Some encounters feel like coincidence… until fate circles back.
After that day, Serena began relentlessly pestering Ash.
Eventually, Ash had no choice but to make a promise.
If Serena won the Ribbon at the Vermilion City Pokemon Contest, then Ash would dress up as a girl and go shopping with her for an entire day as a reward.
As for why that counted as a reward for Serena…
Ash didn't dare ask.
And he definitely didn't dare think about it.
Because Serena was so excited about the promise, the pace of their journey changed dramatically.
Normally Serena was the one slowing their travels down.
But now—
Ash became the limiting factor.
"Come on, Ash, hurry up!"
"Let's move faster!"
Even when they were about to sleep, Serena would remind him—
"Don't forget we have to leave early tomorrow!"
At this rate, Ash was starting to feel like he didn't even want to go to Vermilion City anymore.
Of course, that was just a thought.
There was no way he'd stop Serena from participating in the Contest.
Still, her excitement had an unexpected consequence.
Ash barely had time to finish his daily training.
Every day was just—
Walking.
Walking.
Walking.
Walking.
Finally Ash snapped.
"Alright then!"
"If we're doing this, we'll just go straight to Vermilion City!"
"Huh?"
Before Serena could react—
Ash suddenly lifted her up.
And slung her onto his back.
"W-wait—?!"
Serena panicked instantly.
Ignoring her protests, Ash secured her firmly.
Then he looked at Froakie.
"Froakie, long-distance sprint without breathing breaks."
"No problem?"
"Frog!"
"Good. I'll count down."
"One… two—"
"Wait, Ash! Actually I think walking slowly might be fi—"
"THREE!"
WHOOSH!
They shot forward like a hurricane.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
Serena's scream echoed through the forest.
A flock of Spearow scattered in fright.
—
Six hours later.
Ash carefully set Serena down.
She stood there with a blank, hollow expression.
Ash wiped sweat from his forehead.
Then he looked excitedly at Froakie.
"That training actually worked pretty well."
"Maybe we should add it to our regular routine."
"Frog."
Froakie shook his head.
Too time-consuming.
They wouldn't normally travel that far.
But it could work as a high-intensity warm-up drill.
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Ash nodded thoughtfully.
Then he turned to Serena enthusiastically.
"Serena! Next time you want to hurry somewhere, we can do that again!"
"..."
Serena finally recovered slightly.
She opened her mouth.
I closed it.
I opened it again.
Then carefully asked—
"That's fine…"
"But could you maybe go a little slower?"
"Huh? Why?"
Because then I could actually enjoy being on your back…
She didn't dislike being carried by Ash.
Actually—
She kind of liked it.
But if he always ran at horse-beating speed, romance would be impossible.
She'd need motion sickness medicine instead.
Of course she couldn't say that.
Her face turned red.
So she improvised a serious explanation.
"Well… slower speeds are better for muscle training."
"Isn't there a saying?"
"Aerobic exercise works muscles better than anaerobic exercise."
Ash thought about it.
"…That actually makes sense."
"Okay."
"I'll slow down next time."
Yes!
Serena quietly made a small victory sign behind her back.
Then she smiled sweetly.
"In that case…"
"Let's go to the Pokemon Center and rest first."
—
Thanks to Ash's terrifying sprinting ability, what should have taken an entire day took only half.
Which meant they arrived three days before the Contest began.
Still, arriving early wasn't unusual.
Many trainers came early to familiarize themselves with the city.
The Vermilion Pokemon Center was already full of trainers.
Judging by the carefully groomed appearance of their Pokémon—
Most of them were Contest competitors.
In other words—
Serena's rivals.
But Serena didn't feel nervous.
After all, she had competed in national-level performance competitions before.
She wasn't the kind of rookie who froze under pressure.
As long as she performed normally—
She was confident she could win.
For the next few days she planned to stay in the Pokemon Center and practice with Delphox and Happiny.
Though today—
She planned to watch Ash's Gym battle.
At the moment, however—
Ash was on a video call with Professor Oak.
"So Ash," Oak asked immediately,
"Have you caught any new Pokemon lately?"
"Any Legendary Pokémon?"
"…Professor Oak, when did you become so materialistic?"
"That's not materialistic!"
Oak waved his hands dramatically.
"That's responsible encouragement!"
"If I didn't push you kids, none of you would work hard catching Pokémon!"
"..."
Ash opened his mouth.
Then I closed it.
Arguing with Professor Oak was pointless.
"I caught a Snivy recently."
