On the plane from Kanto to Lumiose City in Kalos, Ash, dressed in a brand-new adventure outfit, stared out at the blue sky and white clouds beyond the window, his heart restless with anticipation. Perched on his shoulder was a yellow Electric Mouse Pokémon with soft fur.
It had been eighteen years since he had transmigrated into the world of Pokémon.
At last... he was about to meet his first crush, Serena, and the Greninja that was supposed to be his destiny.
Ash could have gone to Kalos much earlier, but in order not to give up the Pokémon that were meant to be his, he had chosen to take things one step at a time, starting from Kanto and traveling all the way to this point.
While catching the Pokémon he was originally supposed to catch, he had also added a few favorites from before he transmigrated.
For example, Latios, who originally should have sacrificed his life to save a city, and Latias, Latios's younger sister.
The reason Ash had been able to do all this was entirely because this new Ash had started grinding from the moment he was born. From a young age, he had studied Pokémon knowledge under Professor Oak, trained Pokémon, developed battle tactics, and borrowed Professor Oak's Pokémon for practice matches.
As a result, Ash's strength had far surpassed the original timeline.
The outcome was simple: he had hit the peak the moment he debuted.
In the Kanto region, he led Pikachu, Pidgeot, Primeape, Charizard, Aerodactyl, Dragonite, Kingler, Butterfree, and others to win the Indigo Plateau Conference. The average level of his Pokémon had already reached the verge of Elite Four class, while Pikachu, Charizard, Dragonite, and Primeape had fully reached Elite Four level. Dealing with a couple of petty thieves had naturally been effortless.
In the Johto region, he had an Everstone put on Chikorita and told it the story of how Bulbasaur and Squirtle could still grow strong through sheer stubbornness even without evolving. He then led Pikachu, Chikorita, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Tyranitar, Snorlax, Heracross, and the rest to claim victory at Silver Conference.
In the Hoenn region, he led Pikachu, Swellow, Sceptile, Crawdaunt, Torkoal, Glalie, Salamence, and others to win the Ever Grande Conference.
After three straight championships, Ash's name had gradually begun to spread.
Then came Sinnoh.
With all eyes on him, Ash led Pikachu, Infernape, Garchomp, a Shiny Metagross, Gliscor, Buizel, Torterra, Staraptor, the Latios siblings, and others to utterly crush the guy with the Legendary Pokémon and conquer the Lily of the Valley Conference. After that, he fought an exhibition match against Cynthia, the strongest female Trainer of the age and the Sinnoh Champion.
In the end, the battle concluded in a draw.
Of course, whether Ash and Cynthia had actually fought with everything they had at the time was something outsiders had no way of knowing.
What was beyond dispute was that after that battle, public opinion exploded.
In the eyes of the public, Ash's strength had already surpassed the Elite Four, and everyone was waiting to see his myth continue.
Then came Unova.
By then, Ash had already become the center of worldwide attention, yet he continued to recreate his unstoppable legend.
He had even taken in the second Mewtwo, the one Team Plasma had recreated by stealing Team Rocket's data.
With Pikachu, Mewtwo, Samurott, Emboar, Serperior, Krookodile, Volcarona, Hydreigon, and others, he defeated every opponent in his path. In the finals, Hydreigon alone had steamrolled the other side.
It could be said that, in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of people in the world, Ash now already had what it took to become a regional Champion.
Ash's current Pokémon lineup differed somewhat from the team he would originally have caught and kept rather than released, so this was only a rough reference.
Even more astonishing was the fact that Ash's powerful Pokémon were not limited to just a small handful the way they were for other Champions.
Lance, the current Champion of the Kanto League, had invited Ash more than once to take over as Kanto Champion.
Every time, Ash had turned him down.
Worth mentioning was that the changes in this life went beyond just his experience as a Trainer.
