Nine o'clock sharp the next morning.
Ash, Brock, and Misty were standing in front of Vermilion City's Sakuragi Research Lab.
Sakuragi's lab was right in the city, and judging from how smoothly they'd walked in so far, the man had clearly been informed ahead of time.
Case in point: they'd passed through the outer perimeter of the lab's grounds without a single overprotective Pokémon trying to block their way.
…Any halfway sane Pokémon Professor knew exactly how important their research was. Security was never going to be lax.
"This should be it." Ash checked the address pulled up on his Pokédex, took a breath, and pressed the doorbell.
The door slid open almost immediately.
A man in a white lab coat with tidy hair and a gentle smile appeared in the entryway. He adjusted his glasses, eyes warm and interested.
"You must be Ash from Pallet Town, Brock from Pewter, and Misty from Cerulean, right?"
"I've been expecting you. Welcome to my lab. I'm Sakuragi."
He took in the three kids in front of him—bright eyes, honest posture, a sense of capability that was hard to fake.
If only he hadn't arrived in Vermilion so recently.
He simply hadn't had the time or energy to properly sift through the city's rookies and pick out the standouts.
The thought made Professor Sakuragi feel a little conflicted.
But something like that could only be fixed with time.
"Nice to meet you, Professor Sakuragi. Sorry to intrude." Ash greeted politely.
"Hello, Professor Sakuragi, I'm Misty."
"Professor Sakuragi, sir, I'm Brock."
Being able to meet two big-name researchers in a row—Bill at the lighthouse, and now Sakuragi—put both Brock and Misty in a kind of hushed excitement.
"No need to be so formal, come in." Sakuragi stepped aside and ushered them in.
The lab interior was wide and bright.
Large display screens and various precision instruments hummed quietly. The air held the faint scent of disinfectant and warm circuitry. A few lab assistants in work coats were hurrying between benches.
"Koharu, Sota, come here a moment." Sakuragi called toward the back.
A moment later, a quiet, well-behaved girl hugging a Wooloo plushie and a younger boy whose eyes were full of curiosity ran over.
"This is my daughter, Koharu, and my son, Sota," Sakuragi said. Then to the kids: "These are my guests—Trainers from Pallet Town and neighboring cities: Brock and Misty."
"Hello." Koharu bowed slightly, a little shy.
"You're amazing! You came from Pallet Town? From Professor Oak's place?" Sota practically sparkled as he stared at Ash.
"That's right. You know a lot, Sota." Ash chuckled.
Koharu looked up at the Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and said softly, "Your Pikachu is really cute."
"Pika pi!" Pikachu chirped happily, waving its little paws.
At that moment, another voice drifted over from a nearby lab bench.
It had that put-on, trying-to-sound-mature edge to it.
"Hmph. A Trainer from Pallet Town, huh? I'd kind of like to see what you've got."
They turned to look.
A boy in a black T-shirt was leaning against a bench, arms folded. There was a confident smirk on his lips, and his eyes flicked over Ash from head to toe with something like measuring… or comparing.
"Dad, Goh is here too," Koharu added quietly.
The boy—Goh—strode closer before Sakuragi could introduce him, and opened his mouth with all the self-importance in the world:
"So you're the guests Professor Sakuragi's been waiting for?"
"I'm Goh."
"Goh from Vermilion City."
"My goal is to catch every Pokémon in the world."
"And the very first Pokémon I'm going to catch… is Mew."
For some reason, Goh had this weird competitive spark in his eyes as he looked at Ash.
Like he was afraid something that belonged to him was about to be taken away—so he had to stake his claim early.
Maybe he was worried someone would steal Professor Sakuragi's attention?
After all, being allowed to come and go freely at a Pokémon Professor's lab was, in itself, proof you were valued.
That wasn't a privilege just anyone got.
"…" Misty frowned ever so slightly at the way he cut in and started boasting, the irritation plain on her face.
Brock kept his mild smile, but his gaze sharpened a bit.
Yeah… he wasn't really seeing the supposed "special talent" here either.
Ash, facing Goh's lightly provocative introduction, didn't get riled up at all. He just nodded calmly.
"Oh. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Ash, from Pallet Town."
"Catching every Pokémon in the world is… quite the big goal."
His tone was very neutral. Just stating facts.
No envy. No mocking.
As for this "Goh" kid…
Ash had originally been curious how different the real world would be to the anime.
Looked like this part, at least, was exactly the same—annoying, self-centered, completely wrapped up in himself.
Goh hadn't expected that reaction. He'd assumed at minimum Ash would be shocked by his grand ambition.
He faltered for half a breath, then tried to regain the lead.
"I heard you met Ho-Oh and a giant Dragonite."
"You've got good luck, I'll give you that."
"But real strength comes from battling and catching."
"You can't get far on luck alone."
He'd practically grown up in Sakuragi's lab. As long as something wasn't stamped top secret, news flowed freely.
Same as Ash in Oak's lab.
Ash just looked at him.
…No matter how you look at it, I'm stronger than you, right? he thought dryly. Where do you get the guts to start posturing at me?
Your first Pokémon is supposed to be Mew?
That just means you don't have any Pokémon right now.
Before the silence could stretch too far, Sakuragi cheerfully cut in.
"Haha, it's good for young people to have that kind of energy."
"Goh is a very promising Trainer in his own right."
"Ash, you came because of Lt. Surge, didn't you?"
Smooth topic change.
And frankly, Lt. Surge mattered a whole lot more than Goh did.
That kid didn't merit more than a handful of neurons.
Ash's attention snapped back to the real reason they were here.
Goh blurred right out of focus.
"Yes, Professor Sakuragi." Ash said, expression turning serious. "You've probably heard what it's like at the Pokémon Center."
"We wanted to learn more about Lt. Surge, and about Vermilion Gym."
He didn't say "we're here to fix Lt. Surge."
Because that was impossible.
To "remove" a Gym Leader required the League's own inspectors at minimum.
People with both the position and the strength to make that stick.
Someone like [Pokémon G-Man, Indigo League Elite Four: Lance] would have to show up personally to audit the Gym.
And then Lt. Surge would have no choice but to behave.
Because he'd lose in a straight fight.
No question.
Goh, seeing Ash ignore him completely and talk about real business with the Professor, felt the sting of being sidelined.
He forced himself into the conversation, voice a little sharp:
"Lt. Surge is strict, sure, but his Raichu is undeniably powerful."
"Only Trainers who pass his test deserve the Thunder Badge."
"My goal is to earn his recognition as soon as possible too."
On the surface, he was backing Surge.
In practice, he was still drawing attention back to his goals and his standards—as if to say he was on the same level as Surge.
This time, Ash finally really looked at him.
His eyes cooled.
"'Strict trials' and 'randomly beating Trainers down until they lose all confidence' are two different things."
"My friend and his Sandshrew nearly lost their will to fight because of his so-called 'test.' "
He thought of Beast Tamer Ming.
A kid with real potential, someone Ash genuinely respected.
Would his mentality recover? Probably.
But Surge had definitely wasted months of his time, maybe more.
Ash was fairly sure Ming would climb out of this.
But it was a stupid, needless wound.
Goh opened his mouth—
And nothing came out.
Ash's sudden seriousness—and the pressure that came with it—shut him down for a moment.
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