Age 9, Month 4, Day 22 『Aim to be a Pokémon Master!』
Waking my past life's memories made me, New Ash, mentally an adult, but that doesn't mean my dreams have changed.
Of course, I still plan to aim to be a Pokémon Master in the future. For someone like me, the chance to meet an Elite Four member was incredibly valuable.
Especially Lance. In the games, he's that insane guy famous for his Dragonite's Hyper Beam. It's only natural for a nerd to want to meet him.
Age 9, Month 4, Day 23 『A Red Hat? That Character Design is Way Too Similar.』
If this world is the anime world, I wondered if Lance was the Kanto Champion. I looked it up, but the name that came up was a boy named Red. So it's the games?
But, looking into it further, it seems that name is just a nickname, and no one knows his real identity.
Looking at his photo, he wears a red hat and clothes with a lot of red fabric, which is apparently why they call him Red. Also, he's apparently fundamentally uninterested in anything but battling, and Lance handles almost all of his Champion duties other than battles.
Well, he even has Lance substitute for him in battles he's not interested in, so you could pretty much say Lance is the actual Champion.
It said he's silent and spends most of his time training deep in Mt. Silver.
By the way, to enter the depths of Mt. Silver in this world, you have to pass a very strict screening. If I ever want to meet this Red, my only path is to win the Indigo Plateau Conference and participate in the Champion League.
Age 9, Month 5, Day 3 『Dragonite, use Hyper Beam!』
We had to wait a long time, but I finally got to meet Lance today. Gary was with me, but even he was quiet today. He seems to be moved by meeting Lance.
I heard he's only 16, so he's pretty young.
He showed me his partner, Dragonite. It had a completely different air from the Pokémon you see at the lab or around Pallet Town. It had the powerful presence of a seasoned warrior.
I immediately started asking him in detail about all the things I'd always wanted to know, things you can't learn from the anime or games, like what's necessary for Pokémon battles, Pokémon training, and how to use moves.
At first, Gary was asking questions too, but I was firing them off like a machine gun, so now he's just become a silent wall.
Lance also seemed surprised at first, probably not expecting a kid who wasn't even a Trainer yet to have this much drive, but he answered everything politely.
The most interesting thing was his hypothesis that the Pokémon types a Trainer finds easiest to raise might be predetermined.
Simply put, like Nen in Hunter x Hunter from my past life, every human is naturally born with types they are good at and types they are bad at. His idea is that Pokémon of their "good" type are the easiest for them to raise.
He said this is just a prediction based on statistical data and hasn't been scientifically proven, but considering that most Gym Leaders and Elite Four members are specialists in a single type, it certainly doesn't sound crazy.
Lance himself said his own proficient types are Dragon and Flying. That explains why he uses Aerodactyl, Gyarados, and Charizard, which aren't Dragon-types but are Flying-types.
Come to think of it, the anime-Ash also had a lot of Flying-types that actually evolved. Considering that, Ash's proficient type might be Flying. Conversely, I'd bet his worst type is Water.
The only Water-types he caught that evolved were Kingler and Greninja; almost all the others remained unevolved. You could probably say his compatibility with them is the worst. Being bad with Water-types... he's pretty much finished.
According to Lance, this is something you just start to get a feel for as you raise Pokémon, but Trainers with high win rates often have a match between their own type and their Pokémon's type.
However, there are rare Trainers who are strong regardless of such compatibility, and it seems the current Kanto Champion, Red, is one of them.
Lance said Red is difficult to counter because he uses various types of Pokémon all at the same high level.
Of course, Red probably has types he's proficient with, but he just raises any Pokémon to be strong, as if such things don't matter.
Lance seems to respect Red for that, but he also declared that he doesn't plan to keep losing forever and will take the throne soon.
Hearing a declaration like that made us want to cheer for him. We both yelled, "Good luck!" It looks like we'll get to see an exciting battle next year.
Age 9, Month 5, Day 4 『I've Decided on My Reason to Be Strong』
The knowledge I got from Lance was even better than I imagined.
After all, there was so much I didn't know, with only my past life's memories of turn-based game battles and anime-Ash's knowledge, which was limited to watching League matches on TV. The knowledge Lance gave me reliably filled the holes in my lopsided understanding.
Lance said it. That Pokémon are free.
Come to think of it, anime-Ash's whole brand was "freedom."
In battle, he'd often seize victory with ideas no other Trainer had, like burning up the entire field with fire or creating a move like the Counter Shield.
Of course, I think what Lance meant was "don't become a Trainer who just sticks to the mold," but it still helped me remember something I, as New Ash, had forgotten.
That's exactly why I feel so strongly about this.
I'm no good as I am. If I don't get stronger, I won't even be able to beat the anime-Ash.
