While regaining the memories of my previous life has made me more mature, it hasn't changed my dreams.
Naturally, I still intend to become a Pokémon Master. To someone like me, the chance to meet a member of the Elite Four is incredibly precious. Especially someone like Lance—to a fan, he's a legend, famous for that terrifying Dragonite and its devastating Hyper Beam. It's only natural for someone with my background to be excited.
Age 9, April 23 — "The Red Hat Guy is Totally Stealing My Look"
I did some digging to see if Lance was the current Kanto Champion, assuming this might be the world of the anime, but the name that came up was a boy named Red. So, we're following the game lore here.
Upon closer inspection, it seems "Red" is more of a nickname, and very few people know his true identity. People started calling him that because of his signature red hat and clothes. Apparently, he has zero interest in anything but battling; Lance handles almost all the administrative duties of the Champion.
In fact, Red even delegates most title matches to Lance unless the challenger really piques his interest. For all intents and purposes, Lance is the one running the show. The reports say Red is a man of few words who spends most of his time training deep within Mt. Silver.
By the way, getting into the heart of Mt. Silver in this world requires a incredibly strict screening process. If I want to meet this Red, my only real path is to win the Indigo Plateau Conference and enter the Champion League.
Age 9, May 3 — "Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"
It was a long wait, but I finally got to meet Lance today. Gary came along, but he was unusually quiet for once—he seemed completely starstruck.
I was surprised to learn Lance is only sixteen. He's incredibly young for his position. He showed us his partner, Dragonite, and the Pokémon had an aura entirely different from anything I've seen at the lab or around Pallet Town. It had the presence of a true, battle-hardened veteran.
I took the opportunity to grill him on everything I've ever wanted to know: the nuances of battle that games and anime never explain, Pokémon nutrition, and advanced move applications. At first, Gary tried to chime in with his own questions, but I was firing them off like a machine gun. Before long, he just gave up and stood there like a silent wall.
Lance seemed taken aback that a kid who wasn't even a Trainer yet possessed such a relentless drive, but he answered everything with patience and detail.
The most fascinating thing he shared was a hypothesis that every Trainer has a specific "affinity" for certain types. To put it in terms of my past life—like Nen from Hunter x Hunter—humans might be born with types they are naturally better at raising.
This hasn't been scientifically proven, but statistical data shows that many Specialists, like Gym Leaders and the Elite Four, gravitate toward one type for a reason. Lance himself has a natural affinity for Dragon and Flying types. It makes sense why he uses Aerodactyl, Gyarados, and Charizard—none of them are Dragon-types, but they all share that Flying-type affinity.
Looking back at the Ash from the anime, his Flying-types always seemed to reach their final evolutions. Maybe his affinity is Flying? Conversely, I'd bet his worst affinity is Water. Out of all the Water-types he caught, only Kingler and Greninja ever fully evolved; the rest stayed in their base forms. Having a bad affinity with Water... yeah, that sounds about right.
Lance said you start to feel it intuitively as you raise them, but the most successful Trainers are almost always those whose "internal type" matches their Pokémon. However, there are rare anomalies who can dominate regardless of type—and Red is exactly that kind of Trainer. Lance noted that Red brings out different types at consistently high levels, making him a nightmare to prepare for.
Lance clearly respects Red, but he isn't content with losing. He declared that he plans to take the throne soon. Hearing that kind of resolve made us want to cheer for him. We both shouted, "Good luck!" I think next year's League matches are going to be a blast to watch.
Age 9, May 4 — "The Reason I Chose to Get Stronger"
The insights I gained from Lance were even better than I expected. My past-life knowledge was limited to turn-based game mechanics, and the original Ash only knew what he saw on TV. Lance's expertise bridged those gaps perfectly.
Lance said one thing that stuck with me: Pokémon are free.
The Ash I remember from the anime thrived on that freedom. He'd win matches with outside-the-box thinking—burning the field to clear hazards or creating "Counter Shields." Lance's point was that I shouldn't become a "cookie-cutter" Trainer, and it reminded me of something I had almost forgotten in my quest to be "New Ash."
I realized that as I am now, I wouldn't even be able to beat the original Ash. If I'm going to use the power of Pokémon, I have to take responsibility for it.
