At a Pokémon Center in a certain town—
Ash was animatedly recounting his bizarre experiences from the previous day to Professor Oak via video call.
He had encountered Celebi, met the new leader of Team Rocket, befriended someone who had traveled back in time from forty years in the future, and even caught Suicune!
Aside from an initial look of surprise, Professor Oak listened with a beaming smile throughout the story.
Ash, who had been entirely focused on recounting his recent experiences, failed to notice what Misty and the others did: a look of nostalgia had appeared on Professor Oak's face.
Nostalgia? What exactly was Professor Oak reminiscing about? Could it be that he had once gone through an experience similar to Ash's?
"...So, you erased the Team Rocket leader's memory and handed him over to the local police station, is that right?"
Ash nodded in response to the Professor's question; defeating Vicious and wiping his memory had happened the day before.
They had hauled Vicious along for a full day's journey, though thanks to Suicune dragging him, they hadn't been overly exhausted themselves.
Vicious had regained consciousness twice along the way—Ash had actually forcibly woken him up both times—but after giving him a little water and food, Ash would simply knock him out again.
He did this to ensure Vicious wouldn't die before they reached their destination; letting a guy like that simply drop dead would be letting him off too easily. He needed to spend the rest of his life atoning for his crimes in prison.
"By the way, Professor Oak, I caught Suicune! Suicune, you know! How come you aren't the least bit surprised?"
"Oh? Is that so? Perhaps my surprise didn't show on the surface, but I'm actually quite amazed! After all, that is one of the Legendary Beasts. It would be wonderful if you could send it back to me right away so I could study it!"
Only after Ash brought it up did Professor Oak's face reveal surprise and a hint of eagerness; it seemed he simply hadn't reacted immediately at first.
That was the reaction of a true researcher—Professor Oak's typical response. No researcher could remain unmoved when faced with a Legendary Beast.
The difference between Legendary Pokémon and ordinary Pokémon was a mystery every researcher longed to unravel.
Professor Oak was no exception.
"In that case, I'll send Suicune back now. Suicune, make sure you get along with the other Pokémon in the corral when you get there, okay? I'll be calling you back out every now and then." Ash took out Suicune's Poké Ball and gave the Pokémon a gentle reminder.
Whether it is a legendary sacred beast or an ordinary Pokémon, they can hear sounds from the outside while inside their Poké Balls—though they need to be close to the surface to do so; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to rest properly.
Mewtwo, however, is capable of seeing the outside world directly through the Poké Ball, though it can also choose to shut off external sensory input and enter a state of total isolation.
Given Mewtwo's abilities, though, multitasking—observing the outside world while meditating—is hardly a challenge.
Suicune's Poké Ball gave a gentle shake in Ash's hand, signaling that it understood.
Ash placed the Poké Ball onto the transfer device and swapped it with Professor Oak for the Cyndaquil he had recently caught.
With Charizard currently at Charizard Valley and no other Fire-type Pokémon in his roster, Cyndaquil naturally became the next Fire-type he would focus on raising.
He wondered how Charizard's training in the valley was going... A battle requiring Charizard's strength would likely come up soon.
"I've received it on this end," Professor Oak said, holding up the Poké Ball he had just retrieved.
Then, suddenly remembering something, he added, "Oh, by the way, Ash—I swapped starter Pokémon with Professor Sycamore to study the differences between the starters from our two regions."
"I've pretty much finished the research. These three Pokémon are meant to be given to new trainers—I don't need to return them to Professor Sycamore—but there is a bit of a problem..."
As he spoke, Professor Oak turned the camera to the side, revealing a blue, frog-like Pokémon leisurely eating its Pokémon food.
"This is Froakie, one of the Kalos starters. I've given it to several new trainers over the past little while, but the little guy keeps running back to the lab. It's quite a headache."
The eighth of every month is the day designated by the League for new trainers to receive their Pokémon.
Although Professor Oak had only possessed these three starters for a little over a month, Froakie had already been given away—and returned—several times.
