Viridian Forest.
Ash had been hopelessly lost in the woods for two whole days.
His original plan was to head straight to the nearest Gym in Viridian City. But a massive rainstorm had caught him off guard shortly after leaving home. Running blindly to find shelter, Ash had plunged deep into the forest. To make matters worse, he accidentally stumbled over a wild Weedle, instantly drawing the wrath of an entire Beedrill swarm.
Ash had fully intended to have Froakie fight them off. Given its strength, handling a wild swarm shouldn't have been an issue. But who could have predicted that Froakie would flat-out refuse to leave its Poké Ball?
Left with no choice, Ash had sprinted deeper into the woods. By the time he caught his breath, he had lost the Beedrill. He had also completely lost his sense of direction.
He only panicked for a brief moment. After all, panicking wouldn't help.
Besides, he was relatively familiar with Viridian Forest. He used to play on the outskirts as a kid. He knew how to find basic food and water sources, so starving wasn't a concern. Finding his way out was just a matter of time.
Having figured that out, Ash shifted his focus to the Pokémon. He wanted to catch a few new partners while he was here.
Viridian Forest was the largest woodland in the entire Kanto region, teeming with a massive variety of wild Pokémon. Ash figured he needed to catch at least one or two. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have a team to use in his first Gym battle.
Especially since Froakie still refused to listen to a single word he said.
But there was a glaring flaw in his plan. He needed a Pokémon to engage in a Pokémon battle.
He didn't have a Pokémon he could command, so he needed to catch one first. But catching one required a Pokémon battle. And he didn't have a Pokémon.
The logic looped into a total dead end.
"Please, Froakie! Just this once! Help me defeat that Pidgey!" Ash was practically on his knees begging.
"Fro."
Froakie simply lay comfortably on a sunbaked rock. It lazily waved a hand at Ash, completely dismissing his pleas. The message was clear: do it yourself.
"Darn it!"
Seeing Froakie's total apathy, Ash finally abandoned the idea of getting its help. He glared at the Pidgey pecking at the dirt nearby. A reckless idea sparked in his mind.
"Fine! I can catch a Pokémon perfectly fine without you!"
Ash dropped to the ground, pressing his body flat to hide in the tall grass. He kept his eyes locked on the Pidgey, inching forward in complete silence.
Once he was close enough, Ash raised his hips slightly and coiled his legs like springs. His eyes narrowed. In the next second, he launched himself forward.
He lunged like a starving tiger!
"Pidgey!"
The sudden explosion of movement terrified the bird. Seeing Ash's massive shadow looming over it, the Pidgey flapped its wings in a total panic. Just as Ash's hands were about to close around it, the bird vaulted into the air by a hairsbreadth.
Thud!
With far too much forward momentum, Ash slammed face-first into a solid rock.
"Ouch! That hurts!"
Ash hissed through his teeth, frantically rubbing his forehead where a large lump was already forming. But the physical pain wasn't the worst part. He watched the Pidgey disappear into the sky and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Am I really not going to catch a single Pokémon?"
Ash looked around. Truthfully, the forest was teeming with life. Caterpie, Rattata, Pidgey, Oddish. They were all incredibly common Pokémon. If he could just get Froakie to listen to him, he could easily catch every single one of them.
Unfortunately, reality didn't care about ifs.
Ash glanced back at the relaxing Froakie and sighed again.
"What am I supposed to do..."
"Fro, fro."
Froakie gave Ash a sidelong glance. It obviously understood the boy's dilemma. But for one, fighting these weak creatures completely failed to ignite Froakie's battle spirit. And two, it still hadn't accepted Ash as its rightful Trainer.
It didn't believe Ash had the skill to command it properly.
Froakie looked away. Its stomach gave a slight rumble. Standing up, the blue frog scanned the area before bounding off in a specific direction.
"Froakie, where are you going?"
Seeing his partner move, Ash quickly scrambled to his feet and followed. Moments later, they arrived at a large tree heavily laden with berries.
Froakie executed a massive leap, landing perfectly on a thick branch. Its hands moved in an absolute blur. A split second later, over a dozen berries rained down onto the grass.
"So you were just hungry." Watching Froakie happily stuff its face, Ash couldn't help but rub his own stomach. "Now that I think about it, I'm pretty hungry too."
"Oh, right! Hold on a second, Froakie."
Leaving the sentence hanging, Ash dove straight into the surrounding bushes. Froakie paused to throw a curious glance at the fleeing boy, but quickly lost interest and went back to eating its berries.
It wasn't long before Ash reappeared. He was carefully cradling a massive pile of freshly picked berries in his arms.
After spending two days with him, Froakie had already noticed the boy's abnormally high athletic abilities. So, seeing him gather this much food in record time wasn't entirely surprising.
