Not Being a Trainer This Time

However, Cynthia’s personality was very gentle, without any airs of a top Champion at all.

Naoki had to admit, she really was an incredibly charming woman.

”What are you thinking about?” Professor Oak asked from the side.

Only then did Naoki come back to his senses and answer, ”I just feel Cynthia is a bit different from what I imagined.”

Professor Oak was very curious. ”Oh?”

”Don’t you feel it, Professor?” Naoki said. ”Logically speaking, someone like Cynthia, whose strength is so unfathomable and whose bearing is so noble, would usually come off as very aloof and hard to approach.”

Hearing this, Professor Oak immediately understood.

He couldn’t help but laugh. ”You know, you’re the one who can’t see what’s right under his nose. Your strength is just as unfathomable, yet instead of going out there to become a Champion and make a name for yourself, you stay out in the countryside running this little ranch.”

”On top of that, you even host passing Trainers and students, battle with them, and have your Pokemon act as their sparring partners. Compared to her, you’re the one with absolutely no airs at all.”

Naoki: ”...”

Thinking about it carefully, that did kind of make sense!

Naoki smiled a little sheepishly.

And just then, Professor Oak’s Rotom Phone started ringing.

He took out his phone, glanced at it, and answered right in front of Naoki.

The next second, a face that felt familiar to Naoki appeared on the screen.

”Ash, huh!” Looking at the scenery behind Ash, Professor Oak said with a smile, ”Looks like you’ve already arrived in Rustboro City safely!”

”Yeah, that’s right!” Ash took a Badge out from his badge case. ”And Pikachu and I have already cleared the challenge at Rustboro Gym and won the Boulder Badge!”

”That’s really great!” Professor Oak nodded with a smile. ”There are still quite a few to go before you get all eight Badges, so keep it up! When you take part in the Ever Grande Conference, I’ll go over there in person to cheer you on!”

At the mention of the Ever Grande Conference, Ash was immediately burning with fighting spirit. ”Yeah! Pikachu and I will definitely do our best!”

”Pika～”

At this moment, Brock suddenly noticed the environment Professor Oak was in.

It seemed to be a farm, because behind Professor Oak was a large field planted with crops, and nearby were several Pokemon he had never seen before.

Having been to Professor Oak’s Research Institute before, Brock could tell at a glance that this wasn’t the Institute.

He opened his perpetually squinted eyes a bit and asked, ”Professor Oak, are you away on a business trip?”

Professor Oak replied with a kindly smile, ”No, I made a trip to the Paldea Region to visit a friend there.”

As he spoke, Professor Oak turned the Rotom Phone’s camera toward Naoki and introduced him to Ash and the others:

”This is Mr. Naoki from the Paldea Region. He’s a very powerful Trainer!”

Naoki looked toward the screen and, sure enough, saw Ash and Brock in it, as well as Norman’s two kids, May and Max.

”Hello!” Naoki waved at the screen in greeting.

This was his first time seeing Ash; faced with this anime protagonist, he couldn’t help feeling a surge of curiosity.

Ash was very polite as well. ”Hello, Mr. Naoki, I’m Ash from Pallet Town!”

”Hahaha!” Professor Oak laughed heartily and said to Ash, ”When you all have time in the future, you can come on a trip to the Paldea Region. There are lots of Pokemon here that you don’t see in the Kanto Region!”

Hearing there were Pokemon he had never seen before, Ash’s eyes lit up in an instant. He nodded seriously. ”Yeah, we’ll definitely go over when we get the chance!”

Professor Oak said, ”Then it’s settled. I’ll be back at the Research Institute very soon. If you catch any new Pokemon during your travels, Ash, you can transfer them back to the Institute anytime, and I’ll look after them for you.”

Ash agreed.

The call ended shortly after, and Professor Oak spoke with a rather emotional tone:

”That kid is Ash. His father left home when he was very young, leaving just him and his mom to live together.”

”That child has been scatterbrained since he was little. When he was five, he missed summer camp because he overslept, and when he was ten, for the same reason he missed getting his starter Pokemon. Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle were all chosen by other Trainers, and only a Pikachu was left.”

