After joining my team and my family, Floette "told" me she wanted to rest inside her Poké Ball, so that's exactly what I did. I returned her to her Poké Ball and prepared to go back to my room as well. After saying goodbye to Nurse Joy, I went back to bed.
The girls and Pikachu hadn't even noticed that I had been gone all this time. The three of them were still sleeping soundly, completely unaware of everything that had happened to me.
"Sigh… I should get some sleep too…"
It had been a day full of emotions… and too many unanswered questions. My mind felt heavy, and I needed a proper rest—well deserved, I should add. But just as I was about to fall asleep…
[Congratulations to the host for completing a hidden SSS-rank mission: Capture the Eternal Flower Floette!
Mission content: Obtain the unique Pokémon Eternal Flower Floette.
Restrictions:
The Eternal Flower Floette cannot be forced to accept.
The Eternal Flower Floette must choose you as its trainer and join your team willingly.
A.Z. must accept Floette's decision and acknowledge you as her new trainer.
Rewards: 1 Master Ball, System Function: Lock, 50 Lure Balls, 50 Love Balls, 50 Heavy Balls, 50 Friend Balls, 50 Moon Balls, 50 Fast Balls, 50 Level Balls, System Function: Normality.
Congratulations on updating the system. Please review the new functions!]
For a moment, my eyes went wide. Hidden mission? New functions? A Master Ball? Three hundred Poké Balls? What is going on?
[Host, your luck is simply out of this world!]
What do you mean?
[The hidden mission! Do you have any idea how difficult it was? This was one of the hardest missions in the entire system, and you completed it during your very first journey. Do you understand how incredible that is?]
…It does have a point. What were the chances of something like this happening?
[Minuscule. The world is enormous, and Floette wasn't even supposed to appear for another fifteen years. The fact that you found her—and that she chose you… is practically impossible!]
Ehem. What can I say? Just luck. Still, I have to admit… the rewards are impressive.
[Impressive? That's only because you don't understand how difficult this mission truly was. If you did, you wouldn't think these rewards are excessive at all.]
Even the system itself seemed shaken by my luck. This mission was among the most difficult hidden missions. Hidden missions are never announced by the system—they simply exist, waiting to be fulfilled. But the problem is that their conditions are extremely strict and specific, meaning they must be completed exactly as required.
For example, capturing the Crystal Onix was also a hidden mission, but one of its conditions was that Team Rocket had to capture it first, forcing Ash to save it… using only Pikachu, without any help. Since that specific condition wasn't fulfilled, I never received the rewards.
But this case was far worse. Just finding Floette was already extremely difficult, since she was currently wandering the world and wouldn't reunite with A.Z. for another ten years. Intercepting her before that? Nearly impossible. The world is vast, and finding a specific Pokémon is hundreds of times harder than winning the lottery multiple times in a row.
And that wasn't even the hardest part. The first condition required that Floette could not be convinced to join me. If I had influenced her decision in any way, the mission would have failed. The second condition was even worse: Floette herself had to take the initiative and choose me as her trainer. And if that wasn't enough… A.Z. himself had to accept it and willingly recognize me as her new partner.
Letting go of the Pokémon he loved the most in the world—the one he built Ange for in the first place.
The difficulty of this mission was so absurd that the system never even considered the possibility that I could complete it. At best, it assumed I might encounter Floette at some point. But fulfilling all these conditions? It never even crossed its mind.
With that in mind… the rewards made sense.
"Anyway… putting aside how difficult that mission was… let's check those new functions," I said.
The system fell silent for a moment. Was I really not aware of how insane my luck was? If it had a body, it would've definitely elbowed me.
[…Fine…]
Defeated for now, the system gave in.
[New functions:
Lock: Thanks to this function, the host will never encounter a situation where their Pokémon must be released, unlike what happened to the original Ash. The host can rest assured that all Pokémon will remain by their side forever.
Normality: Are you worried that your girls or others might question where all your items and Poké Balls come from? With this function, that problem disappears. Even if you pull out something ridiculous like a bicycle from your backpack, no one will question it. Use all your system rewards freely without fear of suspicion!]
