Above the Sinnoh Region, a flight from Saffron City in the Kanto Region to the suburbs near Futaba Town in the Sinnoh Region was operating smoothly.
Perhaps because it was a weekday, the spacious cabin was less than half full.
A young boy named Xiao Zhi was sitting by the window, his head bowed as if he were sleeping.
A creature resembling a yellow mouse was also curled up on the boy's shoulder, sleeping soundly with him.
“Ugh… hmm?”
The boy’s eyebrows trembled slightly, as if he had slept enough, or as if he had realized something, and he opened his eyes.
And the first words he uttered after opening his eyes were not a complaint or satisfaction about his sleep, but—
“Where is this?”
He frowned, completely unaware of his whereabouts, as in his memory, he had clearly been in the middle of the Pokémon Master Challenge just a moment ago.
But now he was not on the competition stage, but in an unknown place.
Although it was easy to determine from the surroundings that he was on an airplane, he was very confused about why he was there.
“Pikachu?”
Xiao Zhi felt movement on his shoulder and gently turned his head to see his old partner, Pikachu, sleeping peacefully on his shoulder, looking very tired.
Seeing this, Xiao Zhi quickly remained quiet, but the next second he seemed to notice something and began to cough lightly.
This voice?
He thought with a frown.
His voice didn't sound deep; instead, it had a youthful quality. With this confusion, he quickly looked out the window, and through the cover of a cloud, he finally saw his current appearance clearly.
This is… me… no, this is the me from before!
A momentary panic flashed in Xiao Zhi’s pupils. The reflection in the glass showed not his familiar twenty-something self, but his appearance from over ten years ago, before he had grown up.
A dream? Or had he returned to the past?
He pulled his cheek in confusion, the intense pain almost making 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.
Being in the Pokémon world, time travel was not an everyday occurrence, but it wasn't unheard of for Xiao Zhi.
After all, from the beginning of his journey to the Pokémon Master Challenge, he had traveled through time dozens of times in total, even more often than he had flown on airplanes.
The only difference from previous time travels was that this one had no warning, nor did he encounter any events.
He didn't know if he had a mission, or if he would return to that time point to continue the Pokémon Master Challenge, which was just one match short.
“Phew~”
Xiao Zhi took off his hat and scratched his hair irritably. His mature sighing expression completely mismatched his current youthful appearance.
“I’m really unwilling…”
He muttered softly, gazing at the scenery outside, his thoughts momentarily in disarray.
He was just one step away from becoming a Pokemon Master; he would succeed if he could just defeat Dande.
But why did he travel through time at this moment? What was the deeper meaning of this time travel?
He couldn't understand.
This sudden, inexplicable time travel greatly puzzled him. In Xiao Zhi’s opinion, even if he were to travel through time, there should at least be a reason, right?
Just like when he first traveled, who was he supposed to help? Or was he to experience some event as a witness or participant?
With a reason, the goal becomes clear; otherwise, for a vague, uncertain factor, who could muster the spirit?
Even if he was naturally optimistic, he couldn't… he truly didn't want to experience the feeling of being one step away from his dream and losing it.
“Rustle~~”
“Hmm?”
Just then, Xiao Zhi seemed to hear a sound coming from his backpack on the seat beside him. With a hint of confusion, he picked up the backpack.
A bit heavy.
He thought so.
With a mix of curiosity and apprehension, Xiao Zhi slowly unzipped his backpack, and then something like an arm—a tail?—emerged from inside.
This truly startled Xiao Zhi, and his hand holding the backpack unconsciously loosened.
The backpack fell to the ground, and then a mournful cry came from inside.
“O~ki?!”
“Hmm?”
A familiar voice, he must have heard it somewhere.
Xiao Zhi's first thought was about this voice, but then he realized what that strange tail was.
“A-Aipom?!”
With an incredulous voice, Xiao Zhi called out the name of the Pokémon hidden in his backpack.
“O~ki?”
Upon hearing Xiao Zhi’s shout, Aipom climbed out of the backpack.
Its face wore a smile that seemed like it would never falter.
Even after being discovered, Aipom showed no embarrassment or apology.
Facing Xiao Zhi’s somewhat bewildered gaze, it just grinned and jumped onto Xiao Zhi’s other empty shoulder, then extended its hand-like tail to snatch Xiao Zhi’s hat, placing it on its own head.
“Pika? Pikachu?”
This commotion naturally woke Pikachu. Pikachu opened his eyes, looked at Xiao Zhi, then turned his head and saw Aipom baring its teeth and making faces at him. The last bit of sleepiness in his mind instantly vanished.
“Pi~ka~”
Pikachu was so startled that he fell off Xiao Zhi’s shoulder. After landing on the ground, he rubbed his bottom while looking at Aipom with the same expression as Xiao Zhi, as if asking why he was there.
“O~kI!”
Aipom then jumped onto Xiao Zhi’s head and continued making faces at Pikachu, looking triumphant, like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.
......
Aipom, so this is…
Aipom was “friendly” interacting with Pikachu, but Xiao Zhi’s thoughts had drifted to the continent below the airplane window.
The Sinnoh Region, he would never forget what happened in this region.
This was the region where he truly matured in Pokémon battles for the first time.
This was the region where he first completely transformed bonds into power.
This was the region where he first sent out his old team members in a formal Alliance Competition.
This was the region where he first reached the Top 4.
This was the region where he was closest to victory for the first time.
This was…
The region where he truly felt unwilling for the first time after the Alliance Competition.
And now he had future experience and memories. Although many memories of the Sinnoh Region were a bit blurry, it didn't matter… this was a good opportunity to re-experience the feeling he had back then with a fresh mindset.
But?
Huh? By the way, did I fly to the Sinnoh Region back then? I always remember taking a boat?
Xiao Zhi, sitting in his seat, fell into a new state of confusion.
.......