”Ah, without realizing it, that kid’s already been traveling for quite a long time now.”

Naoki listened quietly from the side.

Looking at Professor Oak’s expression, something suddenly came to his mind.

Professor Oak knew Ash—in fact, one could say he knew Ash even before Ash was born.

Because when Professor Oak was a child, he once traveled through time with Celebi into the future, where he met Ash. They went through a tense and exciting adventure together and defeated a Pokemon Hunter.

Back then, the two of them became good friends across time.

So is that why Professor Oak later took such good care of Ash, because of that incident?

A spark of inspiration flashed through Naoki’s mind.

In his past life, there had been quite a few people online who joked about Professor Oak and Ash’s mom, Hanako, saying that Professor Oak only looked after Ash so much because of Hanako.

But looking at it now, Professor Oak simply wasn’t that kind of person at all.

Naoki looked at the kindly Professor Oak in front of him.

Maybe it was just because of the friendship he once shared with Ash that he cared for him so much.

It was even possible that that special Pikachu had been prepared specifically for Ash by Professor Oak.

Because from the very beginning, he already knew what would happen later...

Thinking of this, Naoki suddenly asked, ”By the way, Professor Oak, why did you choose to build your Research Institute in a place like Pallet Town?”

If he remembered correctly, Pallet Town was just a tiny place in the Kanto Region. When Ash traveled outside and introduced himself, the response he always got from others was: ”a small place, middle of nowhere, never heard of it.”

Yet Professor Oak wasn’t just a famous researcher; he was also a top graduate from Celadon University. He clearly could have chosen somewhere better, but he deliberately chose Pallet Town.

Hearing Naoki’s question, Professor Oak was slightly taken aback, then his face softened with nostalgia as he answered quietly:

”That’s because someone [important] to me lives there. When I was a child, I once made a promise with him, a promise that we would meet again.”

Professor Oak’s thoughts seemed to drift back to that summer long ago.

In that forest which held the legend of the Forest God, he had met a boy named Ash.

Seeing this, Naoki instantly knew he had guessed right.

”That friend must be very important to you, huh?” he asked.

Professor Oak nodded with a smile. ”Our personalities get along quite well.”

”That’s wonderful,” Naoki sighed from the heart.

But thinking about it, which came first in the end? Did Professor Oak first go to Pallet Town and set up his Research Institute, or did Ash first meet Professor Oak?

If it was like Professor Sada had said before, this process seemed to be what they called a time loop.

There is no ”first” or ”later”; the two are each other’s cause and effect. Because young Professor Oak met Ash, he later founded his Research Institute in Pallet Town.

And it was precisely because Professor Oak founded his Research Institute in Pallet Town that Ash would go on to meet the younger Professor Oak.

*

League Calendar, Year 200, March 1st, spring.

After staying at the ranch for six days, Professor Oak left the Paldea Region with a wealth of research data.

Naoki took Koraidon to see him off, and only after sending Professor Oak onto the plane did they start heading back.

By the time Naoki returned to the ranch, it was already evening.

Dusk had fallen, and the Pokemon on the ranch had been playing all day, so by now they were all feeling a bit tired.

But with Naoki not home, they didn’t want to go back inside the living room either, so they lined up, crouching under the eaves and staring toward the ranch gate, waiting for Naoki to come home.

Some of the Pokemon, tired from waiting, started nodding off, their heads bobbing as they dozed.

When Naoki flew down onto the grass on Koraidon’s back and saw this scene, his heart almost melted.

Very soon, an Eevee was the first to notice him.

That Eevee’s sleepy little face instantly lit up.

”Bui!”

Its cry drew the attention of the other Pokemon, and a bunch of them spotted Naoki returning to the ranch.

They immediately ran over, happily surrounding Naoki in a circle.

Seeing this group of Pokemon waiting for him to come home, Naoki felt all warm inside.

Smiling, he patted each of them on the head in turn and said softly:

”Alright, if you’re sleepy, go inside and get some rest.”