Oh my God… both of these are incredible. To be honest, even though I never intended to do it, I had always been slightly worried about ending up in situations like Ash did with Pidgeot or Butterfree. That thought had always lingered in the back of my mind. But now… I don't have to worry anymore.
[I'm glad you're at least impressed by these functions. Do you understand now? This was the only way to obtain them. Without completing that mission, you would have never unlocked them.]
Of course I do.
The system wanted to punch me. You don't understand at all, you idiot host! But it stayed silent. If it ever gets a body, it'll definitely hit me for this.
With that said, extremely satisfied with everything that had happened, I closed my eyes… and instantly fell asleep.
…
The next day.
"All of that happened while we were asleep?" Roxanne asked in disbelief.
"Basically, yes," I nodded.
"I… don't even know what to say…" Celeste said.
"Pika pi…" Pikachu nodded.
"Flo!" Floette said happily.
After waking up, I explained everything that had happened the night before while they were sleeping peacefully, and I also introduced them to Floette, who was now sitting on my shoulder, holding her flower.
"Why do problems seem to follow you everywhere? Can't we just have a peaceful journey for once?" Celeste asked.
"That's what adventure is about, isn't it? Things happening to you," I replied calmly.
She wasn't wrong. When you go on a journey, unexpected things are bound to happen. Some turn into exciting adventures, others into dangerous situations. But it's true that Ash experienced far more than normal. And in my case… even though my soul comes from another world, it fused with Ash's. My body is his, so technically, I'm almost completely him. It's only natural that things like this keep happening to me… even if my path is very different from his.
"You're right, but… couldn't we rest once in a while?" Celeste sighed.
Adventures were great, but taking a break every now and then wouldn't hurt.
"Anyway, Floette is part of our family now, so let's not overthink it," I said.
"Flo!" Floette nodded.
After calming them down, I returned Floette to her Poké Ball and we set off toward Cinnabar Island, our next destination.
As I had explained before, the most logical option was to take a ship from Vermilion City, so that's exactly what we did.
"Well, well… if it isn't Ash Ketchum, the loser who couldn't even show up on time to get his first Pokémon," someone said.
That voice…
We turned around and saw Gary, dressed elegantly, with a group of girls following behind him.
"Who does this rude guy think he is?" Celeste asked, annoyed.
Roxanne looked just as angry, but stayed silent.
"It's Gary… a trainer from Pallet Town. He started his journey at the same time as me. I guess he'll be one of my rivals in the Pokémon League," I said.
"Rival? You have to be a good trainer for that. How many badges do you have, loser? I already have all eight," Gary said arrogantly.
He took out a case, showing off his eight shining badges.
"Don't you think you're being a bit rude? Where are your manners?" Roxanne said, frowning.
"Oh… looks like you're not as dumb as I thought," Gary said, looking at them.
"You…!" Roxanne snapped.
"Hey, loser. How many badges do you have?" Gary asked, ignoring her.
Roxanne and Celeste were about to explode, but I stopped them. To me, Gary was just a spoiled kid. At least for now. He would mature eventually.
"I just got my sixth badge," I said calmly.
Gary looked surprised. He probably expected me to lose my temper.
"Not bad for a loser like you. Want to battle someone who already has eight badges? Maybe you'll learn something," he said arrogantly.
Oh… this could be fun.
"Alright. How do you want to do it? How many Pokémon?" I asked.
"One each. I have a party to attend, so I don't have time to waste on someone like you. Don't worry, I won't use my best Pokémon," Gary said.
I think I'll knock him down a peg.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu said, ready to fight.
Normally, I'd let her, but this time… I wanted to teach Gary a lesson.
"Not this time, Pikachu. I want to teach him a lesson… and I know the perfect way," I said.
Pikachu looked confused, but accepted.
"Fine. Let's do it here," Gary said.
We were at the harbor, but for some reason there was a battlefield nearby, probably for trainers who wanted to battle while waiting for the ship.
"I'll be the referee," Roxanne said.