Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

The next day, perhaps because Dawn was going to participate in the Grand Contest, Ash and his friends all got up very early.

Ash, in particular, was the most nervous person today, even though Dawn should have been the one most anxious. Ash had been thinking about the Pokémon egg in the house. He had opened his eyes and started observing the egg before Dawn did. However, since it was only the first day he had it, the overall condition of the Pokémon egg had not changed at all.

Hearing the commotion, Dawn woke up one after another. The first thing she did after waking up was not to think about what to eat for breakfast, but to ask Ash to battle her so that she could get used to the upcoming battle.

.......

After breakfast, in the battle arena in the backyard of the Pokémon Center, Ash's Pikachu was having a friendly match with Dawn's Piplup.

"A flash of lightning!"

Get out of the way!

Although Hikaru and Bogarman's teamwork was a bit worrying when they first teamed up, after several days of outdoor training, their teamwork has become quite good. At least Hikaru no longer makes some basic mistakes.

"Pickup!"

"Poga!"

Piplup dodged Pikachu's Quick Attack in a single leap, seemingly having anticipated this move. Dawn, however, did not relinquish Piplup's advantage in mid-air, instead turning Piplup's terrain advantage into a decisive advantage in the battle.

"Use the peck like that!"

too naive.

Ash shook his head. Just as he was about to have Pikachu use Thunderbolt to end the battle, a figure suddenly flashed between them. For some reason, Aipom used Concentrated Attack to intercept Piplup's peck at the moment Pikachu and Piplup were about to collide, sending Piplup flying.

"Hey! What are you doing, Aipom?!"

Hikari caught the flying Piplup, and just as she was about to express her dissatisfaction to Aipom, Aipom released Shadow Clone in mid-air, and then the clones used Swift from various angles.

The five clones each used high-speed stars, which converged in mid-air to form a huge golden five-pointed star. This magnificent performance left everyone in the audience in a state of astonishment. The Aipom, having finished its performance, puffed out its chest with pride and excitement, as if asking itself how well its performance had gone.

"What a beautiful performance... Did Longtail come up with it on its own?" Xiao Gang was the first to express his opinion.

"That's really amazing... I didn't expect that Aipom had been watching my and Piplup's training lately just for this. By the way, does it also want to participate in the Contest?"

After Xiaoguang finished speaking, she looked at Xiaozhi with excitement. For her, having another familiar person to compete with was always a good thing.

And Ash participating in the Contest... it's exciting no matter how you look at it!

"So, Ash? Since Aipom has already decided on the program for the first round of performances, why don't you join me? Hmm? Ash...? Are you listening?"

For some reason, even though it was something to be excited about, Ash didn't seem very happy. From Dawn's perspective, Ash just had a helpless smile on his face, squatted down to touch Aipom's head, and then said to them without turning his head.

"You guys go register for the competition first, I'll be there in a bit."

"Huh? Hmm... okay..."

Although they were curious about what Ash was going to do, the atmosphere at the scene clearly did not allow Dawn and Brock to stay any longer. The two could only exchange a glance and walk towards the venue first.

"OKI?"

Under Ash's gaze, Aipom suddenly felt a little nervous. It didn't know if it had done something wrong. The reason it had joined the battle on its own was simply to give Ash a surprise.

“Pikachu…”

Pikachu, who is always very sensitive to changes in atmosphere, also sensed Ash's strange mood. Just as it was about to speak up in defense of Aipom, Ash finally said slowly, "Aipom, are you very interested in the Contests?"

"OKI?"

Aipom was surprised that Ash had spent so much time thinking about it and that this was the only question he had asked. Without time to think, it simply nodded sharply, looking absolutely convinced.

"So, what about battling Pokémon? Which one do you prefer?"

"OKI?"

"Skin?"

Ash's next question was something neither Aipom nor Pikachu had expected. Neither of them spoke; they just stared at Ash blankly, their gazes somewhat strange.

“No…it’s not really a serious topic.” Ash scratched his cheek and continued to explain, “If Aipom is only interested in Pokémon Contests, I can participate with you. But if what you’re trying to say today is that you prefer Pokémon Contests to Pokémon battles, then it means something else.”

After Ash finished speaking, he took off his hat and, for the first time, placed it on Aipom's head, saying in a gentle tone:

“I respect your choice. If what you really like is the Pokémon Contests, I can entrust you to Dawn, because my goal will always be the same: to reach the pinnacle of Pokémon Mastery with you all... In between, I can take you to a few Contests, but I will not attend the grandest stage that symbolizes a Pokémon Coordinator, namely the Grand Festival. Therefore, if your goal is the Grand Festival, staying by Dawn's side is the best choice.”

“OKI…”

After hearing what Ash said, Aipom was at a loss for words.

Are you interested in the Contest? Aipom was indeed interested at first, and even a minute ago it was still convinced of its decision. But after Ash so seriously explained the relationship, Aipom became confused again.

It seems to be interested in both Pokémon battles and Pokémon Contests...

It likes cute and beautiful things, but it doesn't dislike all-out battles, grand tournaments, and traditional combat. It seems that it will feel some regret no matter which side it goes to. This regret and conflicted feeling makes it difficult for Aipom to answer.

Seeing Aipom's indecisive look, Ash seemed to have anticipated this. He chuckled, picked Aipom up, placed it on his head, and uttered words that made Aipom tremble—

"You seem to have...never played a prank in a while, have you?"