(Ash had finally returned from the trip... and man, it had been torture trying not to punch that smug, know-it-all.)
(Seriously, one more word out of Goh and he was ready to slap the taste out of his mouth.)
(Anyway, overall status update: he was officially seven now.)
(And next summer? That would be when the original Ash met Serena at Professor Oak's summer camp.)
(Wild to think he still had time before everything kicked off canon-style.)
(Aura training was coming along pretty well, too.)
(He could now sense people and their emotions, and he had even started shaping his aura into... something.)
(It was still rough, but hey, progress was progress.)
(Hopefully, he'd be able to do more advanced stuff before getting his official Pokémon license.)
(He wondered how that would go, now that he had Pichu.)
(Yeah. Pichu....)
(Let's just say, after people found out, explaining it was... awkward.)
(Like that morning, when Delia had been about to call him down for breakfast—only to spot Pichu curled up on his bed, hugging a ketchup bottle like a treasured plush.)
Delia: "ASH KETCHUM, IS THAT A PICHU IN YOUR ROOM?!"
(she whisper-screamed, pointing dramatically at the tiny mouse blanketed up with the ketchup bottle.)
(Damage control had kicked in fast.)
(Luckily, Pichu had played the innocent card like a pro.)
(One big-eyed look and a sweet little.)
Pichu: "Pi...?"
(and suddenly he was being cuddled and fed fresh berries.)
(Of course, Delia still had to scold Ash for not saying anything sooner, even though it had literally happened the night before.)
(Technically, since Ash had used the Luxury Ball she'd given him, she just sighed and made him promise to take good care of Pichu.)
(Then she gently told Pichu that he could always come to her for anything—and let Ash keep him.)
(Still, peace didn't last long.)
(That very night, Ash had been jolted awake by a thunder shock straight to the chest.)
(Apparently, Pichu shocked in his sleep when he was stressed.)
(New rule: no loud sneezing or sudden lights after 10 PM.)
(Then came Green and Gary.)
(Since they were literally neighbors and had dinner together often, it didn't take long for them to find out.)
(The next day, they showed up unannounced.)
Gary: "So."
(Gary said, grinning like a smug Meowth that stole all the milk.)
Gary: "is it true? You got a Pichu before you even started your journey? What, did you steal it from a daycare or something?"
(Ash rolled his eyes.)
Ash: "He came to me, actually. Guess I'm just more likable than you."
Gary: "Ha! In your dreams, Ashy-boy."
(Gary snorted—but his eyes wandered to the bed, where Pichu was dozing in a blanket nest, an almost-empty ketchup bottle clutched in his tiny arms.)
(Pichu's ears twitched, and he curled up tighter, little sparks crackling lazily.)
Ash: "You remember what I said—stop calling me that, or so help me, I'll tell everyone about the Sandwich Incident."
(Gary instantly looked like he'd bitten a lemon.)
Gary: "No! No, don't tell anyone! We made a deal!"
(Green tilted her head.)
Green: "What's the Sandwich Incident?"
Gary: "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!"
(Gary blurted.)
Gary: "Okay, fine, I'll stop. I won't call you Ashy-boy anymore."
(Green smirked.)
Green: "Oh, now I really wanna know. Come on, Ash, can't you tell your best friend~?"
(Gary stepped in.)
Gary: "Hold up! One, you are not going to hear it, and secondly, if anyone's Ash's best friend, it's me!"
Green: "Oh yeah?"
(Green said, crossing her arms.)
Green: "What if he likes me more than you?"
Gary: "Who'd like a brat like you?! Besides, me and Ash live next to each other—we've known each other longer!"
(While those two bickered, Ash exchanged a look with Pichu.)
(The little Pokémon tilted his head.)
Pichu: "Pi?"
(as if the whole conversation about where he came from had just vanished from his mind.)
(Ash shrugged.)
Ash: "Dude, your guess is as good as mine."
(Pichu yawned, sparks popping harmlessly in the air.)
(He blinked up at Ash, then waddled over and climbed onto his shoulder like he owned the place.)
(Which, to be fair, he kind of did at this point.)
(Meanwhile, Green and Gary were still arguing like a pair of Jigglypuffs fighting over a karaoke mic.)
Green: "I bet Ash only hangs out with you because he feels bad."
(Green huffed, arms crossed.)
Gary: "Oh please."
(Gary scoffed.)
Gary: "He's probably just too polite to tell you you're annoying."
Green: "Wanna go?"
(she snapped.)
(Ash groaned and finally stepped between them.)
Ash: "Okay, okay, time-out! You're both acting like Slowpokes on a hot sidewalk. Pichu's already zapped me once today. I'm not risking a round two."
