Chapter 4

After a night of rest at the dormitory, Ash's internal clock woke him up at the crack of dawn. Leaving Pikachu still sprawled on his bed, Ash changed into his workout clothes and silently slipped out of the room. Even though the dorm room he was given last night was small, it was clean and practical, with a private shower and toilet and a secure single closet next to each bed of the four beds. He shared the room with two other men, who he left still soundly asleep.

Exiting the dormitory, Ash made his way past the main PokeCenter building, heading to the gym located behind the two buildings, adjacent to the empty training grounds.

To his surprise, even though it was five in the morning, the gym was far from empty. Around a dozen men and women were already hard at work. He took a moment to observe them, genuinely appreciating their dedication.

His thoughts were interrupted by a booming and boisterous voice that echoed through the gym. "That's the way, Kido!"

The voice came from an older man in his forties, build like a ripped Ursaring. The giant of a man grinned wide, barely holding back his laugh. All around the gym, chuckles broke the silence that followed before turning into full hearty laughs.

With that shout, the old man greeted him, praised him, insulted him and startled him all at once. If it wasn't the actual definition of being practical, they'd probably need to redefine "practical".

Ash couldn't help but join in the laughter; the atmosphere was infectious. After a round of greetings and light banter with the others, he started his own workout routine.

The big guy, Teddy, was an ex-Ace Officer who worked for the Kantonian Indigo Association. He also met a woman in her twenties named Solidad. While their conversation didn't delve that deep into details, Ash couldn't help but observe the features that made him wonder if she was the same Solidad he had seen in the anime. Her hair was a striking shade of Salmon, and her turquoise blue eyes, along with her nearly equal height to Ash's 1.74 meters, made him fairly certain of her identity.

Before Ash hit the shower, Teddy invited him to join the Rookie Trainer Meet-Up that afternoon. He, along with another retired friend of his, were actually the one that organized the meet-ups. Teddy shared that he wished such events had been available during his youth.

After returning to his room, Ash and a still groggy Pikachu made their way to the PokeCenter's dining area for breakfast.

When he arrived there, he couldn't help but feel that the atmosphere was far too noisy and aggravating for the early hour. It wasn't even half full, but the place felt overcrowded with the sounds of chatter and clinking dishes. The constant buzz of conversations, the occasional bursts of laughter, and the general commotion seemed to amplify in his ears, grating on his nerves.

"Nope," he muttered under his breath. His decision made in an instant, he turned on the spot and left. Pikachu, still groggy, his pawns keeping his ears shut, didn't protest.

They didn't have to go far to find a coffee shop that was much more to their liking. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted out onto the street, enticing them inside.

Inside the café, Ash's attention was drawn to Solidad, thanks to her distinctive salmon-colored hair. She was seated at the back, calmly sipping from a cup. Seated with her were Kenji, a young man he recognized from the gym, and next to him a petite woman engrossed in her laptop.

Kenji, who was the first to spot Ash's entrance, waved him over with a friendly grin. "Ash!" he called out.

Ash approached their table, and was invited to seat with them. 

As he settled in, Kenji made a remark, "Did you flee from those munchkins too?"

Thinking back to the earlier scene at the PokeCenter, Ash realized that most of the attendees were very young, unmistakably first timer level young.

"Yeah," he answered, though technically he was also one of those "munchkins".

"It's the same thing every year right around the start of the junior season," lamented Kanji.

"Are you from Viridian?" asked Ash.

At that time a server came and took Ash's order of eggs, croissant and coffee, he also ordered some poke puff for Pikachu. It didn't take long for him to come back with his order.

Kenji responded, "Nah, we just got back from the Orange Archipelagos a few days ago. It's quicker for us to pass through Pallet Harbor and then cut through Viridian Forest to get home." 

"Pewter City then?" he asked for confirmation, and they nodded. It also confirmed Solidad as well… being Solidad.

"I intend to go there next," Ash mentioned.

"Perfect, we should travel together then," said Kenji.

"You forget about the mission already?" said the petit woman, speaking for the first time.

"Ah, right. This is Joana by the way, my cousin," he gestured dismissively toward her; though she only rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, you can just join us if you'd like, we only have to catch a strange Pokémon."

Ash chuckled at his antics. Though this mission caught his intention. Were they speaking of that feral Pokémon.

"What's so strange about that Pokémon?" he asked.

Joana frowned, hands still tapping away on her laptop. "For starters, it's not just strange; it's dangerous. Since its first appearance, trainers have found the corpses of dead Rattata, Spearow, Pichu, and even a few Raticate. Pokémon belonging to the city's residents were also killed. People who have sighted it couldn't agree on a consistent description. Some have mentioned a dirty rag, a walking beard, and there was even one who described it as a demonic Meowth apparition. The only common features are its greyish-brown color and yellow eyes."

