After completing their first capture since leaving the laboratory, when Ash and the others arrived at the town entrance, they found it already crowded with people who had come to see them off.
Almost half the town had come to see them off, chattering about the three children's upcoming journey, and some even specially hung a farewell banner~
Among the crowd, the most conspicuous was naturally Ash's mother, Delia.
Ash and the others quickly rushed over, and Lila also joined the welcoming group.
"Mom, why such a big fuss?" Ash scratched his head, a bit speechless.
It was just leaving home at ten years old, not returning home in glory; everyone's enthusiasm was a bit excessive~
"There's nothing I can do, everyone wants to see you off," Delia said with a smile.
"That's right, we came voluntarily to send you off!" "You three must work hard!" "When you return, you must all become super amazing Trainers!"
The people who came to see them off shouted, full of blessings for the three children.
There was nothing they could do; their popularity in town was just that high.
Gary was Oak's grandson, and Blue, with her sweet voice and pretty face, also had good popularity. Ash was even more the quintessential 'child from another family,' possessing an almost perfect hexagonal template~
Almost everyone was convinced that they would surely bring honor and glory to Pallet Town in the future!
Some even hoped that one of them could be like Oak's great-great-grandfather, Oak Pallet, who, by achieving an excellent 931st place in the ranking of ten thousand Trainers, had the original Pure White Town named after him.
"Ash, Blue, Gary, you must be careful on your journey, and remember to call home often."
Finally, at the moment of farewell, Delia began to give endless instructions, her worry no longer hidden.
"We will definitely contact home regularly," Ash quickly promised obediently, "Lila, you also have to stay home and keep Mom company."
"Mm, Big Brother Ash, have a safe trip~"
"Auntie and Lila, don't worry, we'll definitely be fine!" Blue then showed a brilliant smile and tugged at Gary, "You say something too, what are you standing there for~"
"Auntie... thank you and everyone for coming to see us off." After all, he had often eaten at Ash's house, so Gary couldn't pretend to be aloof in front of Auntie Delia.
The current Gary is very different from the original story. Because he grew up competing with Ash, Gary doesn't have the flamboyance and childishness of the early anime, but rather the introversion of the Sinnoh period.
Currently, only the fact that he's dating several girlfriends simultaneously is consistent with the original story.
However, they did not accompany him as in the original story, but rather joined the crowd as cheerleaders to see him off.
He also did not ride the sports car from the original story, intending to start from scratch.
This kind of Gary, although sometimes still a bit arrogant, Ash is willing to call it reasonable pride~
"Mom, we're leaving!"
Finally bidding farewell to his mother and a host of relatives and friends, Ash and the other two finally set off, officially beginning their journey representing the three primary colors of Kanto: Red, Gary, and Blue!
..."Come out, Pikachu, Kangaskhan, Charmander!"
Walking on the main road outside Pallet Town, Ash simultaneously released all three Pokémon, and also affixed an exclusive lightning sticker to Pikachu's Poké Ball.
This way, it was exactly like the original Pikachu~
Pikachu, as expected, quickly leaped onto Ash's shoulder, comfortably resting there.
Even with several years of early contact, Pikachu still disliked entering its Poké Ball, and Ash, of course, had no intention of changing that.
Seeing Ash's actions, Blue and Gary also released their Pokémon simultaneously.
This interaction is very necessary, especially for newly acquired starter pokémon. Keeping them out often can help them quickly improve their rapport with their Trainer.
At the same time, it also allows them to respond to sudden battles at any moment.
"Squirtle, use Bubble!"
Soon, Gary found his first capture target. The Weedle, struck by Bubble, was captured directly into a Poké Ball before it could even react.
Having been held back for several years, and now finally a formal Trainer, Gary showed great enthusiasm for capturing. He quickly captured a Rattata, a Pidgey, and a Diglett.
By the way, all his captures followed the most standard 'battle-throw ball' process, which was absolutely worlds apart from some who just casually tossed a ball and succeeded~
It wasn't until they encountered several Caterpie that Gary, just about to battle and capture one, remembered that he already had his six held Pokémon and no empty Poké Balls left. He then reluctantly gave up.
"Oh, Caterpie, what a shame~" Blue seemed to notice Gary's predicament and said with a chuckle, "These are really great Pokémon."
"Indeed, Caterpie's evolution speed is arguably the fastest, and Butterfree with Compound Eyes is quite strong," Ash nodded in agreement... "Who said I wanted it to evolve?" To his surprise, Blue immediately shook her head and retorted, "Haven't you heard? If you keep a Caterpie from evolving, when its power is honed to the limit, it will evolve into the legendary Rayquaza~"
"Hmph, that sounds like a baseless rumor, only a fool like you would believe it." Gary scoffed, pouting, "Ash, lend me a ball..."
"Hey, I think you actually believe it!" Seeing Gary capture a Caterpie with Ash's Poké Ball, Blue immediately laughed teasingly, "Oh, right... there's a cancel button on the pokédex. If Caterpie can't hold it in, you can help it~"
"Nonsense! I just want to catch one to train, not for some Rayquaza!" Gary retorted indignantly, but still secretly glanced at his pokédex... "Oh, right... aren't you two catching any?" After transferring the Caterpie, which was his seventh, back, Gary asked somewhat puzzled.
He had already exceeded his on-hand limit, but the other two hadn't caught a single one yet.
"You can just catch them yourself, I'm not interested in Rayquaza~" Blue said with a playful wave of her hand.
"I don't need to either, there are no Pokémon here that interest me."
For Ash, going out to catch Caterpie and Pidgeotto wasn't his preferred approach.
Although these two Pokémon were captured in the original story, in his opinion, they didn't belong to Ash's fated Pokémon.
What does 'fated' mean?
It means he was destined to encounter the abandoned Charizard, to meet the lone wanderer in the Pokémon village, to meet the rogue leader of the Squirtle Squad... In short, those unique existences with specific experiences!
Compared to that, Caterpie, Pidgeotto, and the thirty Tauros that came later, clearly had nothing to do with being fated.
For such commonly appearing Pokémon, unless he encountered a particularly excellent individual, Ash would not casually capture them for nostalgia's sake.
If he couldn't guarantee that the one he caught was 'that one,' then it was better to be realistic and contentedly be a strength-oriented Trainer.
However... Ash suddenly remembered, there were indeed Pokémon nearby that would interest him.
"By the way, do you two want to come with me somewhere?" Ash suddenly invited them, "I promise you'll be amazed."
"Where do you want to go?" Blue asked curiously.
"Are there powerful Pokémon?" Gary immediately became interested.
"I'm going up Miyacha Mountain... there are big guys there!"