Because the Froakie originally given to a novice trainer had run back, there was an extra Pokémon that needed to be placed with a trainer.
Professor Oak had notified a novice trainer—who had just turned fifteen—in a nearby town to come and collect the Froakie; he didn't worry about the "Number Eight" designation anymore, since he simply had a Pokémon available.
But no matter which trainer it was assigned to, the Froakie would always run back to Professor Oak's lab, giving the professor quite a headache.
"Froakie...?" Ash stared at the Froakie on the camera feed, momentarily stunned.
He recalled what the experts in the group chat had said about the Froakie that was destined to be his.
Seeing this Froakie now, his heart began to pound violently for some reason, and a strange, stirring sensation rose within him.
He felt as though he finally understood what those experts meant by "destiny."
In the vast sea of people and Pokémon, there were countless Froakies; how could he have known which one was meant for him?
Yet, upon actually meeting this one, the strange sensations in his body clearly told him the meaning of "destiny."
This feeling was completely different from meeting any other Pokémon!
"Professor Oak, could you give that Froakie to me?" Ash asked after a few moments of silence.
Professor Oak was taken aback, then turned the camera back toward himself.
"Are you sure, Ash? If you can't tame him, he might run away again. You're a long way from my lab; if he escapes, we might never see him again."
This Froakie was indeed incredibly clever; after fleeing from a trainer, he knew exactly how to find his way back to Professor Oak's lab.
But Ash's location was far too remote for the Froakie to simply run back if he escaped.
And if that happened, it wouldn't be a simple matter of returning to Professor Oak's lab—he would vanish without a trace!
Although Froakie was perfectly capable of surviving in the wild, if he ran off and Ash couldn't find him again, it would likely deal a massive blow to Ash.
It was obvious that Ash was genuinely fond of this Froakie; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked for it in the first place.
If he failed to win Froakie's approval and let him run away...
"It's fine. I feel a real connection with him, and I'll make sure Froakie accepts me! If I didn't even have that much confidence, how could I ever become the world's greatest Trainer?" Ash said, waving his hand dismissively with a look of utter confidence.
"Since you put it that way, I'll send him over to you." Seeing Ash's confidence, Professor Oak didn't refuse; he recalled Froakie into its Poké Ball and placed it on the transfer device.
After a moment's thought, Ash decided to send Heracross back.
That left him with a lineup consisting of Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Pikachu, Gardevoir, Lucario, Togepi, Mewtwo, and the newly arrived Froakie.
A total of eight Pokémon!
However, since Misty took care of Togepi and Mewtwo didn't require his supervision, the effective number he had to manage remained six.
The limit of carrying six Pokémon wasn't imposed because it was physically impossible to carry more; rather, the League believed that human capacity was limited.
Caring for six Pokémon during a journey was considered the maximum manageable number—any more, and the quality of care would suffer, becoming counterproductive.
Furthermore, since the largest standard battles were six-on-six, carrying six Pokémon had become the established tradition.
Ash had obtained special permission for his eight slots; Mewtwo was an exception outside the usual rules, and Togepi didn't contribute to combat strength.
Yet, the little guy refused to evolve and acted just like a small child, so Ash couldn't bring himself to send him back to Professor Oak's lab.
Consequently, his roster capacity increased to eight Pokémon.
Even eight slots weren't really enough for Ash; as he caught more Pokémon, the number he needed to train grew as well. Even though he rotated a batch of Pokémon back into his lineup every week, it was still difficult to give proper attention to every single one.
After all, Pikachu, Charizard, and Gardevoir were Pokémon he previously never rotated out.
Now that Charizard was staying at Charicific Valley, Lucario had taken a permanent spot in the team.
On one hand, Lucario's other Mega Evolution form hadn't been fully unlocked yet; on the other, Lucario improved much faster by Ash's side than it would back at the lab.
