[Bruno: My heart goes out to Ash for a second. He looked forward to that camping trip for so long, but he missed it.]
[Misty: Whose fault is that? Who told him to sleep in?]
[Brock: If I were Ash, I'd probably be too depressed to sleep all night.]
[Misty: And then sleep in again the next day?]
[Ash: ...]
[Gary: Sure enough, without me, you can't do anything, Ash. If I had been there at that time, I definitely would've made Grandpa wait for you.]
[Misty: I don't think it would've made a difference. With that guy named Goh fanning the flames, even if you were there, I don't think Professor Oak would've waited.]
Professor Oak was a man of principle; he wouldn't bend the rules just because Gary was his grandson.
[Gary: Alright, you're right. I really don't have that much pull.]
Listening to Gary's endless chatter in the Comparison Livestream, Chairman Goodshow sighed to Professor Oak beside him.
[Chairman Goodshow: Ah, you really have it tough, Professor Oak.]
"Sigh."
Professor Oak let out a long breath.
He really did have it tough. Dealing with these two—Ash and Gary—was enough to shave five years off his life.
As everyone chatted, the white-bordered screen suddenly dimmed, while the black-bordered screen lit up.
[Cynthia: The protagonist in the white-bordered screen is Ash. I wonder if this black-bordered one will be different.]
[Steven: My suggestion is that the black-bordered screen could feature me as the protagonist. Trust me, my story is definitely more exciting than Ash's.]
What was the point of showing Ash's story again? A new Trainer who had only been traveling for less than a year?
Steven felt it would be far better to show his story — starting from scratch, rising to become a Champion, and then resigning to pursue new dreams. That would be ten thousand times more exciting than Ash's.
When Steven said that, Lance immediately became interested.
[Lance: You can feature me. Step by step, I punished evil and became a great Dragon Master.]
It wasn't bragging — if his journey were written as a novel, it would definitely fit the template of a true protagonist.
[Diantha: You haven't even become a Champion. What right do you have to compete with us for the protagonist role?]
[Cynthia: Exactly, exactly. Wait until you overcome Lorelei before talking about being the protagonist.]
[Lance: Champion? Lorelei? ...Sorry, my apologies.]
Cynthia and Diantha had hit Lance's sore spot, and he couldn't refute them — because they were right.
[Hop: My brother Leon is the most suitable!]
Since his debut, Leon had been undefeated in official Pokémon League battles.
Hop just wanted to ask — who else? Who else?!
[Steven: Young man, you don't understand. No one wants to read a story that's too smooth. Everyone prefers stories with twists and turns.]
[Hop: Uncle, you don't understand young people nowadays! What era is this? Who still reads stories where the protagonist is tormented? Protagonists who are invincible from the start and crush everything are the most popular among young people.]
Hop puffed his chest proudly. His brother Leon was definitely the most suitable protagonist for the black-bordered screen.
Amidst everyone's arguments, the black-bordered screen fully brightened, and the video began.
A sunny morning — green trees, blooming flowers, and an ordinary countryside bungalow.
The opening scene was identical to the one in the white-bordered frame.
[Wallace: What's going on? Is this to make us remember better?]
[Diantha: Who exactly is this guy named Ash, that we have to watch the same video twice?]
Could it be that this child named Ash was actually the System's illegitimate son?
Did the Comparison Livestream appear just to promote him?
[Cynthia: Don't talk nonsense. Keep watching — I believe the System will give us the answer soon.]
Cynthia's judgment was correct; soon enough, the scene began to show something different.
Ash in the black-bordered screen didn't act like a monkey — no sliding down the handrail or stumbling around half-awake. Instead, he calmly walked down from the second floor.
"Mom, I'm going camping," Ash said, handing a poster to his mother, Delia, who was cooking.
Delia smiled warmly. "Okay, as long as our Ash enjoys it. Oh, by the way, Mom seems to have something to do that morning. Can our Ash wake up by himself?"
Ash gave her a helpless look. "Mom, what are you talking about? I've been waking up by myself since I was three."
Delia paused, then laughed. "Ah, right — our Ash stopped sleeping in when he was three."
[Misty: He stopped sleeping in at three? I don't believe it! That's not the Ash I remember!]
[Ash: Yeah, yeah — how could I possibly stop sleeping in at three? He's totally bragging!]
Not only Misty — even Ash himself didn't believe it.
[Professor Oak: It's not impossible. The world in the black-bordered screen is very likely not our world, but a parallel world. Since it's Ash from a parallel world, it's only natural that his personality would be different.]