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The night wind, carrying the scent of dry grass, blew into Ash's collar. He stared at the sparks constantly bursting in the bonfire, crumpling his jacket and throwing it at his feet.
The dense, inky phantom was clearly visible, whether on the distant plains or in the nearby mountain hollow.
Time seemed to have frozen, year after year, and it had also frozen Ash's heart.
By the bonfire, Ash sat cross-legged on the grass, his hair disheveled, revealing a rare expression of dejection.
His fists clenched, then loosened, then clenched again!
His eyes showed not relief, but only unwillingness!
"Pikachu and Latios both lost their ability to battle. Ash's six Pokémon have all lost their ability to battle. Tobias is victorious."
This scene constantly replayed in his mind.
Rushing towards Pikachu, picking it up, he suppressed his tears, saluted Tobias, and exited the stage.
This was the closest he had ever come to being Champion.
Before his return journey, he had sent all his Pokémon back, leaving only Pikachu.
A belated string of pearls fell onto the tips of the new green.
The regret in his heart surged continuously.
He recalled the scenes of traveling through various regions and battling with his companions.
He suddenly grabbed a handful of grass and threw it into the fire; the grass hissed in the high heat.
"It's not that they're weak..." Ash's throat felt like it had a stone stuck in it.
"It's that I left you all at the research facility..."
"Bang! Bang!"
He seemed to have all his strength drained, falling straight into the grass. His fists slammed into the muddy ground, splashing mud and water onto his wrists, mixing with his still-wet tear streaks.
Without a word, he punched the ground again and again, hitting his own heart repeatedly.
The 'silly guy' that Pokémon fans had called him for twenty-five years finally grew up at this moment!
Growing up sometimes only takes an instant.
The next day
"Pika! Pika! (What's wrong, Ash?)"
Pikachu pawed at Ash, its round eyes scanning his face, its tail tapping the ground, like a detective holding a magnifying glass.
The morning light dyed the blades of grass transparent gold. In the distance, Oddish swayed in a line, dewdrops on their leaves falling to the ground, startling a group of jumping Ledyba.
Ash reached out to rub Pikachu's head, but the little guy nimbly dodged, even adding a disdainful electric spark. Though only the size of a needlepoint, it precisely zapped the back of his hand.
"Pika! Pika! Pi! (Just one night, what did you do behind my back?)"
"Pikachu, I just didn't sleep well. I didn't secretly go out and play without you."
He mumbled, his fingertips brushing the soft fur on the tip of Pikachu's ear. The fur was warm, with a slight tingle of static electricity.
Ash and Pikachu had been together for many years and already had a telepathic connection. Even if Ash didn't understand Pokémon language, he could still understand Pikachu's words.
"Shoo shoo!"
Pikachu's short limbs moved quickly, climbing down Ash's body to the ground, its two eyes fluttering as it waved its chubby little hand at Ash.
Ever since Pikachu had eaten the snacks made by Mr. Mime after returning from Hoenn, it had fallen uncontrollably in love with them. On this Sinnoh journey, Ash had even specially brought three large jars of snacks for Pikachu and thrown them into his spatial backpack, but they had long since been eaten.
"Pika! Pika! Pika! (Ash, Pallet Town is just ahead! My snacks, no, my home, charge!)"
Facing the rising sun and the gentle breeze, ripples spread through Pikachu's yellow fur.
Pikachu ran ahead, and Ash chased behind.
"Wait for me, Pikachu! Hey, Pikachu, slow down!"
And so, the future Pokémon Master embarked on his journey home.
"The future Pokémon Master will definitely be me!"
At the entrance of Professor Oak's Research Lab, a chubby boy was spitting excitedly.
"If you had listened to me, you would have used Charizard in the Hoenn League long ago..."
"If you commanded like me, you definitely would have... in the Hoenn League."
Ash responded with a forced smile, his heart suddenly recalling a certain companion from the Hoenn region who held a Pokémon Navigator. The two were so similar when compared.
Instantly, Ash felt an urge to kick.
"Bang." Ash's heel precisely rolled over the other person's foot, his smile sickeningly sweet.
"Sorry, my foot slipped."
Just then, Professor Oak and a mature woman with long, wavy purple hair appeared.
"Professor, does Gary know about this?" Ash looked at them, deep in thought, and suddenly blurted this out.
"Ash, I knew you'd come to me first! What Gary? Hey, hey, how old am I? This is a teacher from Viridian City's Pokémon School. What are you thinking? Are you mistaken? Today is the open day for the Pokémon School to visit the research facility!"
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, Professor Oak. But since it's a visit, please ask this teacher to take him away. It's really not good to block others and then make grand speeches, Professor. I'm going to the backyard to see my companions first!"
Ash nodded slightly to the Professor and the teacher, his tone showing a hint of anger, without any politeness. The purple-haired teacher saw that familiar figure in her line of sight and instantly understood something, smiling apologetically at Ash.
Location: Professor Oak's Research Lab Backyard
Ash hunched over, his left tiptoe touching the ground, his right heel raised, then his right tiptoe touching the ground, his left heel raised. On closer inspection, it somewhat resembled the antics of the Team Rockets trio of old.