Ash was truly impressed by Joana's ability to summarize the situation so succinctly. It reminded him of the criminal case series he used to watch on Earth.

Amusing comparisons aside, he was now quite certain that she was referring to the Meowth wannabe he had met the day before. And that walking beard was way more savage than he had first thought. It also explained why the Fearow was only after it.

Solidad then extended an invitation, "If you accept the mission, we can search for it together." 

Ash was interested by the invitation but there was one practical limitation. "I don't have access to the fourth floor."

"You don't?" Joana exclaimed, then quickly adding, "Oh it's alright, it's not easy to obtain your first badge."

The fourth and generally the last floor of any PokeCenter, housed the Mission Hub. The floor was a dedicated space for managing official matters and coordinating mission assignments and their execution. After a few too many deaths, the Kantonian Indigo Association implemented the one badge screening rule. Ash remembered that the year before its implementation, more than two hundred deaths had been registered.

"Viridian City is my first stop, and even if I can, I'm certainly not gonna challenge Giovani," He said.

Now curious, Joana asked, "Where are you from?" 

With a grin, Ash replied, "Pallet." Finding the whole process amusing.

Seemingly catching on things, Solidad followed up with, "How old are you?"

Ash's grin widened as he answered, "I turned sixteen twenty days ago."

The revelation seemed to take Joana and Kenji by surprise, while Solidad chuckled. Kenji then exclaimed, "Shouldn't you be back at the Pokémon Center?" Ash burst into laughter.

…

Finishing they their breakfast, Ash and Solidad's group went their separate way.

Ash returned to the PokeCenter intending to use the Call Booth to contact his mother and Professor Oak.

Since he wasn't sure where to contact Delia, he first sent her a text message using his PokeNav. The device was old and lagging behind in terms of technology. It could manage basic text messages, almost like a pager, but not much more. Thanks to one of his neighbor in pallet, he got a sort of app for news, and that's that.

Technologically wise, the Pokémon world didn't make any sense where some areas were highly advanced and futuristic, while others were surprisingly behind, a rather odd contrast.

Ash waited for a while but didn't receive an immediate response from his mother. Deciding to simply start with Professor Oak, he approached the Call Booth and initiated the call. After a few rings, the call was answered by the elder Professor Oak.

After exchanging the usual pleasantries, Ash proceeded to transfer images of the peculiar Pokémon he had encountered and his analysis of the encounter.

Professor Oak studied the images and information for a moment, and then he shared his thoughts, "I think it's a variant of the Galar Region, a pure steel-type if I remember right."

Ash furrowed his brow, admitting, "Galar? I've never heard of."

"I'm not surprised," the professor continued, "It is situated in the far western reaches of the Northern Hemisphere."

Ash's brow furrowed as he tried to process this new information. Was Galar a region from the Pokémon franchise that he somehow missed, or was it unique to this world? The discrepancies with his prior knowledge were becoming increasingly challenging to reconcile. Every time he encountered something new, he found himself grappling with the stark differences between his prior knowledge and the reality he was facing.

His face contorted in frustration, and he couldn't help but feel like he had these internal dialogues far too often. He struggled to reconcile his past knowledge, which now merely served as a rough point of reference, with the ever-changing world he was navigating. It was as if he had been thrust into the middle of his own story, desperately trying to decipher a storyline that was entirely beyond his control.

"You mentioned it was behaving like a well-trained Pokémon."

The professor's voice snapped him out of his inner thoughts, and he redirected his attention to the conversation. "Yes, without a doubt," Ash confirmed.

Ash went on and relayed the information shared by Joana. The details she provided portrayed the Pokémon as nothing more than a vicious beast and uncontrollable.

"That's quite perplexing," Professor Oak remarked, his brow furrowing in thought. "This behavior doesn't align with the typical conduct of a wild Pokémon."

"It's possible that this is a side effect of its genetic mutation," he proposed.

Professor Oak fell into a thoughtful silence. "I must confess, my knowledge of this Pokémon's behavior is somewhat limited. My familiarity with it is rooted in a research paper I came across during my time in the Kalos region. Nonetheless had it been the case, it would have already been purged."

"Well, since it was already reported and handled, there's nothing to do," Professor Oak continued, though a hint of disappointment colored his voice. "Although, I would have liked to at least have a closer look at the Pokémon. It also happens to be in the field of research of your mother," he added.

Ash paused, the realization hitting him. He had completely forgotten about that. His mother's research field was one he didn't like at all. For the simple raison, it smelled trouble from miles away. The first time, he heard of it, it got a "Fuck" from him and a scolding from his mother.

"Pokémon Genotypic Divergence across Ecological Biomes."