"I thought you would reject me."
"Huh?"
Arthur who was waiting for some resentful words or even sobbing was shocked by Leaf's next words. What does she mean? She had already expected it?
He had certainly not expected such a response from her. The way she had asked Arthur to come with her can easily be counted as half a confession and for a long time, Arthur had expected her to do it.
After all, he was not a dense beta protagonist and knew how to read the implications in one's behavior.
But he had not thought much about what would happen next.
Maybe Leaf would resent him? Maybe their friendship would become bitter? He had only expected these two scenarios, but what Leaf was saying was certainly out of his expectations.
When he looked at her face, he only found a bitter smile there. There was no resentment or sadness in her eyes like she had already expected him to reject her invitation.
"You certainly look shocked. Did you expect me to cry? I will tell you, I'm not the same crybaby from before."
"Uh, no, but you were looking forward to traveling with me, right?" Arthur asked with a complicated expression.
"Yeah, I was certainly looking forward to it, but I know you enough too. You are the type to do things alone, so I already expected you to reject my invitation."
Leaf said and turned her head away from him. Although she didn't show it, she was still a little hurt, but there was also determination in her eyes.
While glancing at Arthur, she added.
"Still, don't you think it is over. One day, you will certainly accept my invitation of traveling together and… maybe even more."
She said with a little smirk on her face.
"Well, we will see about that."
Arthur shrugged his shoulders, trying to end the conversation, but at that moment, Leaf suddenly turned around and leaned closer to him. Their bodies were suddenly pressed together and a sweet scent entered Arthur's nose.
With a pout, she said, "That day will surely come and you won't be able to reject me then."
"We don't kno—"
Before Arthur could finish his sentence, his lips were sealed. It was too unexpected that he forgot everything for a moment, instinctively trying to match his lips with the girl in front of him.
It lasted only for a few seconds, but the lingering sense of sweetness remained in his mouth even after the kiss had ended.
"What was that?!"
Arthur asked as soon as Leaf separated from him, but she only gave him a smile and giggled.
"You didn't expect that, right?"
"No, certainly not."
"Then, just wait. I will do a lot of things you wouldn't be able to expect in the future."
Leaf said with a mischievous smile on her flushed face. She hadn't expected to do anything like that, but they were not going to meet daily from now on.
That's why she wanted to leave a lasting impression on Arthur.
'He would certainly remember this for a long time.'
She thought and finally left with her Bulbasaur, leaving Arthur a little perplexed and shocked.
'I would certainly miss her.'
Arthur thought and shook his head to calm down. Now that he had finally said farewell to his childhood friends (Except for one guy who is late), it was time for him to move too.
But there was still a matter he was pondering over.
'Should I wait for Ash and leave after scanning his Pikachu?'
Just like in the anime, Ash existed in this new Pokemon world and he was the same as how he was in the anime. Just this time, he had grown up rather than remaining a 10-year-old kid.
But instead of him, Arthur was more interested in his Pikachu.
After all, Ash's Pikachu was even able to defeat legendary Pokemon in the anime. He always wanted to know about his aptitude and other information.
Sadly, even after working in Professor Oak's lab, Arthur was not able to see Pikachu.
"Um, I can scan Pikachu later. It's better to start moving and get some training."
In the end, Arthur decided against waiting for Ash and moved on from Pallet town.
It was easy to exit Pallet town just after it was the infamous route 1.
Unlike the games, it was a wide area filled with grass and ledges. There were all sorts of Pokemon to encounter in this route and they were all really easy for a novice trainer like him to catch.
But Arthur didn't want to catch a Pidgey or a Rattata. Both of them were too common Pokemon and it was hard to find a single one with green aptitude.
When Arthur looked at a group of Pidgey sitting on top of a tree, he even found one with a white aptitude.
'All these Pokemon are just too weak…'
He sighed as he walked across route 1 with Charmander on his side. He hadn't called him back in his Pokeball because he was being careful of the wild Pokemon.
Wild Pokemon would often attack newbie trainers to steal their food and sometimes, it can lead to a dangerous situation. After all, a Pokemon trainer dying due to a wild Pokemon was a rather common scenario.
But he didn't feel like any white or yellow aptitude Pidgey and Rattata would pose him any danger.
Most Pidgeys are mild birds and they don't attack you unless you attack them and Rattatas were just too weak.
"Let's take a break here, Charmander."
"Charr!"
Arthur eventually stopped and took a break. He was in no hurry to reach Viridian city and it was better to get to know his Charmander better.
They both sat down in the shadow of a tree and Charmander looked at his trainer curiously. It hasn't been a long time since he had met Arthur and he was still curious about his personality.
"Here, Charmander, eat this."
Arthur pulled out an Oran berry from his bag and passed it to Charmander.
To become a better trainer, he has studied all about berries from childhood. It had only been possible because his mother was a breeder and she had taught him all about which berries Pokemon like more.
"Charr." Charmander sniffled the oran berry and ultimately put it into his mouth. A slightly sour yet sweet taste entered his mouth and he happily growled.
"You liked it?"
"Charrr!"
Charmander nodded his head and Arthur pulled out more of these berries from his bag. At that moment, there was some rustling in the grass.
As Arthur was passing the berries to Charmander, a shadow passed through, and suddenly, the berries were gone.
"What is happening?"
Arthur quickly looked up and down, trying to find the culprit who had stolen the berries from him.
"Charrr!!"
Charmander also looked up and glared. He was a prideful Pokemon. How will we allow his food to get stolen?
Finally, both of them found out the culprit who has the berries in his hands. It was a Mankey who was looking down on them from the top of a tree.