[Gary: A parallel world?!]
[Professor Oak: That's the only explanation.]
Time: The day of the camping trip.
Ash woke up early — no alarm clock needed.
He neatly folded his blanket, went through his morning routine in the bathroom, and then headed downstairs for breakfast. Delia had already prepared milk and bread for him. Everything was calm and orderly.
After breakfast, Ash glanced at the clock and muttered, "It's only 6:50. There's still plenty of time before the meeting. I can go to Professor Oak's lab after a bit of training."
With that, he walked outside into the yard and began his basic Trainer training — practicing how to throw Poké Balls.
[Ash: Huh? You can train for throwing Poké Balls?]
He had never done such a thing himself. Back then, he would've rather gone exploring in the wild than waste time on "throwing practice."
[Professor Oak: Throwing Poké Balls is a fundamental skill for Trainers. Delia spoils you too much.]
[Brock: He's only five years old and already that disciplined… This Ash is terrifyingly self-controlled.]
[Bruno: Indeed. With such discipline, even I'm looking forward to his future.]
[Professor Oak: Ash from the black world definitely has an unlimited future. The biggest weakness of the Ash we know is his fundamentals. If this one builds a strong foundation, his potential will be limitless.]
[Gary: Unlimited future? Grandpa, are you kidding? What kind of future does Ash have? He's not like me — I've got real talent. No amount of basic training can change how ordinary Ash is.]
[Ash: What are you so proud of, Gary? I'll definitely defeat you at the Indigo Plateau Conference!]
[Gary: Tsk.]
After more than half an hour of Poké Ball practice, Ash wasn't even sweating. Normally, he'd train for at least another hour, but today was special — he had to hurry to Professor Oak's lab.
"Professor Oak, aren't we leaving yet?" Chloe asked curiously.
"There's still ten minutes before the meeting time. Let's wait a bit longer," Professor Oak said, glancing at his watch.
In truth, it was more of a habit than a necessity. The fact that Ash wasn't here yet simply meant the meeting time hadn't arrived.
Having watched Ash grow up, Professor Oak knew the boy's sense of time was impeccable. No matter the weather, Ash would never be late.
"That guy's way too arrogant, making so many of us wait for him."
The voice came from Goh — annoying as ever, regardless of which world he was in. Even though Professor Oak had just said it wasn't time yet, Goh still couldn't help but complain.
Professor Oak was about to respond when steady footsteps echoed from outside. Looking up, he saw Ash approaching right on time.
Since Ash had arrived, Professor Oak didn't bother replying to Goh anymore. He planned to take the kids directly into the wild for their camping trip — but to everyone's surprise, Goh started up again.
"Hey, you latecomer, shouldn't you apologize to us?" Goh said arrogantly, his chin raised so high his nostrils almost pointed at the sky.
The audience watching the Comparison Livestream collectively fell silent.
Was this guy the legendary brat?
Professor Oak had already said Ash wasn't late, yet Goh was still picking a fight and demanding an apology. What was going through his head?
[Chloe: Goh probably didn't mean it. He's just… a little too straightforward.]
Perhaps realizing that Goh's behavior looked bad on the black-bordered screen, Chloe tried to defend him.
[Goh: Hmph, I didn't do anything wrong. Sure, he wasn't late, but did he arrive early like me? He made us wait for so long — he has no sense of time at all.]
Chloe's attempt at damage control was useless. Who could save her from such a pig-headed teammate?
Goh's unreasonable words not only offended Ash's friends and family, but also made most of the audience frown.
This guy was really annoying.
Misty and Gary — both short-tempered — were already preparing to tear into Goh when the System's chime sounded.
The System had just saved Goh's life.
[Ding! Entering the Prize Quiz Segment!]
[Question: What will Ash do next?]
A: Apologize obediently to Goh for his "lateness."
B: Reason with Goh, explaining that he was not late.
C: Ignore Goh, not bothering to argue with him.
D: Tell Goh with his fists that he was not late!
[Giovanni: Is this the prize quiz the System mentioned? Can you really win a Legendary Pokémon by answering?]
[Koga: It should be real. A worldwide broadcast like this — they wouldn't joke about it.]
[Bruno: We'll know once we try. Just go for it.]
[Delia: Our Ash is very reasonable, so the answer must be B.]
[Professor Oak: Delia, do you have some misunderstanding about your Ash?]
[Gary: I think D is the best answer! That Goh kid is just looking for trouble — he deserves a good beating!]
[Misty: I also pick D. Ash isn't exactly mild-tempered, and that guy actually dared to provoke him?]
[Brock: It's definitely not A. No matter which world's Ash it is, he's not the type to take things lying down.]