Cicadas called from the treetops as Ash walked along the damp riverbank.
He recognized the place almost immediately.
In the original story, this was where Misty had fished Ash and Pikachu out of the river.
Then he heard water splashing up ahead.
Ash followed the sound and caught sight of a flash of bright orange hair.
A girl sat by the shore, her side ponytail swaying as she moved.
She wore a yellow sleeveless top, denim shorts, and her familiar red suspenders.
Ash stopped for a moment when he recognized her.
Misty.
The hot-tempered but caring Water-type Trainer from the original story was actually right in front of him.
Maybe he should give her a gift.
Ash opened the system’s cheat interface.
He entered an encounter code and selected Feebas by its Pokédex number.
“I got a bite!”
Misty shouted excitedly as the fishing rod bent under the weight of her catch.
Water splashed into the air, briefly catching the sunlight in a small rainbow.
But the moment Misty saw what was hanging from the line, her excitement vanished.
It was a Feebas, with dull blue fins and a shabby, mottled brown body.
“It’s so ugly!”
She was already reaching for the hook to release it.
“Wait!”
Ash hurried over.
He caught her wrist before she could let Feebas go.
“Feebas evolves into Milotic, one of the most beautiful Pokémon in the world.
Are you sure you want to release it?”
Misty finally noticed the boy standing beside her.
She looked him over cautiously before her attention shifted to the Pokédex Ash held out.
Milotic appeared on the screen, beautiful and almost nothing like the shabby Feebas dangling in front of her.
“Really?!”
Misty leaned closer to the screen in disbelief.
Ash nodded.
That was all the confirmation she needed.
Misty immediately pulled a Poké Ball from her waist.
She threw it at Feebas.
Red light flashed, drawing the Pokémon inside.
The Poké Ball dropped to the ground and shook once.
Twice.
Three times.
Click.
“Awesome!”
Then she turned back toward Ash.
“Thanks!
I’m Misty.
What’s your name?”
A few droplets of river water still clung to her face.
“I’m Ash.” He smiled.
“I’m a new Trainer, and I just started my journey.
My goal is to become a Pokémon Master.”
“My goal is to become a Water-type Pokémon Master,” Misty said.
“Thanks again, Ash.”
“It’s nothing.” Ash waved it off.
“Where are you heading next?”
“Viridian City, I guess.”
“Perfect.
Let’s go together.”
“Sure.”
Misty put away Feebas’s Poké Ball.
Eevee poked its head out from behind Ash and stared curiously at her.
“Eevee, Eevee~”
It greeted her.
Misty’s attention immediately shifted to Eevee.
“It’s an Eevee.
So cute!”
She reached down and stroked its head.
Eevee closed its eyes and purred, clearly enjoying the attention.
“Pika-Pika!”
Pikachu came over as well, apparently unwilling to let Eevee have all the attention.
Misty laughed and rubbed Pikachu’s head too.
“Pikachu is cute too!”
Ash watched the three of them together and smiled.
Having Misty around might make this journey even more fun than he remembered.
They gathered their things and started toward Viridian City along the riverbank.
Ash and Misty talked as they walked, while Pikachu and Eevee played nearby.
Misty pushed a well-kept bicycle beside her, its wheels crunching over the gravel.
Ash looked at the bike.
A bad feeling immediately settled over him.
He glanced at it again.
That bicycle looked perfectly fine.
And yet Ash couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened to it in the original story.
For a moment, he could almost picture the poor thing completely fried.
The more he looked at it, the more convinced he became that the bicycle had disaster written all over it.
“Misty, that bike looks pretty new,” Ash said casually.
Misty smiled.
“Of course.
I picked it out myself.
I really like it.”
Ash opened his mouth to warn her.
Then he stopped.
Maybe he was worrying for nothing.
The story had already changed so much.
Maybe this time the bicycle would survive.
They kept walking.
Misty happily talked about Water-type Pokémon and her dream of becoming a Water-type Pokémon Master.
Ash listened and nodded, though every so often his eyes drifted back toward the bicycle.
He really hoped his bad feeling was wrong.
By now, Ash was very different from the inexperienced boy he remembered from the original story.
Four years of training had changed him.
His features had become more defined, and he carried himself with far more confidence than the original Ash had at the start of his journey.
His short black hair moved in the breeze beneath his familiar cap.
His experience from his previous life, along with everything he had gained from the system, had also changed the way he carried himself.
He still had the energy of a ten-year-old starting his first journey, but he was much calmer and more self-assured than the Ash Misty should have met.
He had grown physically as well.
In the original story, Ash had been a little shorter than Misty.
Now he was about half a head taller than her.
He stood straight as he walked, his clothes fitting him neatly beneath his familiar cap.
Misty occasionally caught herself glancing at him while pushing her bicycle.
She looked at Ash for a moment longer than she meant to.
Then she realized what she was doing.
Her cheeks turned a little red, and she quickly looked away.
A short while later, she found herself glancing at him again.
Ash, meanwhile, was still watching her bicycle from the corner of his eye.
Please be careful around that bike, Pikachu, he thought.
[Pikachu: Relax.
I’ve got this.
Definitely being careful.]