"Snivy? From the Unova region?"
Oak blinked.
Then looked at Ash suspiciously.
"Ash… why do you keep catching Pokemon from other regions?"
"Do you not like Kanto Pokémon?"
"That's not it! It's just…"
Ash paused.
Froakie — Kalos starter.
Mimikyu — unknown origin.
Snivy — Unova smuggling ship.
…
Only Kakuna was actually from Kanto.
Ash's mouth twitched.
"…Just coincidence."
Oak sighed.
"Well, anyway."
"Work harder filling your Pokédex."
"Red and Blue are already far ahead."
"And even Goh has caught over half of Kanto's Pokémon."
"And you?"
"You've only caught four Pokémon."
"Four!"
"Work harder!"
"I know…"
Ash scratched his head.
Then suddenly remembered something.
"Wait."
"Professor Oak, four of us started our journeys together."
"You never talk about the fourth one."
"You mean Blue (Leaf)?"
Oak sighed.
"She hasn't contacted me in a long time."
"I don't know where she is now."
"Oh."
Ash's eyes lit up.
So it's possible to just not contact Professor Oak…
Maybe I could—
"If you try that," Oak said calmly,
"I'll stop letting your Pokemonlive at my lab."
"…Haha."
Ash laughed nervously.
"I would never do that."
"I respect you too much, Professor."
"Sure you do."
Oak rolled his eyes.
"Well, if that's all—"
"Wait!"
Ash suddenly remembered something.
"I met a PokemonI didn't recognize earlier."
"It's recorded in the Pokédex."
"Can you identify it?"
"Let me see."
Oak looked at the image.
Then his eyes widened.
"You met Suicune?!"
"Suicune?"
"Another Legendary Pokémon?"
"Yes."
"One of the legendary beasts."
"And a messenger of Ho-Oh."
Oak nodded.
"Though seeing Suicune once isn't that unusual."
"There are sightings all over the world."
"But if someone could follow Suicune to Ho-Oh…"
"That would be incredible research data."
Ash thought for a moment.
"Then if I see Suicune again…"
"I'll ask it to help."
"I'd like to battle Ho-Oh someday."
Oak laughed.
"See Suicune again?"
"Forget it."
"No one has ever reported two sightings of Suicune."
"If anyone is likely to meet Ho-Oh…"
"It's probably Goh, since he has a Rainbow Feather."
Ash didn't argue.
The chance of seeing Suicune again was indeed tiny.
But somehow—
He felt their connection wasn't finished.
He had a strange feeling.
One day—
He would see Suicune again.
And that day might not be far away.
—
After the call ended, Serena approached.
"So Ash."
"What do you want to do now?"
"Gym battle?"
"Today?"
Ash shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Huh?"
"Snivy's friend—Audino—disappeared in Vermilion."
"Even though it's been over ten days…"
"People might still remember that night."
"For the next few days I want to go door-to-door asking if anyone saw where Audino went."
Serena blinked.
"But… you were really looking forward to the Gym battle."
"That won't take long."
"People won't forget overnight."
"They won't."
Ash nodded.
"But the sooner we find Audino…"
"The sooner we know if it's safe."
"And then we can relax."
"Right?"
"..."
Serena fell silent.
If Delphox or Happiny went missing—
She would definitely search first.
But a wild Pokémon…
Would she prioritize it the same way?
Maybe not.
She looked at Ash quietly.
"…Ash."
"Do you really love Pokemonthat much?"
"Yeah."
"I love Pokemonthe most."
Ash said it casually.
Then he released Snivy.
"Snivy?"
Snivy looked around curiously.
Why had Ash called her out?
"Snivy."
"You remember which direction Audino ran from the harbor, right?"
"We're going to the port."
"You can point us in the right direction."
"Then we'll ask people along that route."
"That should improve our chances."
"What do you think?"
Snivy stared at him in disbelief.
She cared deeply about Audino.
But Ash—
Seemed even more determined than she was.
"Snivy!"
She nodded firmly.
This trainer—
She would follow him forever.
His dream—
She would help him achieve it.
"Great!"
Ash lifted her onto his shoulder.
"Let's head to the harbor."
"Wait!"
Serena called out.
"I'm coming too."
"Serena?"
"But you need to prepare for the Contest."
She shook her head with a smile.
"The more people searching, the better."
"Right now…"
"Finding Audino matters more."
Ash hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Alright."
"Let's find Audino before the Contest starts."
Serena smiled softly.
"Yeah."
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