The last traces of the sunset quietly disappeared beneath the horizon.
On the streets of Viridian City, shops had already begun lighting up one after another, adding new brightness to the entire city.
Inside the Pokémon Center in the city center, soft lighting blended with the aroma drifting from the dining area, filling every corner of the building and dispelling the fatigue of travelers after a long day.
Ash was sitting in a corner of the dining area.
In front of him was a steaming plate of hamburger steak with rice.
He picked up his spoon without hesitation and scooped a large bite into his mouth.
The rich juices of the meat mingled with the sweetness of the rice, making him narrow his eyes in satisfaction.
Across from him, Pikachu was crouched in front of a small bowl filled with Pokémon food.
However, the most eye-catching part was the thick layer of ketchup covering the food.
Rather than Pokémon food with ketchup, it looked more like ketchup completely dominating everything.
In comparison, the actual Pokémon food seemed more like a side dish.
Even so, Pikachu ate with great enjoyment.
A ring of red sauce was smeared around its mouth, and it looked extremely satisfied.
Looking at this warm scene, Ash could not help but sigh inwardly.
Traveling really feels great.
Although he still felt a bit unaccustomed to not hearing his mother’s voice during dinner, overall he was quite satisfied with this atmosphere.
Even though his very first day had been filled with intense events such as being chased, jumping off a cliff, and falling into water, being able to sit here peacefully with Pikachu and enjoy a proper meal made everything they had gone through feel worthwhile.
And without a doubt, the greatest gain today was that his relationship with Pikachu had improved.
In that sense, he really had those Spearow to thank.
However…
The one thing that puzzled Ash was that his memory after jumping off the cliff was extremely hazy, though he vaguely felt like he had done quite a few things.
Among those blurred memories, the most vivid scene was himself commanding Pikachu to use Thunder against the flock of Spearow.
That was so cool!
Ash thought to himself.
As expected of me!
Just as Ash was still immersed in the image of his own cool self commanding Pikachu in battle, he suddenly caught sight of a figure at the entrance of the Pokémon Center.
A person walked in slowly with their head lowered.
That person seemed to radiate a gloomy aura from head to toe.
Their steps were heavy, and their entire being was shrouded in a kind of oppressive atmosphere, making them look especially unsettling in the late hour.
Looking at that figure, Ash could not help but think.
As he thought this, he unconsciously sighed in his heart.
“How pitiful.”
What Ash did not notice was that he had accidentally spoken those words out loud.
Although it was just a subconscious murmur, the words had indeed been clearly heard.
At the very moment his voice fell, a shadow suddenly loomed over him from above.
Ash instinctively raised his head, only to see that the girl who had just walked in with her head lowered was now standing right in front of his table.
She wore a bright smile on her face as she looked down at him.
“Who are you calling pitiful?”
The girl’s voice sounded very pleasant, full of youthful energy.
But paired with the gloomy smile on her face, it made Ash shiver for no apparent reason.
Caught off guard by her sudden approach, Ash looked at the not-so-friendly smile on her face and immediately realized that he had been rude.
He quickly waved his hands, forcing an awkward smile onto his face.
“I meant… I meant I’m pitiful. Yes, I was talking about myself.”
Seeing that her smile had not faded at all, Ash hurriedly added, driven by a strong survival instinct, “I had a really miserable day. I just left Pallet Town and got chased by a whole flock of Spearow. I was even forced to jump off a cliff. It was terrible.”
Ash hoped that by making himself sound pitiful, he could brush off his earlier slip of the tongue.
However, the girl standing before him, Misty, did not respond to his explanation at all.
Instead, she simply repeated his words.
“You’re pitiful? Is that so?”
At this moment, Ash also seemed to realize that Misty had not come over because of that one comment.
Following her movement, he looked down at the ground, only to see a pitch-black, completely unrecognizable object being dropped heavily with a loud clang.
The smile on Misty’s face remained unchanged as she looked at him.
“What do you think this is?” she asked.
Ash stared at the thing on the ground for quite a while.
It was completely charred black, twisted into a lump, and still emitted a burnt smell.
It was impossible to tell what it had originally been.
After hesitating for a moment, Ash cautiously spoke.
“Some large piece of trash your mom made you take out when you left the house?”
The moment Ash finished speaking, several veins bulged on Misty’s forehead.
The smile on her face instantly twisted into something terrifying.
She slammed her hand onto the table with a loud bang.
“Huh?” Ash let out a confused sound.
He lowered his head again to look at the lump of scrap metal, his expression clearly filled with disgust.
“You’re saying this charred unknown object is a bicycle?”
The veins on Misty’s forehead seemed to multiply.
The forced smile on her face was on the verge of breaking as she gritted her teeth and asked, “Who do you think is responsible for this?”
Hearing this, Ash actually began to think seriously.
He held his chin and pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly with a tone of sudden realization.
“If you broke it, then it should be your fault, right?”
“…”
At that moment, Misty’s brain completely stopped working.
She had thought that returning to the time of her first meeting with Ash would at least bring some joy of reunion.
But she never expected that Ash at the beginning would be this infuriating.
No, she should have known from the start how annoying this guy used to be.
She just did not expect that this time around, he would be even more irritating than she remembered!
Seeing this, Misty no longer held back.
She immediately reached out, spread her fingers, and firmly grabbed Ash’s head.
“Hey—!”
Ash had not expected her to suddenly make a move.
His head was instantly caught in an iron grip, leaving him unable to move.
Realizing that he could not break free, Ash immediately turned to his only companion with a pleading expression.
‘Pikachu!
Help me!’
However, Pikachu, who had been busy eating ketchup, only glanced up briefly.
The moment it sensed the terrifying aura emanating from Misty, its entire body stiffened.
Without hesitation, Pikachu immediately abandoned its beloved ketchup, curled up in the farthest corner of the table, and let out a weak cry.
“Pika…”
‘You’re on your own.’
Ash clearly understood what Pikachu meant.
‘Traitor!!!’
A desperate scream echoed in Ash’s heart.
(End of Chapter)