Knock, knock!
A series of knocks sounded from outside the door.
"Pika…?"
(Did Misty come this early?)
Pikachu, who had been sleeping on Ash's stomach, slowly opened its drowsy eyes. Suddenly, its long yellow ears twitched—it seemed to hear a familiar voice.
Excited, Pikachu perked up immediately. Its ears stood straight as it tried to catch the sound outside. It began nudging Ash's chest, trying to wake him up.
"Ash, are you still not up?"
Hearing Misty's voice and looking at the trainer sprawled beneath it, Pikachu's expression suddenly changed.
It leaped forward and unleashed a "close-combat wake-up attack."
"Ow—ow!"
Ash jolted awake. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a familiar and friendly face—Pikachu, with faint sparks flickering at the tip of its tail.
If he didn't get up now, Pikachu was probably about to give him the full electric shock treatment.
Pikachu's wake-up service was a little too good.
"I'm up! You guys go eat breakfast first—I'll be there in a moment."
After dealing with Misty, Ash grabbed Pikachu by the tail and tossed it aside before rushing into the bathroom. While the sink filled with water, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror to make sure his handsome face hadn't been damaged.
"Phew… still just as handsome as ever."
Ash let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, thanks to his superhuman Pallet Town physique, he only felt a little pain.
"Splash!"
After washing up, Pikachu jumped onto the sink counter. Ash scooped up a handful of water and splashed it right onto Pikachu's face.
Pikachu: "??????"
After a brief round of playful bickering, Ash and Pikachu headed to the dining area. Ash collapsed lazily into a chair.
"Did you go out stealing last night or something?" Misty asked.
Seeing Ash's messy hair, dark circles, and exhausted expression, she was puzzled. How did he become this haggard after just one night?
"I had insomnia. Couldn't sleep well." Ash took a sip of coffee, his face full of fatigue.
Brock, sitting nearby, asked curiously, "Were you too excited after winning the Thunder Badge?"
He assumed Ash had lost sleep from excitement. But Ash didn't even look this excited after winning the Gym battle, so it seemed unlikely.
Ash shook his head and sighed.
"No, it wasn't that."
Last night, after Ash used the Speed Enhancer on Bulbasaur, something unexpected happened.
One after another, his Pokémon suddenly jumped out of their Poké Balls on their own, breaking the quiet of the night.
Ash was completely caught off guard.
His eyes widened. Why did they all suddenly come out?
Fortunately, the room had excellent soundproofing, so they didn't disturb the neighbors.
"Are we still going to the S.S. Anne today?" Misty asked.
"Of course," Ash replied without hesitation.
Since Mt. Moon, Misty had been talking nonstop about visiting the S.S. Anne. She had traveled with him for so long—this was a rare chance to relax and enjoy themselves.
Misty beamed with happiness and placed an extra biscuit on Ash's plate.
Ash thought seriously about it. Their current location wasn't far from the S.S. Anne, but if they wanted to board the ship, they needed to make a few preparations first.
After breakfast, the group headed toward the harbor, crossing an old bridge along the way. The port was bustling—crowds of people and ships coming and going created a lively yet orderly scene.
While admiring the harbor view, a massive cruise ship came into sight.
"Wait," Brock suddenly said, stopping in his tracks and squinting toward the passengers boarding the ship.
"Did we forget something important?"
"Don't worry. The ticket sellers are right there," Ash said, pointing at a man and a woman ahead.
Their hairstyles looked suspiciously like Team Rocket's Jessie and James, and they were enthusiastically selling S.S. Anne tickets to passing trainers.
In truth, tickets weren't necessary.
Right now, the S.S. Anne had become the target of Team Rocket's operation. Their plan was to seize control of the ship and steal the Pokémon belonging to the trainers onboard.
"Handsome boy, beautiful girl—wait a moment!"
The ticket sellers, Jessie and James, quickly walked over and blocked Ash and his friends' path.
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu stared at the two of them. They looked strangely like those familiar troublemakers—Team Rocket.
"I have boarding passes here that will allow the three of you to board the S.S. Anne."
Jessie and James were wearing heavy makeup. If Ash didn't already know the storyline—and recognize their iconic hairstyles—he might not have recognized them.
"How much?" Ash asked.
"You dare buy black-market tickets?" Misty frowned. Buying tickets like this usually meant getting ripped off.
"Free," Jessie said quickly.
She and James could read the situation well enough. Seeing Misty's expression, they realized that if they asked for money, the kids would probably walk away immediately.
"Really—free."
James even raised his voice to emphasize it. He had originally planned to scam a bit of money out of the twerp to supplement his salary, but clearly that wasn't happening now.
"Take them—it's a gift!"
They shoved the boarding passes into Ash's hands. Jessie grabbed James and quickly left.
They had waited here for so long just for the twerp to show up. If he hadn't appeared, they were even considering kidnapping him.
"What strange people," Misty muttered, looking down at the tickets.
"Let's go," Ash said casually.
He didn't bother with Team Rocket. He just needed to stay alert later.
Before boarding, Ash had already contacted Officer Jenny, informing her of the situation and suggesting she deploy additional police to the port.
If things went well, he might even gain some reputation as a crime-fighting hero.
After receiving Officer Jenny's reply, Ash finally boarded the S.S. Anne with Brock and Misty. He had also packed plenty of supplies in his bag in case of emergencies.
After all, if they boarded without preparation and the events didn't follow the original storyline exactly, they and their Pokémon might even face real danger.
Once their boarding passes were checked, they stepped onto the luxurious S.S. Anne.
Just looking at the ship's decorations made it obvious—Team Rocket had invested a lot of money into this operation.
A cruise ship this luxurious would normally cost tens of thousands of Poké Dollars to board.
Following the crowd inside, they entered the massive main hall. The lobby alone looked as big as six or seven basketball courts.
Tables were piled high with food, and several battle fields were set up nearby.
A giant screen displayed trainers' battle records, win rates, and rankings, along with rewards for top placements.
While Misty excitedly looked around with sparkling eyes, Ash spotted a man in black using a Raticate.
He remembered this guy clearly.
In the original storyline, after seeing Ash defeat his Raticate with Butterfree, the man took a liking to Butterfree and proposed a trade.
Back then, Ash was still a naïve young trainer, curious about new experiences, so he agreed to the trade.
But not long afterward, he remembered everything Butterfree had been through with him—from when it was just a Caterpie, evolving step by step while traveling together.
Realizing he couldn't bear to part with it, Ash rushed back and traded Butterfree back.
Thinking about it now…
Wasn't that basically jerk behavior?
This time, Ash wouldn't trade at all.
He wouldn't even consider it.
After traveling together for so long, he had already formed deep bonds with his Pokémon. There was no way he would trade away a Pokémon he had raised and trained himself.
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