As long as we use the power called Pokémon, it's the Trainer's job to take responsibility for it.
Apparently, Bruno of the Elite Four is the same, but Lance said he also trains his body so he can keep up with his Dragonite's movements.
I have to master the Pallet-power flowing through this body, or I won't survive the battles to come.
Starting tomorrow, I've decided to start attending the dojo at the edge of Pallet Town. It seems they teach something called the "Pallet-Style Physical Language Technique," so I plan to master it completely and prepare for the future.
Age 9, Month 5, Day 8 『Pallet-Style Physical Language Technique, Also Known as Pallet-Style Divine Fist』
The bodies of Pallet Town residents have special cells called "Pallet Cells." By drawing out their power, one can apparently display strength impossible for an ordinary person.
Come to think of it, anime-Ash also occasionally used power that didn't seem human, and I feel like there was a whole setting about him having a special Aura.
Well, I don't really get the Aura stuff, but if I can freely use the power of these "Pallet Cells," it means I'll be able to perform super-actions like in the anime.
According to the dojo's master, if I can master it, I'll gain speed faster than a car, power to shatter iron, toughness to withstand a direct hit from a rockslide, and stamina to run for a whole day without tiring. I'll even be able to win against Pokémon.
Wonderful. This is exactly the power I've been looking for.
I'll go every day from now until the day I leave. The master seemed lonely with no disciples, so I'll be his first and foremost, and I will thoroughly master the Pallet-Style Physical Language Technique!
Age 9, Month 5, Day 9 『Why Would You Release Your Pokémon, Ash?』
I am New Ash. Therefore, I have no intention of following the same path as anime-Ash.
So, I'll catch Pokémon other than the ones he caught in the anime, and I have no intention of releasing any Pokémon I catch halfway through my journey.
I find anime-Ash's actions hard to understand. What's so great about releasing your own Pokémon?
It might sound like a touching story because it's an anime plot, but if you catch a Pokémon, it's a Trainer's responsibility to raise it to the very end. Give me back Pidgeot.
Come to think of it, he fought with a fixed team a lot in the anime, but that's such a waste of experience points. My past self was the type to raise all his Pokémon evenly, like Gary.
That's why I'll rotate my party members regularly, and I'll have them battle with me even when I go to different regions. If this were the complete anime world, I might have considered acting according to the anime, but with people like Daisy and Red, who make things feel subtly different from the anime, there's no guarantee things will follow the original story.
When I think about it that way, do I even need to get Pikachu as my starter?
Anime-Pikachu wasn't even friendly at first, and its strength was inconsistent, fluctuating between strong and weak depending on the series. Sure, its power and toughness are above other Pikachu, but there's no guarantee the Pikachu in this world is the same. A normal Pikachu is weak.
If it evolved into Raichu, I'd consider it, but that Pikachu has that mysterious fixation on refusing to evolve and refusing to go in its Poké Ball. If that's the case, choosing one of the starters that evolves would be better for me in the long run.
But, if things do proceed according to the original story, there are tons of Pokémon I want, like the starter Pokémon from each region, the Ash-Greninja, Dragonite, and Lucario. Considering that, it's also true that I shouldn't jump to an easy conclusion.
Age 9, Month 5, Day 12 『The Half-a-Poké Ball... Apparently.』
Lately, I've been repeating a daily cycle of going to Professor Oak's Lab and then to the dojo. Mom told me, "Why don't you go fishing for a change?"
Honestly, I can interact with Pokémon at the lab, and I can feel myself getting stronger at the dojo, so it's a lot of fun. To be frank, her suggestion was kind of a nuisance. But I couldn't just ignore my Mom's concern, so I decided to take a day off and go fishing.
While I was awkwardly fishing, Gary showed up. He started sizing me up, then began fishing nearby as well.
It seems my "brute-force assault of knowledge" left a pretty deep trauma. He's not running his mouth like he used to. We're just fishing peacefully, cautiously making conversation.
I wish I had remembered from just the "fishing with Gary" part, but this was apparently the "half-a-Poké Ball" scene from the original story.
I'd completely forgotten and, saying, "I don't need this broken ball," I gave it to Gary. I only remembered after I gave it to him, so I couldn't very well ask for half of it back now.
As I was wondering what to do, he shouted, "I never thought the day would come when I'd accept charity from you!" and threw the ball back at me.
I don't really get why he's so angry, but I obviously don't need the whole ball, so I skillfully broke it in half, made up some random reason about it being a "symbol of our rivalry," and forced one half on Gary.
"Very well. I recognize you as my rival, Ash!"
He seemed to buy it and went home with his half of the Poké Ball.
I wasn't sure what was going to happen for a second, but I'm glad I managed to keep it on track with the original story.
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