(Gary flinched.)
Gary; "Wait, he shocked you?"
Ash: "Right in the chest."
(Ash tapped the spot with a wince.)
Ash: "Just because I caught him doesn't mean he completely likes me. He literally shocked me right after I did."
(Green winced.)
Green: "Okay... maybe we tone it down."
Ash: "Thank you."
(Ash sighed.)
Ash: "Besides, this isn't a competition."
(He paused, then smirked.)
Ash: "Because don't worry... neither of you are my best friend~"
(The gasp of outrage was all the motivation Ash needed.)
(He scooped up Pichu and bolted for the window, leaping out as Green and Gary shouted behind him, demanding to know who his best friend was if it wasn't one of them.)
(And that's how the introductions went.)
(After that chaos, the trio added Pichu to their daily shenanigans.)
(Fortunately, Pichu mellowed out a little and started letting Ash hold him more regularly.)
(But if Ash ever got too careless? Yeah—he'd still get shocked.)
(Especially after that one time Gary dropped a ketchup bottle.)
(Pichu had unleashed a furious jolt that fried all three of them on the spot.)
(Anyway, time moved on, and the new year kicked off with some interesting discoveries.)
(First of all, it seemed like EVs were kind of a thing—but not exactly the way the games explained them.)
(They weren't earned just by beating other Pokémon, but more from how a Pokémon trained or what it ate.)
(Strength training boosted physical attack.)
(Acting as a sparring dummy increased defense and HP. Running drills raised speed, and so on.)
(Abilities existed too, but worked a bit differently.)
(If a Pokémon had multiple abilities—like a Nidoking with both Poison Point and Rivalry, it could only use one at a time.)
(However, if it had a hidden ability, it could stack that on top of its primary one.)
(So, a Nidoking with Sheer Force could still access Poison Point.)
(That definitely changed some battle planning.)
(Mutations were a whole other rabbit hole.)
(Pokémon could mutate based on their lineage, birthplace, or how they were raised.)
(It might result in a new typing or even a totally different ability, ones they normally wouldn't have.)
(These weren't as rare as Shinies, but they were still pretty uncommon.)
(Then there were combo moves.)
(They did exist, but they weren't widely used.)
(Not even top-tier trainers like Lance or Leon relied on them as much as you would think they should, and there were good reasons why:)
(First, a Pokémon had to have the raw potential to even attempt one.)
(Second, it had to invent a completely new move from scratch, something no Pokémon had ever done before.)
(And third, it had to train that move with zero guidance, because, well… no one had ever done it before. So yeah. Extremely difficult.)
(Next big topic: levels. They were more like suggestions than rules.)
(For instance, while Nidoran♂ was supposed to learn Earth Power at level 55, a well-trained one could learn it earlier—under the right conditions.)
(And thank Arceus, the four-move limit didn't apply here.)
(Pokémon could learn as many moves as they could handle.)
(Evolution worked similarly.)
(Levels didn't guarantee evolution, it was more of an "it might happen around this point" kind of thing.)
(A Dratini might evolve at 30... or maybe earlier, or even later, depending on its training.)
(Also, no trade evolutions. Which was a huge relief.)
(As for Natures and IVs? Either they didn't exist... or no one had figured them out yet.)
(Still, Ash figured they'd be the easiest to research later.)
(Class-wise, things had been going well.)
(In the move tutor section of the ranger department, Ash had already learned most of the moves he'd aimed for.)
(But there were still a few left, and he wasn't sure if the next two years would be enough to squeeze them all in.)
(The medical classes were surprisingly easy.)
(Pokémon anatomy was weirdly simple, almost suspiciously so.)
(Everything else was more or less the same, with lots of bonding time among classmates.)
(Well... except for the moment Ash stepped into school on the very first day, with Pichu tucked into his hoodie.)
(Every single head in the room turned.)
(A tidal wave of questions hit him instantly.)
May: "Is that a real Pichu?!"
(May asked.)
Barry: "Where'd you get it?!"
(Barry asked overexcited.)
Yellow: "Can I pet him...?"
(Yellow asked.)
Bianca: "Is he eating ketchup?!"
(Bianca asked.)
(Ash sighed and thought.)
Ash [in mind]: 'Yup. This is my life now.'
(Oak had promised another guest speaker to talk about his research, so far the day had been surprisingly quiet—no debates, no arguments, not even any guesses about who it might be.)
(Just the usual chatter filling the classroom as Ash had Pichu sitting on his lap... until a certain green-haired, somewhat sickly boy approached Ash.)
[To Be Continued...]