On the king-sized bed, a handsome young boy was contemplating deeply. It was Ash, and he was rubbing his chin, a furrow in his brow as he tried to make sense of the utterly bewildering situation. Why was he here? How was this happening?
"Hmm, if I remember correctly, it was a normal day, and I was closer than ever to my goal of becoming a Pokémon Master," Ash muttered to himself, his mind replaying the events leading up to the strange room.
He had just won the World Championship, a dream he had chased for so long. He and Pikachu were on their way to Paldea for a new adventure. Then… nothing. Just a flash of light and then waking up in this unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar, room.
As he was deeply thinking, a rare occurrence happened – something actually hit his head. He reached up and felt a small, folded piece of paper.
"What is this… hmm, a letter?" Looking at the sender's name, which was just an alpaca symbol, his curiosity piqued. He carefully unfolded the letter. Inside, neat handwriting filled the page. The first words immediately caught his attention.
"Dear Ash Ketchum, I guess you are finding yourself bewildered because of the situation you are in. Don't worry, I will fill you in on why this is happening."
Ash's eyes scanned the next few lines.
"First, you died."
Reading those three words, Ash felt a jolt of panic shoot through him. Died? He couldn't have died! But the next words offered a strange sort of comfort.
"Don't panic, dear Ash. You are not dead now. To put it simply, my idiot children caused a bit of chaos in the world which dragged you in. Since the disappearance of your existence may cause disruption in my world, I decided to send you to the past as an apology. Hope you live without any regrets this time."
Ash blinked, his mind struggling to process this information. God? Children? Chaos? Past?
The letter continued, "And as a bonus, I made your fate connect with other girls you had a liking to."
The signature at the bottom of the letter made his jaw drop.
"Your god of all Pokémon, Arceus."
Ash.exe had officially stopped working. His mind was a complete blank.
"............"
His mind only had one word: "Nothing." Yes, he could not think of anything at all. It was as if his brain had simply shut down to avoid dealing with the sheer absurdity of the situation.
In a completely absentminded state, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He left his room without any conscious thought, his body moving on autopilot.
He found himself in the washroom. He picked up his toothbrush and toothpaste and mechanically brushed his teeth. Then he splashed water on his face, the coolness doing little to rouse him from his stupor. He changed out of the comfortable pajamas he was wearing and into his regular clothes, the familiar fabric a small anchor in the sea of his confusion.
He then walked towards what seemed to be the dining table, his feet carrying him without any direction from his conscious mind. He sat down quietly at one of the chairs, his gaze fixed on the empty space in front of him.
A few moments later, Green approached the table, carrying a plate piled high with a familiar and delicious-smelling dish. She placed it in front of him, remarking with a slight smirk, "Hmph, surprised aren't you that I made your favorite omurice? Go on, eat it."
Ash absentmindedly nodded his head, his eyes still glazed over. He picked up his fork and took a bite of the fluffy omelet filled with rice. It tasted… good. In fact, it tasted amazing, just like he remembered Green's cooking.
Green watched him, a smug look on her face, clearly pleased that her cooking had rendered him speechless. She then turned and headed back to the sink to wash some dishes, a beaming expression now gracing her features.
Ash took another bite, and then another. The delicious taste was starting to penetrate the fog in his brain. But it wasn't just the taste. It was the whole situation. The letter. Arceus. Dying. The past. Being married to Green.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his fork clattered onto the plate. The reality of Arceus's words finally hit him with full force.
"Wait… I Died?" The words escaped his lips in a hushed whisper, his mind finally starting to grapple with the monumental revelation.
He had died. And now he was… back? In the past? Married?
The questions swirled in his head, each one more perplexing than the last.
He looked up at Green, who was humming happily as she washed the dishes, completely oblivious to the internal turmoil he was experiencing.
How was he supposed to react to this? What was he supposed to do? He took a deep breath, trying to calm the frantic beating of his heart.
This was going to be one very strange adventure. And he had a feeling it was only just beginning. He still hadn't seen Pikachu. That thought immediately brought a fresh wave of worry.
Where was his partner? Was Pikachu alright? He needed to find him. Everything else, the marriage, the past, the dying – it all paled in comparison to his concern for his best friend.
He stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor, causing Green to turn around in surprise. "Green," he said, his voice a little shaky, "where's Pikachu?".
"Pikachu?" Green uttered, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"Yes, Pikachu, my best buddy and partner," Ash replied, nodding his head emphatically, hoping for some sign of recognition. But he was met only with a more perplexed glance.
"But Ash, we don't have any Pikachu. Besides, you said it yourself, you don't want any Pokémon until you become a real trainer," Green stated, her tone laced with genuine confusion.
Ash's eyes widened in surprise. Then, the weight of Arceus's letter crashed down on him again. He was in the past. But if he wasn't a trainer yet… how old was he?
"Ash, are you really alright?" Green questioned again, her worry now clearly etched on her face.
"I'm alright, but can you tell me how old am I right now?" Ash asked, trying to sound reassuring while desperately seeking the answer to the question that was now nagging at him.
"You are really saying stupid things," she sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Ash, you are four this year."
Ash.exe stopped working once more.
Four? He was four years old?
This was even more unbelievable than dying and being sent to the past. He was a grown trainer, a Pokémon Champion! How could he possibly be four years old again?
He stared blankly at Green, his mind completely overwhelmed by this new piece of information. This wasn't just the past; it was the distant past.
He had a whole lifetime ahead of him, again.
The implications of this were staggering. He had to process this.
"Wait then why am I so tall?" Ash thought aloud, looking down at his small frame. "I am just a bit shorter than before. Probably 125cm."
As that thought crossed his mind, another letter materialized out of thin air, fluttering gently before him. It was just like the first one, bearing the same alpaca symbol.
Curiosity overriding his shock, Ash reached out and touched the letter.
But just as his fingers brushed against the paper, a torrent of memories flooded his mind. It was like a dam had broken, and a raging river of images, sounds, and emotions washed over him.
These memories felt both foreign and intimately familiar at the same time. They were the recollections of his life in this new reality, the life he had been living as this four-year-old version of himself.
And then, amidst the swirling chaos of memories, he realized something that made his brain grind to a halt once again.
Yet again, Ash.exe had stopped working. His eyes glazed over, his mouth slightly agape. He had seen glimpses, fragments of moments, but now it all clicked into place.
He was married. Not just to Green. But to all of them.
To all the girls he had ever held a special fondness for in his previous life.
Misty. Daisy. May. Dawn. Serena. Lillie. Iris. And probably more.
The sheer number was staggering, the implications mind-boggling. He was four years old and married to… all of them? The absurdity of it all was too much for his young mind to handle.
He simply stood there, frozen, his thoughts a jumbled mess. What kind of life was this? What was he supposed to do now? He wants to be a Pokémon Master, not… this.