Because this world still retained certain older institutions, such as Kalos's noble title system and polygamy, which had all but disappeared from most modern countries, and because this Ash possessed the mind of an adult, he had embraced the philosophy of wanting them all even if his body couldn't quite keep up. Besides, he was extraordinary to begin with and possessed a Super Pallet Town physique.
Naturally, he had decisively accepted the feelings of Misty, May, Dawn, and Rosa.
As for why things had not gone further in both body and heart, there was nothing to be done about that. He had not been an adult before, so anything steamy had been off-limits.
But now...
Misty had to guard the Cerulean Gym and was not in Pallet Town.
May and Dawn had accepted Rosa's invitation and gone to travel through Unova.
As for Ash, he had happened to get in touch with Alexa, a reporter from Kalos's Lumiose Press, and had decided to set out on a journey through Kalos.
The great legendary Ash was about to arrive in his loyal Kalos.
His memories ended there.
A faint set of footsteps sounded nearby.
"Pikapi~"
Ash and Pikachu on his shoulder both turned to look at the newcomer.
It was a little girl, around four or five years old, with two blond braids.
Her expression was timid, and in her hands she held a notebook and a pen. After glancing around the cabin, Ash noticed a man and a woman, two adults, smiling and nodding to him. They were probably the little girl's parents.
Quite a few people around them had already noticed Ash and his partner Pikachu. It was just that the adults, out of embarrassment, did not feel comfortable coming over to ask for an autograph.
At last, the little girl gathered up her courage and asked softly, "Ash, and Pikachu too, could I get your autograph?"
"Of course. What's your name?"
Ash took the notebook, signed his name, and added a personalized message for her.
Pikachu pressed a paw print onto the page as well.
They watched as the little girl hurried away, delighted beyond belief.
Alexa, who had stayed silent the whole time, could not help but sigh in admiration.
"Just as expected of Ash. Your influence is already this huge. I wonder when I'll ever get that much attention, enough to have fans coming to ask me for autographs too."
Alexa was wearing a black-and-red high-collared jacket.
As a journalist, and as the older sister of Santalune Gym Leader Viola, Alexa was decently well-known herself.
But that fame was limited to the areas she reported on, as well as Lumiose City and Santalune City.
Once she left those places, she was basically a nobody.
It was nothing like Ash, whose name had spread across every major region in the world.
She truly envied how he had become famous so young.
"Once Miss Alexa releases Professor Oak's interview, you'll probably become famous too."
"And your interview is the real main event."
Alexa looked at Ash with gratitude in her eyes.
This boy, still in the prime of youth, was nothing like the arrogant prodigy she might have imagined. Even when dealing with a little girl, he treated her with the same calm attitude he showed everyone else.
No wonder he was the new legend.
According to rumor, besides Misty and the others, Ash also had very close ties with Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, Unova's Nimbasa Gym Leader Elesa, and even... Kalos's own Champion and international movie star, Diantha.
To a journalist, Ash was the kind of person from whom endless explosive stories could be squeezed.
And yet, not only had Ash agreed to give her an interview, he had even introduced her to the giant of the research world, Professor Oak.
That was a huge favor.
Alexa was not the sort of person who would repay kindness with betrayal.
Just as the two of them were trading business compliments,
[Ding!]
A crisp sound rang inside Ash's head.
[Host has been detected as having reached adulthood. Activating Ability Enhancement System...]
A system?
I've already won five League championships, what are you showing up for now?!
As a journalist, Alexa immediately noticed the strange change in Ash's expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Maybe I didn't sleep well last night. I'm going to rest for a bit..."
After brushing Alexa off with that simple explanation, Ash closed his eyes as if to take a nap.
Pikachu jumped down to the floor with practiced ease, curled up, and leaned against Ash's leg.
Seeing that Ash did not look seriously unwell, and thinking that today was the start of his new journey, Alexa accepted the explanation. She took a pair of earphones from her bag, put them on, and quietly listened to music to pass the time.
At the same time, Ash appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was already communicating with the system in his mind through silent thought.
'Ability enhancement? What exactly does that enhance?'