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Because of Pichu's birth, Sato was in an excellent mood that night. Although the newborn troublemaker was incredibly mischievous and kept him up late, he still slept soundly and sweetly.
The next morning, after the thunderstorm had passed, the forest felt like it had been completely cleansed. A thick layer of mist spread across the woods at dawn, giving the place a mysterious atmosphere.
As usual, Sato woke up at 7 a.m. with the help of his alarm clock. However, what gave him a bit of a headache was that the Pichu who had slept beside him the night before had vanished without a trace.
Fortunately, something else reassured him—Golbat, who had been on night watch, was also nowhere to be seen. Sato figured the big brother of the team had taken it upon himself to look after the newest member.
Sure enough, as Sato stepped out of the tent, he saw Pichu bouncing around on a nearby tree. The little guy was waving a small twig, teasing a few Kakuna clinging to the branches.
Faced with Pichu's curious and mischievous antics, the Kakuna dared not move even though they were clearly irritated—Golbat was hanging upside down from a branch nearby, glaring at them with undisguised hostility in his eyes.
Sensing the terrifying pressure coming off Golbat, these Kakuna—who were all on the verge of evolving into Beedrill—had no choice but to suppress the urge to evolve and teach Pichu a lesson. Instead, they just kept using Harden to endure the teasing.
Seeing that the Kakuna weren't reacting, Pichu quickly got bored. He frowned in frustration for a moment, then a mischievous little smile spread across his face.
Rubbing his tiny hands together, a thin golden spark of electricity crackled between them, forming a tiny electric whip.
Then, with this whip made of Electric-type energy, Pichu began to zap the Kakuna, and sure enough, the ones with weaker special defense started to suffer.
"Stop it right now, Pichu. You're not allowed to bully others like that."
Seeing how naughty Pichu was being, Sato walked over immediately with a stern expression and scolded him seriously.
"Pi-chuuuu…"
Pichu saw how serious Sato looked and immediately realized he was in the wrong. He dismissed the electric whip and lowered his ears, eyes brimming with tears as he whined sadly.
"It's okay. As long as you know it was wrong, come down now—breakfast will be ready soon."
Sato's heart immediately softened seeing Pichu like that. He relaxed his expression, waved him over, and spoke gently.
"Pi pi pi~!"
Just like that, Pichu's sad face and teary eyes disappeared in an instant. He excitedly floated down using Magnet Rise, landing cheerfully on Sato's right shoulder.
"You little rascal…"
Sato instantly realized that Pichu had been faking earlier. His face darkened slightly, and he sighed helplessly.
The moment Pichu flew away, the Kakuna he had been pestering all lit up with the glow of evolution. Before long, the newly evolved Beedrill scattered and fled.
During breakfast, Sato introduced the new team member, Pichu, to the rest of his Pokémon.
This mischievous little one had no trouble warming up to everyone—except for Arbok, who had the worst temper. Thanks to being the youngest and most energetic, Pichu was quickly welcomed and became part of the group.
Well… "welcomed" might be a stretch. It was more like the rest of the Pokémon became the targets of Pichu's pranks. Among them, his favorite target was Swampert.
Because Swampert was tall and bulky and also a Ground-type, Pichu felt completely safe playing hide-and-seek on his back and gleefully zapping him with happy sparks whenever the mood struck.
Swampert didn't really mind the harassment. No matter what Pichu did on him, it didn't hurt—just got a bit noisy. Still, it didn't interfere with his ability to enjoy breakfast.
After breakfast, Sato began directing the team's physical training. All of the Pokémon, except Pichu, obediently began their morning exercises.
Since Pichu was still a baby, Sato didn't ask him to train. Instead, he brought out a small treadmill and roller machine that Nidoran used to use, letting Pichu "play" with it.
Pichu, brimming with curiosity, was delighted to receive the miniature treadmill. He happily started running on it right away.
But before long, he got bored with the repetitive motion. When he saw Golbat and Shiny Beautifly flying overhead, he immediately tried to join them in the air.
Unfortunately, even with all his natural talent, the newly hatched Pichu could only float slowly at best. In the blink of an eye, he was left far behind by Golbat and Beautifly.
Frustrated that he couldn't keep up—and that neither Golbat nor Beautifly was willing to play with him—Pichu turned his attention elsewhere.
He first tried to play with Swampert, but gave up quickly after realizing he couldn't swim. As for Arbok… well, Arbok's menacing aura scared him too much to even try.
In the end, Pichu approached Bellossom, who was gracefully practicing Quiver Dance.
What followed made Sato feel both amused and helpless—Pichu started mimicking Bellossom's dance. At first, he copied her exactly, but after a few spins, he got dizzy and stumbled around in confusion.
After all, Pichu was just a newborn. After playing for only a short while, he was already worn out and floated back over to Sato.
Before long, the little troublemaker had dozed off, curled up on top of Sato's head.
Ditto, who had transformed into a hat, carefully looked after Pichu as per Sato's instructions, making sure he didn't fall off.
Just after Pichu drifted to sleep, a new batch of little troublemakers arrived at the lakeside clearing where Sato had set up camp.
As Sato was guiding his Pokémon through their training routines, a group of excited children burst out from the nearby trees and ran toward him.
"Everyone, look! I told you the big brother and his Pokémon would be here! That's Swampert swimming in the lake—see, didn't I say he's huge?"
The boy in the lead, wearing a white shirt, shouted excitedly to the other kids behind him. The moment he finished, he bolted toward Sato without hesitation.
This boy was none other than Ash. He had woken up early and remembered the plan he and his friends made yesterday. So he gathered a few of his closest pals and headed straight to the forest lake where Sato was camped.
Now, seeing Sato's Pokémon in training—especially Swampert swimming back and forth at high speed—Ash's eyes lit up like stars. His love for Pokémon bubbled over, and he couldn't contain his excitement.
"Where did this little squirt come from… Wait a second, this kid looks really familiar."
Of course, Sato noticed Ash and his group right away. But as he looked at the boy who had rushed over recklessly, a strange sense of déjà vu hit him.
At that moment, Pichu was jolted awake by Ash's sudden yelling. He instantly looked annoyed. Seeing Ash running straight toward them, a mischievous smile crept across his face.
Then—a golden spark of electricity shot out from Pichu.
A second later…
"AAAAAAHH!!" A scream of agony echoed across the clearing.
"…That charred-black look and absurdly strong constitution… Ah! I remember now—that's Ash when he was a kid!"
Watching Ash get zapped into oblivion by a single shock, then groggily mutter, "So tingly…" before standing up like nothing had happened and smiling brightly at Pichu, Sato suddenly recalled who the boy was and was instantly stunned.