first thing a trainer has to do on a journey?"
"Piplup?" Piplup tilted its small head in confusion, its small eyes full of incomprehension.
"That is to catch a new Pokémon!" Hikari clenched her fist, her tone full of drive. "But before catching it, we have to battle. I'm counting on you, Piplup!"
Seeing this, Shinji nodded slightly.
It seemed Hikari at least understood some basic trainer knowledge, knowing that a battle was the prerequisite for catching a Pokémon and not acting rashly.
"Piplup, use Bubble Beam!" Hikari took the lead in giving the command.
"Piplup!" Piplup opened its mouth, and a string of crystal-clear light blue bubbles gushed out, flying rapidly toward Buneary.
However, Buneary's movements were extremely agile. It gave a light leap, its body drawing a graceful arc in the air, easily dodging the Bubble Beam attack.
Then, it began hopping and skipping across the clearing, flashing left and jumping right, making it impossible to predict where it would land next.
Seeing that they had lost Buneary's exact position, both Hikari and Piplup appeared somewhat flustered, their eyes constantly scanning but finding it difficult to capture Buneary's next move.
Shinji watched all this calmly, already having made a judgment in his heart.
Hikari was too nervous and completely failed to predict the opponent's movements. She couldn't even manage basic battlefield observation. Facing an opponent like Buneary who excelled at agile evasion, failure was inevitable.
Sure enough, in the next second, Buneary suddenly jumped down from the branch of a large tree. Using the momentum of its fall, it used its pair of fluffy long ears to strike hard at Piplup.
With a 'thwack', Piplup didn't have time to react and was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground with a pained whimper.
Having succeeded in its strike, Buneary didn't linger at all. After landing, it immediately made several agile leaps and quickly disappeared into the dense forest.
"Piplup!" Hikari cried out, rushing over to pick up Piplup. With a face full of self-reproach, she said, "Piplup, it's all my fault for being inexperienced and giving poor commands, which led to you getting hurt."
"Piplup, Piplup!" Piplup shook its head and quickly recovered. Instead, it used its small wings to gently pat Hikari's hand, indicating it was fine and comforting its owner.
Seeing Piplup's reaction, Hikari took a deep breath and quickly pulled herself together. She clenched her fist, a determined smile appearing on her face.
"That's right! It's normal to fail the first time! As long as I work hard later, it'll be fine! No problem, no problem!"
She habitually used her catchphrase to cheer herself up.
"Too nervous," Shinji's cold voice rang out as he began his critique. "A simple opponent, low-level mistakes. When facing an agile opponent, losing your composure is a fatal error. You're too lax."
Hearing Shinji's blunt words, Hikari immediately bristled. She put her hands on her hips, puffed out her cheeks, and glared at him. "What was that? Isn't it normal to be nervous and fail the first battle? You think everyone is like you!"
"Piplup, Piplup!" Piplup followed Hikari's lead, puffing out its small chest and glaring with its round eyes at Shinji, as if backing Hikari up.
Just as Shinji was about to say something more, another rustling sound came from the bushes on the other side, and this time it was more urgent.
"Pika... chu..."
A Pikachu covered in scars and gasping for breath staggered out. It was clearly exhausted; after only a few steps, its legs gave way and it collapsed on the ground, its tail drooping powerlessly.
"Ah! It's a Pikachu!" Hikari's attention was immediately drawn. Seeing Pikachu's weakened state, her compassion overflowed, and she forgot about bickering with Shinji. "It's hurt! Now's my chance!"
Thinking this was the time to catch a wild Pokémon, she immediately took out an empty Poké Ball and threw it toward Pikachu.
However, after the Poké Ball touched Pikachu's body, it merely bounced once and fell to the ground without pulling it inside.
"Eh? What's going on?" Hikari blinked in confusion.
"This Pikachu already has a trainer," Shinji explained flatly, while his gaze looked sharply toward the direction Pikachu had fled from.
As soon as he finished speaking, four Pokémon emerged from the bushes in close pursuit.
A cream-colored Meowth, a purple-black Seviper, a Cacnea covered in spikes, and a Dustox with green wings.
The four Pokémon formed a semi-circle, surrounding the weakened Pikachu.
Then, to everyone's surprise, that Meowth actually stood upright and spoke: "Meow, Pikachu, you won't escape this time!"
"Eh? A talking Meowth?!" Hikari was so shocked by this scene that she couldn't close her mouth. She quickly pulled out her pokédex again and scanned the Meowth.
Shinji saw this familiar Meowth, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he understood the situation.
So it was the Team Rocket Trio.
In that case, this Pikachu was undoubtedly Ash's.
Thinking of this, Shinji suddenly became interested.
He wanted to see just what kind of 'pikachu god' this Pikachu of Ash's really was.
With a thought, the system panel was called up again, scanning the Pikachu lying on the ground.