Sinnoh Region, Veilstone City, Pokémon Day Care
The winds of a new journey stirred once again, as the trees began sprouting fresh branches and the sky appeared exceptionally azure. Distant clouds floated idly, serving as the backdrop for a promising adventure.
Beneath the shade of a tree, a purple-haired boy lay with his hands behind his head, staring at the endless sky. His thoughts wandered far, contemplating his journey ahead.
After a while, he picked up a book beside him and began reading. Nearby, a group of newly hatched Pokémon played and frolicked, indifferent to the boy's presence. Some of the little ones even snuggled beside him for a nap, unafraid of his company.
In contrast, the nearby antics of another presence—engaged in playful mischief with a Pikachu—seemed to unsettle these newborn Pokémon more.
"Pika~chu!"
"Bzzzzzt!"
"Ahhh!"
"Eek!"
Suddenly, a surge of golden electricity crackled through the air, startling the baby Pokémon. They scurried toward the boy, huddling close as if seeking safety.
Feeling the commotion, Paul set his book aside. What met his eyes were Pokémon like Budew, Pachirisu, Shinx, Cleffa, and Azurill clustered by his side.
What's going on?
Paul immediately stood to shield the little ones and scanned the area to find the source of the chaos.
"Pika!"
Ahead of him, a Pikachu was wildly discharging golden bolts of electricity, writhing in apparent distress.
The sight was both chaotic and alarming: arcs of electricity snaked around like unruly electric serpents, making even the weak current intimidating to the newborn Pokémon.
And why was this Pikachu acting like this?
Because on its back sat another Pokémon—a mischievous Elekid resembling a stubborn cowboy.
The Elekid clung tightly to Pikachu's long ears, as if determined to tame the rampaging electric rodent no matter what.
"Bzzzzt!"
Despite being bathed in electricity and at risk of falling off, Elekid held on, refusing to yield, like a true fighter. After its persistent efforts, victory seemed close at hand—
"What are you doing?"
"Bzzzzt!"
A familiar cold voice cut through the chaos. Elekid flinched and, almost reflexively, delivered a swift Brick Break to subdue Pikachu before jumping down to the ground. Feigning innocence, it pointed accusingly at Pikachu, as if saying:
"This unruly rodent wouldn't stop discharging electricity. I was just trying to discipline it for you."
"Pikaaa~"
This blatant act of playing the victim made Pikachu's eyes well up with tears. It looked pitifully at Paul, clearly wronged and unable to defend itself.
Paul didn't need to think hard to figure out what had happened.
He stared silently at the Pikachu and Elekid, his unreadable expression making both Pokémon squirm uncomfortably.
"Staraptor!"
Suddenly, a majestic Staraptor swooped down from the sky, letting out a sharp cry that broke the awkward silence. It circled above Paul and his Pokémon before heading back to its perch.
Meeting Staraptor's gaze, Paul nodded in acknowledgment, signaling that he understood.
Turning back to Pikachu and the other baby Pokémon, he said:
"Pikachu, take these little ones to play elsewhere."
"Pika! Pikachu~"
Relieved, Pikachu darted off, leading the group of little ones toward the woods. Clearly, it wanted to get as far from the trouble as possible.
Now, only Paul and Elekid remained.
"No fighting in front of the young ones. This is your only warning."
Paul's tone softened slightly, though his expression remained stern.
While Paul didn't usually mind Pokémon roughhousing, scaring newborns wasn't acceptable—especially since they technically belonged to the Day Care.
The baby Pokémon were considered valuable assets, destined to be sold or distributed as starter Pokémon to trainers across Sinnoh. Ensuring their safety was essential to avoid complications.
"Bzzzzt~"
Elekid scratched its head awkwardly, feeling that the situation had simply spiraled out of control. Normally, Pikachu never fought back with electricity during their playful scuffles. How was Elekid supposed to know it would suddenly discharge like that?
Next time, it thought, it would just use Brick Break right away. After all, Elekid considered itself far too kind for its own good.
"Stop scheming," Paul chided. "If you're going to travel with me, you'll need to behave. Don't cause unnecessary trouble."
Elekid, sensing Paul's stern tone, straightened up and saluted with an overly enthusiastic expression, as if promising to turn over a new leaf. Yet the sly grin tugging at its lips betrayed its true intentions.
"Let's go. The Indigo League finals are about to start. You might as well watch your future competition."
With that, Paul turned and headed toward the house.
"Bzzzzt!"
Future competition?
The phrase immediately piqued Elekid's interest. It trotted after Paul, its curiosity about these "future opponents" growing.
Though only a few months old, Elekid's determination to become stronger (and find more opponents to fight) was unshakable.
With a spring in its step, Elekid followed Paul, occasionally casting cocky glances at the Pokémon around it. Its mischievous grin never wavered.
For a brief moment, Elekid noticed Paul's gaze turn distant, as if lost in thought. Out of courtesy—or so it convinced itself—it chose not to interrupt him.
Paul, meanwhile, was deep in his own musings.
He wasn't just any ordinary person; he was a transmigrator—a soul from Earth who had been reborn into this world.
It had taken time for him to regain his memories and realize that he had been reincarnated into the Pokémon universe, inhabiting the body of Paul, Ash's rival from Sinnoh.
At first, Paul struggled to accept his new reality. But as time passed, he came to terms with it.
Whether or not he was a transmigrator didn't matter. What mattered was that he was Paul, and that was enough.
Moreover, because the development of this world was vastly different from the one in his memories, Paul became increasingly certain that this world and the animated world he remembered were entirely separate universes.
First of all, in this Pokémon world, the age at which people usually receive their Pokémon and become trainers is not 10, as depicted in the anime, nor does it vary across regions as in the games. Instead, it is standardized across all regions to 15 years old.
Currently, Paul had only just turned 15 a few days ago.
Secondly, his brother Reggie was nothing like the Reggie from the anime. The Reggie in this world was not a cold person in his past, nor was his goal to become a powerful trainer. He also didn't need to be enlightened by Brandon to grow into a gentler person and eventually transition to being a breeder.
This world's Reggie had always been a kind and gentle person, with the lifelong goal of becoming a top-tier Pokémon breeder. Participating in the Pokémon League during his travels was merely a side activity.
Although he did battle Brandon, he didn't experience any feelings of frustration after losing. He simply returned to Veilstone City after a single challenge, inherited his late parents' daycare, and has stayed there ever since.
Apart from these differences, there were countless other smaller deviations between this world and the one in his memories.
For example, although Paul had yet to start his journey, all eight known evolutions of Eevee had already been discovered.
For example, fossil Pokémon revival technology had become almost fully mature, resulting in an increasing number of fossil Pokémon appearing across the world.
For example, according to the League Daily, Rotom devices like the Rotom Pokédex and Rotom Phones had already been developed. The only reason they weren't widespread was due to the severe shortage of Rotom itself.
Everything felt simultaneously familiar and alien—similar yet profoundly different.
Ignoring the disparity in the starting age for trainers, Paul initially thought all of these differences were butterfly effects caused by his presence as a transmigrator.
It wasn't until he watched a livestream of the Indigo League tournament a few days ago that he became completely convinced: this Pokémon world was indeed a parallel world, distinct from the one in the anime he remembered.
Why? Because this year's Indigo League tournament featured two particularly unique participants.
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