The sudden voice startled Ash, and he sprang to his feet, looking around in all directions.
“Who? Who’s talking?!”
Across the open field, aside from the rustling sound of the wind brushing through the grass, only his own voice echoed back at him.
Ash scanned his surroundings warily.
There was not a single person in sight, not even a shadow.
Was it just his imagination?
As he was still wondering, he lowered his head and met Pikachu’s gaze.
In Ash’s eyes, Pikachu looked as if it were pointing at its own head, tilting it slightly, with an expression that clearly read, is something wrong with this guy up here?
Being stared at like an idiot by a Pokémon made even Ash feel a bit embarrassed.
Not wanting to lose face in front of Pikachu, Ash decided to temporarily ignore that strange voice.
He cleared his throat, crouched down again, and forced himself to take out the red bottle of sauce.
He waved it lightly in front of Pikachu, though his tone lacked confidence.
“Um… do you want to try this? Ketchup…”
Even Ash himself felt that the suggestion sounded ridiculous.
What kind of Pokémon would eat something like that?
And just as he had expected.
Pikachu wrinkled its nose and glanced at the bottle in Ash’s hand with obvious disdain.
That sticky red liquid did not look like proper food at all.
It was just about to turn its head away to show its rejection.
But then—
“Grrrr…”
An untimely sound came from Pikachu’s stomach.
Its movement froze.
Of course, Ash heard it too.
Suppressing a laugh, he took out a small clean bowl from his bag and squeezed a little ketchup into it.
He had originally thought about taking out the dry bread as well so that it could at least be eaten together.
But before he could do anything, Pikachu had already reached out a small paw, cautiously dipped a bit of ketchup, and lightly licked it with its tongue.
The next second, Pikachu’s whole body trembled.
The eyes that had been filled with resistance suddenly lit up.
The moment it touched its tongue, a refreshing sourness burst across its taste buds, followed by the unique sweetness of tomatoes, light and not overly rich.
This was the taste!
In just a few licks, Pikachu cleaned the tiny amount of ketchup in the bowl completely.
Then, under Ash’s stunned gaze, Pikachu suddenly snatched the ketchup bottle from his hand, hugged it tightly, and squeezed it toward its mouth.
The red sauce flowed continuously as it gulped it down.
In less than a minute, the entire bottle was empty.
Pikachu held the now empty bottle, licking the opening with lingering satisfaction, clearly not wanting to let go.
Ash rubbed his eyes in disbelief as he watched this scene. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
He never would have imagined that Pikachu liked this kind of thing.
Eating ketchup as if it were a meal was way too strange.
Well… come to think of it, sometimes when he was hungry at home, he would secretly eat a bit of ketchup too, so maybe it was not completely impossible to understand.
Besides, seeing how much Pikachu liked it, Ash finally felt relieved.
Looking at Pikachu, who was still clutching the bottle, he smiled and said, “Since you like it so much, how about I buy you a whole backpack full of ketchup when we reach the next city?”
The moment he said that, Pikachu, which had still been immersed in the aftertaste of ketchup, suddenly froze.
It lifted its head, and a light unlike anything before burst forth in its bright black eyes.
“Pika! Chu!!”
Pikachu let out an excited cry and kicked off the ground, jumping straight onto Ash’s shoulder.
Although Ash could not understand what Pikachu was saying, at that moment he could clearly feel the joy and anticipation coming from it.
“Of course it’s true!” Ash said with a grin, patting his chest.
“It’s a promise!”
“Chu~”
Pikachu let out a satisfied sound.
But just as it relaxed, Pikachu suddenly realized something.
Why had it jumped onto his shoulder without thinking?
For a moment, Pikachu even felt a little embarrassed.
It was about to jump back down, but when it turned its head, it met Ash’s smiling face.
Their eyes met, and the atmosphere became awkward.
Pikachu silently gave up on jumping down.
It shifted slightly and simply lay there without moving.
“From now on, we’re partners,” Ash said again, his voice filled with happiness.
This time, Pikachu did not object.
It simply extended its tail toward Ash.
Understanding immediately, Ash reached out and gently held Pikachu’s tail.
Just like that, human and Pokémon finally formed a united front.
Having successfully gained Pikachu’s trust, Ash’s confidence soared, and all the frustration from earlier was swept away.
He slung his backpack over his shoulders and continued walking forward in a good mood, even humming an off key tune.
Pikachu lay comfortably on his shoulder, occasionally flicking its ears, looking quite at ease.
Staying up here really is better than walking below.
They walked like this for a while.
Suddenly, Ash’s singing stopped.
He noticed that a patch of grass not far ahead seemed to move.
Then, a small figure rose up from the grass, fluttering its wings and preening its feathers on the spot.
He carefully took out his red Pokédex and pointed it at the Pidgey.
The device emitted a mechanical voice.
“Pidgey, a Normal and Flying type Pokémon. It has the gentlest temperament among Flying type Pokémon. Because it is easy to catch, it is very suitable for beginner trainers.”
Suitable for beginners?
Alright!
Hearing this, Ash put away the Pokédex and made up his mind.
He turned to Pikachu on his shoulder, lowered his voice, and said with enthusiasm, “Pikachu, are you ready for our first battle?”
Pikachu lazily opened one eye and glanced at him.
Although there was still a trace of reluctance in its gaze, it had just eaten his food and they had already made an agreement, so it felt a bit embarrassed to refuse.
So Pikachu jumped down from Ash’s shoulder, landed steadily on the ground, and assumed a battle stance, waiting for Ash’s command.
Seeing this, Ash smiled confidently.
Before setting out, he had specifically checked Pikachu’s information using the Pokédex, so he had a good idea of its moves.
“Alright, let’s try your moves first!”
Ash took a deep breath, pointed at the Pidgey in the distance, and shouted with all his strength, “Pikachu! Use Thunder Shock!”
It was Ash’s first time commanding a Pokémon in battle, and his voice rang especially loud.
As his command fell, Pikachu’s cheek sacs burst with brilliant electricity, and a golden current shot straight toward the Pidgey.
However, the Pidgey had already been alerted by Ash’s loud shouting.
It raised its head warily and saw the blinding bolt of electricity heading straight toward it.
With a startled cry, Pidgey flapped its wings fiercely and shot into the sky at the last moment, escaping just before the attack hit.
“Don’t go…!” Ash reached out and called after it helplessly.
But the only response he got was Pidgey’s fading cry echoing through the air.
The Thunder Shock missed and struck the patch of grass where Pidgey had been, crackling loudly.
Ash continued to look at the distant sky, letting out a regretful sigh.
It was so close.
But just as he was feeling disappointed, a miserable cry suddenly came from the grass that had been hit by Pikachu’s attack.
“Spear—!”
Accompanied by a shrill scream, another bird Pokémon emerged from the scorched grass, tears of humiliation in the corners of its eyes.
Its feathers were in complete disarray, especially the ones on its head, which were still smoking.
At that moment, the Spearow stared at Ash and Pikachu with eyes full of fury.
Locked under that resentful gaze, Ash could not help but shiver, feeling a bit uneasy.
“Th… this is…”
As he spoke, he hurriedly took out his Pokédex again.
The screen lit up, and the mechanical voice echoed in the quiet air.
“Spearow. Unlike Pidgey, it has a violent temperament and will sometimes attack humans and other Pokémon.”
(End of Chapter)