Lance mentioned that he and Bruno of the Elite Four train their own bodies daily just to keep up with their Pokémon's movements. If I don't master the "Pallet Power" flowing through my veins, I won't survive the battles ahead.
I've decided to start attending the dojo on the edge of town tomorrow. They teach something called "Pallet-Style Body Language Arts." I'm going to master it to prepare for the future.
Age 9, May 8 — "Pallet-Style Body Language Arts, also known as the Pallet Divine Fist"
Apparently, the people of Pallet Town have special cells called "Pallet Cells." By tapping into them, we can exert strength far beyond that of a normal human.
It makes sense. In the anime, Ash occasionally performed feats that were definitely not human, and there were those hints about him having a special "Aura." I don't know much about Aura yet, but if I can control these Pallet Cells, I'll be able to pull off those "Super Ash" moves myself.
The Dojo Master told me that if I master the art, I'll have speed faster than a car, power that can shatter iron, the toughness to shrug off falling boulders, and enough stamina to run for a full day. I'd basically be able to hold my own against a Pokémon.
Perfect. That's exactly what I need.
I'm going to go every day until I leave on my journey. The Master seemed lonely since he didn't have any other students, so as his "Number One Disciple," I'm going to master the Pallet Divine Fist.
Age 9, May 9 — "Why Does Ash Keep Releasing His Pokémon?"
I am New Ash. I have no intention of following the exact path of my predecessor.
That means I'm going to catch Pokémon other than the ones he had, and I have zero intention of releasing them. I honestly can't wrap my head around why the original Ash let so many go. It might make for "good television," but a Trainer's job is to take responsibility and raise their Pokémon to the end. Give me back my Pidgeot!
In the anime, he usually stuck to a fixed team per region, which is a massive waste of experience points. In my past life, I was the type to rotate and train everyone equally, like Gary. I'll be swapping my team members regularly and bringing them with me to new regions. Since people like Daisy Oak and Red exist here, this clearly isn't a 100% faithful "anime world," so there's no guarantee things will play out the same way anyway.
Which brings me to my first Pokémon. Does it have to be Pikachu?
The "Pikachu" from the show was disobedient at first and his power level fluctuated wildly between seasons. While he was tougher than a standard Pikachu, there's no guarantee the one I get will be the same. Generally speaking, Pikachu are fragile.
I'd consider it if it evolved into Raichu, but "Pika-pal" had that weird obsession with staying unevolved and out of its Poké Ball. It might be better for my long-term goals to just pick one of the traditional Starters.
Then again, if things do follow the script, there are Pokémon I definitely want—the other Starters, "Ash-Greninja," Dragonite, Lucario... the list goes on. I shouldn't jump to any hasty conclusions.
Age 9, May 12 — "Apparently, It Was Half a Poké Ball"
I've been alternating between the lab and the dojo every day, so Mom eventually told me, "Why don't you go fishing for a change?"
Honestly, the lab is great for bonding with Pokémon and the dojo is exciting because I can feel myself getting stronger, so her "advice" felt more like a chore. But I didn't want to worry her, so I took a day off to hit the water.
While I was struggling with the rod, Gary showed up and started fishing nearby. It seems my "knowledge bomb" really did traumatize him; he didn't talk any trash. We just sat there in a comfortable silence, chatting occasionally.
I wish I could say it was just a nice memory, but then I realized: this was the "Half a Poké Ball" incident from the original story.
I had completely forgotten about it. I actually fished up the broken ball and told Gary, "I don't need this junk," and handed the whole thing to him. It was only after I gave it away that I remembered the "rival's bond" plot point. I couldn't exactly ask for half of it back now.
As I was worrying about it, Gary yelled, "I never thought the day would come when I'd be taking charity from you!" and threw the ball back at me.
I didn't quite get why he was so mad, but I didn't want the whole thing either. I managed to break it clean in half and pushed one side onto him, making up some excuse about it being a "symbol of our rivalry."
"Fine! I'll accept you as my rival, Ash!"
He actually bought it and went home clutching his half of the Poké Ball. That was a close one, but I'm glad I managed to keep that piece of the original story intact.