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*Note:
One more thing: I'm preparing a very exciting Pokémon League arc. It's long and intense, and I've already spent more than 5 days just on two and a half battles. I'm sure you'll like it.
How much is left? The League saga begins in Chapter 113, and the first battle starts in Chapter 119. I'm giving you this small spoiler to build some hype. Subscribe if you want to read in advance!
...
What she handed me was a small, slightly crumpled letter.
"For me?" I asked, confused.
"That's right," Hana nodded.
"That's strange… I don't think I know anyone who would write to me," I said.
In this day and age, where smartphones exist… who even uses letters anymore? Normally, you'd just make a phone call.
"You should open it. I'm curious too," Celeste said.
"Same here," Roxanne added.
Hana stepped to the side, trying to look casual while secretly watching me. Now that I had said I didn't know anyone who would write me a letter… she was curious too.
"Let's see…" I said as I opened the envelope.
The letter read:
Hello Ash, it's me, Lisa. If you're reading this, then you've received my letter. How are you? I'm doing great. The other day I got my eighth Gym Badge, and now I'm back in my hometown training for the Pokémon League. You wouldn't believe how much stronger I've become in such a short time since we last met.
Don't forget—you still owe me a Pokémon battle. So I might come see you before the Pokémon League starts to collect what you owe me.
As for the PokéNav, you can keep it. That way we can stay in touch from time to time.
So why did I write you a letter instead of calling? That's easy. I love letters. I enjoy writing by hand much more than using a phone, even if it takes longer to say what I want.
But this won't be the last letter you receive from me. Expect more, and don't forget to send me a message telling me how you and the girls are doing.
Your best friend—and future Johto League Champion,
Lisa.
That was the content of the letter.
"It's from Lisa!" Celeste exclaimed.
"We completely forgot to call her… she must be mad!" Roxanne said.
I had forgotten too. After everything that happened, Lisa decided it wasn't the right time to battle, so she headed to Blackthorn City to earn her final Gym Badge. I tried to return the PokéNav she had lent me back then, but she told me to keep it—it would be a good way to stay in touch.
Apparently, we were friends now, and she wanted to keep in contact with me… although it's also possible she feels something more and gave me the PokéNav so I wouldn't forget about her. Or maybe I'm just overthinking it, and she simply wants to be my friend and rival. Who knows.
Anyway, after reading the letter, something didn't add up.
"Hana, I don't mean to sound presumptuous, but as far as I know, Fuecoco is a Pokémon native to the Paldea region. Am I wrong?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, Fuecoco is from Paldea," Hana nodded.
"Does that mean you're from Paldea too?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm from the central post office in the Paldea region. Why do you ask?" she replied.
"Because my friend is from Johto, and she's currently in Johto—not Paldea. So how did a letter sent from Johto end up in Paldea?" I asked.
It didn't make sense. Normally, when you send a letter, it goes directly to the recipient's region without passing through unrelated offices. In this case, Lisa sent the letter from Johto, so it should've gone straight to Kanto and then been delivered to my home—just like in the real world.
But this letter somehow ended up in Paldea.
"Ah… well, I'm not entirely sure, but it's possible someone made a mistake and it got sent to Paldea by accident…" Hana said.
In truth, she didn't really know. She had just found the letter by chance.
"I get that, but that still doesn't explain why you didn't send it back to Kanto," Roxanne said.
"That's because it didn't have an address," Hana replied.
"What?" I asked, surprised.
I quickly checked the back of the envelope, and sure enough—it only had my name and region. There was no address.
"I can't believe she forgot something as basic as the address…" Celeste said, shocked.
She didn't know my home address, but she could've asked me and I would've told her. None of this would've happened.
"But wait. If the letter didn't have an address… how did you manage to find Ash?" Roxanne asked.
"That wasn't easy, but fortunately, the post office has a database where we can check people's origin and address in cases like this," Hana explained.
"I see. So you looked up my address, and my mom probably told you where I was," I said.
"No. Unfortunately, I don't have the authority to access that data. I'm just a trainee," Hana shook her head.
"Then how did you do it?" I asked.
"Even though there was no address, there was a note saying you were fifteen years old," Hana said.
"So?" Roxanne asked, not understanding.
"At fifteen, most people who want to become Pokémon trainers leave home to go on a journey. So I figured you might be one of them," Hana explained.
"Setting aside how impressive it is that you deduced that just from my age… how did you actually find me?" I asked.
Even if she figured that out, Kanto is huge. Finding me among all those people should've been almost impossible.
"Well… after that, I also assumed you must have received a starter Pokémon. And since many trainers from Kanto begin their journey in Pallet Town… I thought you might have too. So I asked Dragonite to take me there. Once I arrived, I found the famous Professor Oak and asked if he knew you," Hana explained.
"I see. I guess he told you," I said.
"That's right. He said he didn't know your exact location, but he did tell me your destination—Saffron City. So as soon as I knew that, I came here hoping to find you… and it looks like I got lucky," Hana finished.
We were all surprised by her explanation. Hana wasn't just any girl—she was incredibly intelligent, hardworking, and observant. Anyone else would've simply discarded the letter for lacking an address, but she chose to investigate and track me down using nothing but my age.
That was honestly impressive.
"I'm impressed. You're really amazing," I said sincerely.
Hana blushed slightly at those words. Aside from her parents, no man had ever told her something like that before. In fact, her boss often scolded her for being clumsy and never gave her a chance to prove herself. So hearing that… she couldn't help but feel embarrassed—and happy.
"But I still don't get it. Why go through all that trouble for a single letter? You could've just thrown it away, and I would've never known," I said.
"That's because every letter deserves to reach its recipient. And besides… I wanted to prove that I'm actually capable of doing this job," she replied.
"What do you mean?" Celeste asked.
"You see, ever since I was little, I've loved this kind of work. So when I got the chance, I started working here. It took me a lot of effort to finish my studies, but after working hard, I passed all my exams and got the job at just seventeen years old.
My parents—and even my friends—praised me for being a prodigy. They encouraged me to keep studying and aim for a more prestigious career. But I didn't want that. This had always been my dream, and I achieved it through hard work and dedication.
But there was a problem. Even though I was talented in many areas, I was clumsy in others… and unfortunately, that included this job. You should've seen my first days—I messed everything up.
Still, I didn't give up. I kept improving until I could do everything properly and without mistakes. But when I finally wanted to try delivering letters… my boss told me to stick to office work.
I begged him to let me prove myself, but it didn't work. So when I found your letter, I saw it as an opportunity. If I could successfully deliver a letter without an address, it would prove my abilities and my boss would finally let me deliver letters in person.
That's why I went through all this trouble to deliver it," Hana explained.