But just as Froakie was about to take another bite, a hand suddenly appeared in its line of sight. It was holding a colorful assortment of different berries. Froakie looked up in total confusion, only to be met with its Trainer's goofy grin.
"You prefer the sweet ones, right? I've eaten these kinds before, and they're all really sweet. Want to try them?"
Froakie stared quietly at the handful of food. Slowly, it reached out and took them.
"Fro, fro," it chirped, offering a reluctant word of thanks.
"Hehe."
Thrilled to finally get a positive response, Ash happily plopped down on the grass next to Froakie. He started devouring his own pile of fruit.
A few minutes later, Ash noticed Froakie holding out a few pieces of fruit towards him. They were the ones Froakie had sliced off the tree earlier.
"Huh? For me? Is this a return gift?" Ash looked at his partner in complete surprise, only for Froakie to stubbornly turn the back of its head toward him.
"Well, don't mind if I do!" Ash laughed, accepting the offering. He tossed one right into his mouth. "Thanks! It's delicious."
"Fro, fro..."
Seeing Ash accept the gesture, Froakie muttered a quiet cry and went back to its lunch.
The two of them ate in peaceful silence. But a moment later, a strange rustling sound echoed from the nearby bushes. They both leaned over to look. Stepping out of the foliage was a Pikachu?
Ash stared hard at the bizarre creature. It certainly looked a little like a Pikachu. But for some reason, Ash couldn't shake the feeling that this Pokémon was just wearing a badly drawn costume.
"Mimi."
The strange Pokémon swayed awkwardly from side to side. Its crude, drawn-on eyes locked directly onto Ash's pile of berries. It had clearly been drawn out by the sweet scent.
"Are you hungry too?" Ash waved his hand in a friendly gesture. "Come on over and eat with us!"
"Mimi..."
The fake Pikachu watched Ash closely. It seemed extremely hesitant. But realizing the human held no ill intent, it slowly shuffled forward, cautiously closing the distance.
"Here you go." Ash gently held out a berry.
"Mimi."
The fake Pikachu accepted the food carefully. Ash noticed two shadowy, pitch-black claws extending from the bottom of the rag. The creature held the berry close, seemingly sniffing it. Then, it took a tiny, experimental bite.
Instantly, the Pokémon perked up. It grabbed the berry with both claws and began gnawing away excitedly.
"Whoa, slow down! There's plenty more."
Ash laughed warmly. He separated a large portion of his pile and pushed it toward his new guest. Then, he pulled his Pokédex from his pocket and scanned the mysterious creature.
"Beep. Mimikyu, the Disguise Pokémon. To avoid terrifying others, it wears a rag that makes it look like a Pikachu, but this only makes it look creepier. It will never forgive anyone who exposes its true form, attacking them even at the cost of its own life."
"So it really isn't a Pikachu." Ash wasn't even sure what tone of voice he was using anymore. He stared at the terrifying Pokédex entry before a wave of pure curiosity washed over him. "I've never seen a Pokémon like this before! Is it from another region too?"
"Beep. Mimikyu is a Pokémon native to the Alola region." The digital voice replied automatically.
"The Alola region? That's another place I've never heard of..." Ash muttered to himself. He watched Mimikyu eat for a few more moments. Suddenly, he spoke up. "Hey, Mimikyu. Would you want to come travel with me?"
"Mimi?"
Mimikyu tilted its head up at Ash. He could practically feel the heavy skepticism radiating from the creature, as if it were asking why on earth it should travel with him.
"Haha, yeah, that's fair." Ash rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry, that was way too sudden."
Ash had heard stories of Trainers catching Pokémon without battling, simply by bonding with them. He arrogantly thought he might be able to pull it off. Clearly, he was overestimating his own charm.
So how was he supposed to catch Mimikyu?
Ash instinctively cast a pleading look at the munching Froakie. Realizing the futility of it, he quickly looked away. Was he actually going to have to fight Mimikyu himself?
Ash sank into total total dismay. He fished an empty Poké Ball from his pocket and stared blankly at the shiny metal surface.
"Sigh."
Dejected, Ash carelessly tossed the ball into the nearby grass.
"It's just impossible, isn't it? Just chucking a ball and instantly catching something."
Beep! Beep! Click!
Suddenly, a familiar sequence of sounds echoed from the exact spot where he had thrown the capsule. Ash whipped his head around, just in time to see the Poké Ball stop shaking and lock itself.
"Huh?"
Ash froze completely. His expression rapidly shifted into total shock.
"HUH?!"
He scrambled over on his hands and knees, scooping up the red and white sphere. He tested the weight in his palm. Yes, it was noticeably heavier.
That meant he had genuinely just captured a Pokémon.
"I... I actually caught it?" Ash felt like he was trapped in a fever dream. "Wait... do I have some kind of hidden talent for catching Pokémon?"
