"I'll be waiting for you at the Indigo Conference~"
"Then it's a promise."
"This world has an endlessly wide future. When the time comes, I'll take you to see even more spectacular sights."
Ash knew very well that trying to do everything alone was unreliable.
He had to start preparing his own "roster" early.
Whether he ended up forming some kind of organization or founding a company, everything was easier with capable people at his side.
That wasn't something you handled on individual battle strength alone.
No matter how strong you were, you couldn't do every little thing yourself.
And the Beast Tamer Ming in front of him—Ash very much saw him as a talent worth investing in.
After saying goodbye to Ming and his Sandshrew, Ash and his group once again set off along the road toward Bill's Lighthouse.
One day.
Two days.
Day after day.
On this particular morning—
The light was soft and pale; forest mist still clung to the trunks and undergrowth. The air smelled clean, full of damp leaves and green.
Every so often, Pikachu poked its head out from Ash's shoulder to look around.
Lately, this "fat mouse" had gotten more and more fond of riding on Ash instead of walking on its own.
Its weight had definitely gone up.
Good thing Ash's physical stats were increasing in step, or he really would've been crushed by now.
"Come to think of it…" Ash rubbed his chin as he walked.
His gaze drifted over the quiet woods on either side of the road, his tone carrying a hint of regret.
"We still haven't run into a Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander along the way."
He sighed.
"They're all great starter Pokémon, too."
He really wanted to complain about this.
But with Misty and Brock right there, he obviously couldn't explain why he felt that way.
His choices had already diverged from the anime Ash's path.
He didn't get lost.
So, naturally, fate had changed.
He could already see the tall structure in the distance… judging by the news he'd seen online before and their current pace, they were nearly at Vermilion City.
That should be Bill's Lighthouse.
If things had followed the original anime plot, he'd have run into Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle by now—
and caught all three Kanto starters.
But clearly, that wasn't happening this time.
Who knew how things would play out in the future now?
Maybe fate had started changing the moment the Team Rocket trio didn't attack Pewter Gym or Cerulean Gym.
Naturally, Misty and Brock knew nothing of Ash's meta-story frustration.
Anime canon wasn't exactly something he could bring up in casual conversation.
Walking beside him, Misty flicked her orange ponytail and scoffed bluntly.
"Hey, hey, what do you think this is—Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander just lying around by the roadside like wild Caterpie?"
She counted off on her fingers.
"They may not be super rare, but they're still specially bred by labs and handed out as top-choice starters to rookie Trainers."
"You think they just show up everywhere, like… certain other Pokémon?"
As she spoke, she gave a very pointed look at the Pikachu on Ash's shoulder.
In truth, Pikachu as a species was pretty common.
You could find them all over the Kanto region.
But this particular Pikachu of Ash's was way too strong. Add in the way they talked to each other…
Misty had basically convinced herself this Pikachu was a special individual personally raised by Professor Oak.
It was a very reasonable explanation.
Strong Trainers did selective breeding and careful raising of their Pokémon all the time.
"Pika? (⊙ˍ⊙)?"
Pikachu had been tilting its head, admiring the scenery.
Suddenly being called out like that made its ears flop down.
Its little body hunched in on itself.
It blinked hard, squeezing out the tiniest hint of tears.
Its black eyes fogged over with wounded shine, and a low whine escaped its throat.
——So… I'm just that ordinary?
——Will my partner start looking down on me?
Was any of that true?
Of course not.
It was just that after spending so long with Ash, the little mouse had learned to ham it up.
Ash immediately felt his partner's mood drop.
He stopped walking, reached up, and scratched lightly under Pikachu's chin. His voice turned soft and unusually serious.
"Idiot. Don't listen to her."
Even knowing Pikachu was being a drama queen, there was no way he'd just leave his partner hanging.
Was this… showing off their bond?
Emm…
Ash met Pikachu's gaze head-on.
"My Pikachu~"
"You're my one and only partner~"
"Those starters don't even come close to you."
There were a lot of Pikachu out there.
But there was only one Pikachu like his Pikachu—
only one Pika-god.
Looking at Pikachu's face, Ash's regret about missing out on Bulbasaur and Squirtle faded quite a bit.
He did still feel a pang for the Charizard-that-could-have-been.
But what was done was done.
He wasn't about to go out of his way to force fate back on track.
"Pika… (｡◕‿◕｡)"
Pikachu nuzzled its head against Ash's fingers.
Its mood visibly brightened, a couple of tiny, happy sparks crackling on its cheeks.
——We really are the best partners~
Pikachu's affection rose yet again.
…Watching the two of them, Brock and Misty were utterly speechless.
What a disgustingly sappy pair…
Deciding it was time to change the subject, Brock lifted his head, pushed up his imaginary glasses, and pointed toward a tall, oddly designed building by the distant coast.
"Speaking of that… look over there."
A lighthouse stood on the rocky cliffline.
Its white tower loomed over the sea, half-shrouded in morning light and mist. The massive lens structure at the top rotated slowly, giving it a lonely yet faintly high-tech feel.
"That's White Cape."
"And that's Bill's Lighthouse."
"Professor Bill is a genius researcher who focuses on 'Pokémon–human relationship studies,' and he's also deeply involved in the development of the Pokémon storage and transfer system."
"So when we go to visit, everyone watch what you say," Brock stressed.
Coming here had been a joint decision among the three.
They were already this close to Vermilion. Not dropping by to visit the local Pokémon researcher would've felt like a waste.
If it were just Brock and Misty, they might not have even considered it.
But Ash was with them.
Given Professor Oak and Bill's relationship, not visiting would've been the weird move.
Brock and Misty were basically along for the ride on Ash's connections.
Big-name Pokémon Professors weren't exactly easy to meet.
But Ash had Professor Oak as his referral.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. No need to hammer it in~" Ash said, looking toward the distant lighthouse.
He couldn't help wondering if they'd missed the giant Dragonite event entirely.
Compared to the anime version of Ash, who got lost constantly and took the long way around—
The current Ash was walking almost a straight-line master route.
Having Pidgeotto in the sky to give him directions certainly helped.
If he still managed to get lost after that, he'd have to be some kind of genius.
The upside: their travel time was way shorter than in the original timeline.
The downside: a lot of the anime Ash's lucky encounters—like Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle—were gone.
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu perked up too, raising a paw to point at the lighthouse as well, clearly in favor of going.
The three of them adjusted course, heading at a brisk pace toward the white tower on the coastline.
The sea breeze grew clearer as they approached, carrying a salty tang and the faint sound of waves.
But the closer they got, the heavier the atmosphere became.
There were strong Pokémon guarding this place.
Professor Bill was likely no slouch as a Trainer either.
In this world, anyone whose name was known far and wide usually had the strength to back it up.
Without enough power, you couldn't protect what belonged to you.
And many Pokémon Professors had started out as elite Trainers before changing careers—
just like Professor Oak.
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