While other Pokémon also improved far more quickly when with Ash compared to staying at the lab, the magnitude of Lucario's growth was particularly significant.
This was because both Lucario and Ash utilized Aura, and Ash was at the "Divine Realm" level. With a "senior" mentor at the Divine Realm guiding it, Lucario's rate of improvement was naturally exceptional.
Thus, Lucario had secured one of the permanent slots, leaving only three spots for rotation.
Even though the number of slots was insufficient, Ash wouldn't trouble Professor Oak to increase his carrying capacity further unless there were special circumstances.
Having already increased his slots to eight was arguably bending the rules; if he asked for even more, he would feel embarrassed—not to mention the awkward position it would put Professor Oak in.
That said, if Ash were an Elite Four-level Trainer, the limit on carrying capacity wouldn't apply; that was one of the League's regulations.
The six-Pokémon limit existed because the average Trainer could only handle a maximum of six; however, the capabilities of Elite Four-level Trainers weren't restricted to just six Pokémon, so the League waived the limit for Trainers at that level and above.
"I've received it, Professor Oak," Ash said, holding up the Poké Ball to show the Professor.
"OK, I've received it on my end too... Good luck, Ash. I hope you can earn Froakie's approval."
"Don't worry. I have a feeling that Froakie and I are destined partners!" Ash smiled, his words filled with confidence.
Setting aside factors like Trainer rank, the Viridian Force naturally grants an affinity with Pokémon, and the Aura allows for direct communication with them; on top of that, he shared a unique, magical connection with Froakie.
Given all these factors, if he couldn't win Froakie's acceptance, then surely no one else in the world could.
After transferring Froakie, Professor Oak hung up the call.
He glanced at Suicune's Poké Ball and then released the Pokémon.
Upon emerging, Suicune shook its head and surveyed its surroundings. It had known while inside the Poké Ball that it was being transported to the "Hero of the Rainbow's" backyard, and its initial impression was that the environment was quite pleasant.
However, when Suicune's gaze settled on Professor Oak, a look of slight astonishment crossed its face.
"Woo..." You are...
"It's been a long time, Suicune... Hehe, though 'long time' only applies to me; for you, perhaps only a brief moment has passed." Seeing Suicune's reaction, Professor Oak realized the Pokémon had recognized him.
If Ash didn't have any preconceived notions, perhaps he would have recognized him too.
In any case, the legend from forty years ago had already returned to the past; even if his identity were revealed now, it wouldn't alter past events. Still, he preferred to let Ash discover the truth on his own.
"Woo-oh~" Suicune gave a gentle nod toward Professor Oak; it had indeed recognized the human before it, who had now grown somewhat old.
Its aura signature was identical to that of the young man from back then; despite the drastic changes in appearance and age, Suicune's ability to sense auras was infallible.
"Hehe, it really brings back memories. Forty years have passed already... If it weren't for Ash, I probably wouldn't have become a professor," Professor Oak said, a look of nostalgia on his face.
He turned and walked toward the wall of the laboratory, gazing at a picture he had hung there after Ash set off for the Johto region.
It was a painting depicting a standoff between Pikachu and Suicune—a lifelike piece that perfectly captured the distinct styles and presence of both Pokémon.
Looking at that scene alone, surely no one would have guessed that the very next moment, that Pikachu would charge in and deal a devastating blow to Suicune—followed by a subsequent attack that left the Legendary Pokémon all but unable to continue the battle.
That is the nature of Ash's Pikachu!
It was precisely this journey through time—and the defying-all-logic battle where Ash's Pikachu overwhelmed Suicune—that planted the seed of his ambition to become a researcher.
After becoming the Kanto Champion, he made the resolute decision to relinquish the title and dedicate himself to the field of research.
And it was for this very reason that he was able to obtain his Pikachu—such is the wondrous, closed loop of time!
*******************************
Enjoyed the action? Drop a review, fire off a comment, and send those Power Stones rolling! Your support keeps the updates coming fast—let's keep the momentum going! 🔥