Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

Flights from Saffron City in the Kanto region to the outskirts of Futaba Town in the Sinnoh region are operating smoothly over the Sinnoh landmass.

Perhaps because it is a weekday, the huge cabin was less than half full.

A boy named Xiaozhi was sitting by the window, his head bowed as if he were sleeping.

Meanwhile, a creature resembling a yellow mouse was perched on the boy's shoulder, fast asleep alongside him.

"Hmm... um?"

The boy's eyebrows twitched slightly, as if he had slept enough, or as if he had realized something, and he opened his eyes.

The first thing he said after opening his eyes wasn't a complaint or satisfaction about his sleep, but rather—

Where am I?

He frowned, completely unaware of where he was, since he remembered the Pokémon Masters Challenge just a moment ago.

But he was not on the competition stage, but in an unknown place.

Although the surrounding environment made it easy to determine that he was on an airplane, he had a great deal of doubt about why he was there.

"Pikachu?"

Ash felt the movement on his shoulder and gently turned his head. He saw his old partner Pikachu sleeping peacefully on his shoulder, looking very tired.

Seeing this, Ash quickly kept quiet, but the next second he seemed to realize something and began to cough lightly.

That voice?

He frowned as he thought to himself.

His voice didn't sound deep; instead, it had a youthful quality. With this question in mind, he quickly looked out the window. Under the cover of a cloud, he finally saw his own face clearly.

This is... me... no, this is the old me!

A flicker of panic crossed Xiaozhi's pupils. The reflection in the glass did not show his familiar appearance in his twenties, but rather his appearance more than ten years ago when he was still a child.

A dream? Or a journey back to the past?

He pulled at his cheek, completely bewildered, and the intense pain almost made him cry out.

However, he quickly regained his composure after noticing Pikachu out of the corner of his eye.

Clearly, this was not a dream. The constant pain on his face told him that he was in reality, meaning he had traveled back in time.

In the world of Pokémon, time travel is not a common occurrence, but it's not unusual for Ash.

After all, he had traveled through time dozens of times from the beginning of his journey to the Pokémon Master Challenge, more times than he had ever taken a plane.

The only difference from previous time travels is that this time there were no warnings or any events encountered.

He didn't know if he was on any mission, nor did he know if he would ever return to that point in time to complete the Pokémon Masters Challenge that was still missing one match.

"Whoo~"

Ash took off his hat, scratched his hair in frustration, and his mature sigh was completely at odds with his current youthful appearance.

"I'm so unwilling to accept this..."

He muttered to himself, gazing at the scenery outside the window, his thoughts momentarily scattered.

He was just one step away from becoming a Pokémon Master; he only needed to defeat Leon to succeed.

But why did I have to travel through time at this particular moment? What is the deeper meaning behind this time travel?

He couldn't understand it.

This abrupt and inexplicable time travel puzzled him greatly. In Xiaozhi's opinion, even if someone was going to travel through time, there should at least be a reason, right?

Just like I was back then, who am I supposed to help? Or am I just experiencing the events as a witness or participant?

Having a reason makes the goal clear; otherwise, who can muster the energy for a vague and uncertain factor?

Even if he was born an optimist, it wouldn't work... He really didn't want to experience the feeling of losing something when he was just one step away from his dream.

"Susu~"

"Ok?"

Just then, Xiaozhi seemed to hear a sound coming from his backpack on the seat next to him. With a little doubt, he picked up the backpack.

A bit heavy.

He thought to himself.

With a mix of curiosity and trepidation, Ash slowly unzipped his backpack, and then a thing that looked like an arm... a tail? peeked out.

This really startled Xiaozhi, and he unconsciously loosened his grip on the backpack.

The backpack fell to the ground, and then a mournful cry came from inside.

"O~ki?!"

"Ok?"

That familiar voice... I must have heard it somewhere before.

Ash's first thought was about the sound, but he quickly realized what that strange tail was.

"Long-tailed monster hand?!"

With an incredulous voice, Ash called out the name of the Pokémon hidden in his backpack.

"O~ki?"

Upon hearing Ash's call, Aipom emerged from the backpack.

Its face wore a smile that seemed never to fall into a slump.

Even after being discovered, Aipom showed no embarrassment or remorse.

Faced with Ash's somewhat bewildered gaze, it simply chuckled and jumped onto Ash's other empty shoulder, then stretched out its hand-like tail to snatch Ash's hat and put it on its own head.

"Pikachu?"

Such noise naturally woke Pikachu up. After opening its eyes, Pikachu looked at Ash, then turned its head and saw Aipom grinning and making faces at it. The last bit of sleepiness in its mind was instantly wiped away.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu was so startled that it fell off Ash's shoulder and landed on the ground. While rubbing its bottom, it stared at Aipom with the same look Ash had in its eyes, as if wanting to ask why it was there.

"O~kI!"

The Aipom's minions jumped onto Ash's head again and lay there, continuing to make faces at Pikachu, looking smug, like children who had successfully pulled off a prank.

......

Longtail Hand, so this place is...

Aipom was interacting "friendly" with Pikachu, but Ash's thoughts had already drifted to the continent below the plane window.

He will never forget what happened in the Sinnoh region.

This is the first region where he has fully matured in Pokémon battles.

This is the first region where he has completely transformed bonds into power.

This is the first time he has sent a veteran player to a region in an official league tournament.

This is the first time he has reached the semi-finals in a region.

This was the closest he had ever come to victory.

This is......

This was the first time he had ever truly felt resentful after a league tournament.

Now that he has the experience and memories of the future, although many of his memories of the Sinnoh region are somewhat blurry, it doesn't matter... This way he can experience the feeling of the past with a completely new perspective.

only?

Huh? Did I fly to the Sinnoh region? I always remember taking a boat.

Ash, sitting in his seat, was plunged into a new kind of confusion.

.......