Ash had returned three days earlier than expected this time. No one knew of his return, and Ash took this opportunity to see what his companions were doing.
In the woods behind the lab, the sharp sound of Air Slash cutting through the air stung one's eardrums. Swellow's blue and white wings fanned up a vortex, and Noctowl's star-like markings on its wings flickered in the sunlight. Two Air Slashes crossed and struck Bayleef.
Ash focused his gaze.
Bayleef suddenly crouched low, its Vine Whip wrapping around a tree trunk, forcibly twisting a gap in the Air Slash. The water droplets on its leaves were shattered by the air current, falling to the ground like scattered gravel. Then, Noctowl used Air Slash.
Several invisible Air Slashes flew towards Bayleef, who hurriedly dodged. The Air Slashes whizzed past it, creating a strong gust of wind.
Bayleef's Vine Whips on both sides erupted, striking at the incoming Air Slashes, dodging them.
I must help Ash, I must!
Bayleef's eyes grew even more resolute as she thought this.
--- On the flat ground west of the backyard, the grass had long been worn away, revealing dark brown soil, forming a natural arena.
At this moment, the leader Tauros snorted white mist from its nostrils, the patterns on its horns gleaming in the setting sun. Each time its hind legs pushed off the ground, the ground would crack in a spiderweb pattern. It treated this place as the Silver Conference arena.
The Donphan opposite shook the mud from its head, the carapace on its back bulging like a small mountain. It suddenly let out a low growl, and the instant its four hooves trampled the ground, even the dust was shaken into the air.
The moment the two figures collided, "Bang!" The dull thud awakened distant Pokémon from their dreams.
Dust flew, and what rose was mud, but what remained was the heart of Tauros and Donphan, determined to grow stronger.
The leader Tauros and Donphan simultaneously used Take Down on each other, their hind legs constantly pushing off the ground.
"Bang bang!"
Ash noticed the leader Tauros's front hooves carving deep furrows in the mud, while Donphan's skin around its eyes was taut from exertion, with dust embedded in every wrinkle.
This wasn't training; it was stomping the words "grow stronger" into every inch of the cracked earth.
Ash, I will help you reach the peak!
Ash, don't cry, we'll go together!
--- Back Mountain Waterfall
A silver dragon poured down, like the Milky Way inverted, a white torrent cascading.
The mist formed a curtain, enveloping this small world.
The flowing water roared like ten thousand galloping horses. In the most violent center of the vortex, a black shadow on the black rock moved like a phantom!
Fire Punch tore through the water curtain, only to be doused into white smoke by the crushing water flow in the next second.
In the scorching steam, Charizard violently shook its head, water droplets on its skin bursting like shattered jade. A trapped beast's low growl rumbled from its chest.
It arched its body again, its tail flame suddenly flaring, as if igniting a small sun!
The flames on its fists still shone with unyielding light in the water curtain.
Dragon Breath soared into the sky, a pillar of light carving a passage directly through the waterfall!
The water hissed as it was evaporated by the high temperature, and a rainbow surged wildly in the mist, reflecting the burning obsession in Charizard's pupils.
"Roar!"
A furious roar echoed through heaven and earth, the flames on its tail burning fiercely!
Ash, I will definitely help you achieve your dream, and I will also become the strongest Charizard in this world!
--- Scene after scene, event after event, without realizing it, Ash had traversed the entire backyard and back mountain.
Dusk covered the mountains.
At some point, a young boy, his eyes brimming with tears, his eye sockets red, his lips mumbling, looked up at the sky in a trance.
"Everyone---"
Bayleef honed itself in the strong winds, Donphan and Tauros trained in the dust, Charizard transformed under the waterfall, Sceptile sharpened its blades in the darkness, Heracross polished its skills in the dense forest, Kingler grew stronger in the currents---A warm, rough hand fell on Ash's shoulder, the graying temples showing a determination like the earth.
"Ash, they all watched your battle with Tobias. They want to stand by your side and help you achieve your dream.
So, Ash, boldly respond to their hearts, and don't let them down!"
"I know, Professor Oak."
Ash turned to look at Professor Oak, pressing his lips together firmly, his eyes red, looking directly into Professor Oak's gaze.
"Professor, I've made up my mind. I don't want to rush into traveling. I want to grow with them all again, with every single one."
With that, Ash turned and rushed towards his most trusted companions.
Professor Oak watched the young boy's increasingly fast disappearing back. The Professor's white hair danced wildly in the wind, but he slowly lowered the hand he had placed on his forehead.
Not until Ash's figure vanished into the tree shadows did he look down at his waist. The dark brown, old Poké Ball was gently trembling, its surface markings glowing faintly in the twilight, strongly resembling the patterns on a certain Pokémon's tail.
"When you followed me all over Kanto back then," he rubbed the patterns on the Poké Ball with his fingertip, his voice so soft as if afraid of waking something, "you had the same stubborn personality."
"This child has grown up, old friend. Let's help him out."
The trembling of the Poké Ball became more and more pronounced, even emitting a faint red glow, as if the old friend inside could no longer contain itself, eager to see with its own eyes this young man who had finally learned to look back and to mature.
A smile spread through the wrinkles at Professor Oak's mouth: "Don't rush, the time will come."
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