He muttered the words aloud, pulling another empty sphere from his belt. Scanning the nearby foliage, Ash locked his sights onto a Caterpie inching along a leafy branch.
"Go, Poké Ball!" Ash hurled the sphere with all his might.
Whoosh! A direct hit.
Beep. Beep. Click! A successful capture.
"It actually worked..." Ash stared at the locked capsule in total disbelief. In the very next second, pure euphoria took over. "I really do have a hidden talent!"
"Alright!" Instantly burning with fierce determination, Ash grabbed every single empty Poké Ball he had on him. "I'm going to catch as many as I want!"
Ash focused intensely on his surroundings. The moment a blade of grass rustled, he unleashed a merciless throw.
"Here goes nothing!" Click! Capture successful.
"Take this!" Click! Capture successful.
"And you too!" Click!
Before long, Ash had amassed seven or eight new Pokémon. He was vibrating with absolute excitement.
"This is amazing! I really am a capturing genius! Maybe I should just sweep through the forest and catch every single one..."
"Rill!"
Right at the peak of his excitement, Ash felt something firmly yank on his pant leg. He looked down. A small blue Marill was clinging desperately to his trousers, pulling backward with all its might. The look on its face was sheer, frantic panic.
Ash paused. He remembered blindly catching a Marill just a few moments ago.
Lifting his gaze, Ash peered deeper into the dense brush. A Rattata, a Butterfree, a Nidoran... they were all staring back at him. And every single one of them looked absolutely heartbroken.
Was it because Ash had just snatched away their friends?
Seeing their grief, the victorious grin slowly faded from Ash's face. He looked down at the heavy cluster of Poké Balls in his hands. He stood in silence for a long moment. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed every single ball into the clearing.
Flash!
Every Pokémon he had just captured materialized in the grass.
"I'm sorry. Go on back home." Ash pulled the brim of his cap down over his eyes. Speaking softly, he pressed the release mechanisms on the empty spheres, officially severing the capture locks.
He released every single one of them.
The wild Pokémon didn't understand human words, but they instantly felt the mechanical bindings vanish. Their faces immediately lit up with joy. They rushed over to reunite with their worried friends, preparing to happily scatter back into the woods.
"Wait a second!" Ash called out, halting their retreat.
Seeing the Pokémon turn back in alarm, Ash quickly pointed toward the large pile of berries he had gathered earlier. He offered a gentle smile.
"You guys must be hungry, right? Go ahead and eat these. Think of it as an apology."
The wild Pokémon stared intently at the mountain of sweet fruit. Seeing that the human was genuinely offering it, they let out cheerful cries and swarmed the pile, immediately stuffing their faces.
Watching the happy little creatures, a warm, genuine smile crept back onto Ash's face.
"Fro?" Standing right beside him, Froakie looked up. It tilted its head, voicing its confusion.
"Are you asking why I let them go?" Ash rubbed his nose thoughtfully. "It's nothing, really. I just felt like... a bond without any real feeling behind it just isn't right for me."
Without a single lingering glance of regret, Ash turned on his heel.
"Let's get going, Froakie."
"Fro, fro..."
This time, Froakie didn't throw a stubborn tantrum. It quietly hopped along, following loyally at the boy's side.
"Mimi, mimi."
But before they could even take a few steps, Ash heard a very familiar sound near his ankles.
"Huh?" Ash looked down. Sure enough, Mimikyu was shuffling along right next to him. "What's wrong, Mimikyu? Did you not get enough to eat?"
"Mimi, mimi." Mimikyu shook its rag-covered head. Then, it looked up, staring directly at Ash.
Ash instantly understood the message hidden in those crudely drawn eyes. A surge of joy flared in his chest. "Wait... do you want to come with me?"
"Mimi, mimi." Mimikyu nodded firmly.
If I follow you, I get a full belly. No more going hungry.
"That's awesome!" Thrilled beyond words, Ash pulled out a fresh Poké Ball and knelt down, offering it to the strange creature. "I'm looking forward to traveling together!"
"Mimi."
Mimikyu squeaked in agreement. It leaned forward and gently tapped the release button on the center of the sphere. A beam of red light pulled Mimikyu inside. The capsule rocked back and forth twice before clicking shut.
Click!
Listening to the familiar chime of a successful capture, the look in Ash's eyes softened. It felt different. It felt completely different from his earlier mindless throwing spree.
This was the kind of capture he actually wanted. An uncontrollable grin spread across his face.
"I just caught... a Mimikyu!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, letting all his excitement pour out into the open forest.
"Fro, fro."
Standing next to him, Froakie dug a finger into its ear and turned its head away with a look of utter disdain.
Hmph. Getting so overly excited about catching a glutton. This human is absolutely hopeless.