c011: Team Rocket's Four!!
Despite growing up in a household that rejected and feared Pokémon, Ash in the original manga still boldly proclaimed his ambition: to become a Pokémon Master. Not once, but again and again, he declared it with unwavering determination.
For someone raised in a family like his one that lacked even a single Pokémon and whose only guardian feared them this aspiration wasn't just unusual. It was astonishing.
Even among other families in the Pokémon world who hoped their children would grow up to become renowned Trainers, no parent would casually encourage their child to aim for the near-mythical status of "Pokémon Master."
It wasn't that the dream wasn't noble it was. But it was also so lofty and ambitious that it felt unreachable. Just as parents in Ash's past life might want their child to be successful maybe a doctor or a scientist few would raise them to believe they could one day lead a nation.
In the Pokémon world, parents wish for their children to become League-registered Trainers, Gym Leaders, perhaps even Elite Four members or Champions of a region. But a Pokémon Master? That's the apex above Champion, beyond even Frontier Brains or Research Legends.
It was, in truth, a wild boast. The kind of exaggeration children make when they don't know the weight of their words.
But Ash both the original and the one now inhabiting his body meant it.
He, who grew up in a home untouched by Pokémon, somehow had the courage and spirit to declare that one ultimate goal. And now, after transmigrating into this world and becoming this same Ash, the protagonist of the original story, the narrator understood: it wasn't just naïveté. It was destiny.
It had to be. How else could one explain how Ash remained on that path despite every obstacle?
Surely, it was the will of the world some divine hand guiding the protagonist's fate, course-correcting for him time and again. It wasn't just luck that allowed Ash to stumble his way through critical moments it was narrative gravity.
But Ash, the current Ash, wasn't content to rely on fate alone. In his past life, he had been a die-hard Pokémon fan. Now, granted a second life, gifted with the "Mega Trainer System," and bearing the legendary "Aura" and the rare "Perpetual Will," Ash was determined to walk the Trainer's path by choice not just destiny.
This was both his mission and his personal dream.
"Mom, I don't blame you for not paying the Earl Dervish Pokémon tax," Ash said softly, wiping away the tears from Delia's cheeks. "I know… after Dad went on that journey and never came back, you've been against me becoming a Trainer because you're scared."
"But I really do love Pokémon. I want to be a Trainer not because I want to leave you alone, but because this is something I have to do. I know traveling is dangerous, but… I can't stay in Pallet Town forever."
"If I can't become a Trainer, if I can't have Pokémon by my side… wouldn't the world outside be even more dangerous for me?"
Ash looked into her eyes, trying to show her that he understood her fears. That he didn't resent her. That he still needed her support.
"I know, Ash. I know," Delia whispered, voice trembling.
"The day before yesterday… when you fell into the river, I thought I was going to lose you." She clutched him tighter. "If you had a Water-type Pokémon with you, even a little Poliwag… you wouldn't have drowned. I kept blaming myself."
"Mieko… she's been talking to me, trying to help me understand. I've been holding you back because of my own fears, my own guilt. I've been so selfish. I'm not a good mother"
She choked on the words and broke into fresh sobs.
Ash had seen many versions of Delia across timelines both in the anime and through the memory of his original self. In those portrayals, she was always calm, supportive, quietly strong. But now, as she cried openly and clung to him like he was all she had left, Ash saw something new.
This was the real Delia the mother who had sacrificed her dreams, endured unspeakable grief, and struggled alone to protect her son from a world she no longer trusted.
She was not just a nurturing caregiver. She was also a fragile human being.
"Mom, please don't cry," Ash said, voice barely more than a whisper. "I know you're scared, but I'll be careful. I won't take unnecessary risks. I'll train hard, I'll listen to my Pokémon, and I'll never be reckless."
"I promise. So… will you let me become a Trainer?"
In his past life, Ash had been an orphan. The concept of family had always been a quiet ache. In this life, he cherished Delia more than words could say. He didn't need her permission to chase his dream but her blessing meant everything.
Delia wiped her eyes and gently placed her hand on his head.
"Silly boy… if I didn't want you to be a Trainer, I wouldn't have signed you up for Professor Oak's summer camp this weekend."
"Wait really?!" Ash's eyes lit up, hope surging in his chest.
Delia smiled through her tears. "Really."
Ash beamed. That moment of approval, that small crack in the wall she'd built around her heart, meant more than any system upgrade or cheat skill.
But this approval came with weight. Ash couldn't afford to be careless.
Even with his system, and the dormant Aura and Viridian Forest's unique Psychic affinity, he was still just six years old. His powers hadn't awakened, the system hadn't activated, and worst of all any attempt to tame Pokémon ahead of schedule would be illegal.
If he were discovered breaking Pokémon League regulations, he could lose his Trainer license eligibility. Permanently.
And without a license, the only path left would be darkness either living in hiding, or joining an underground group like Team Rocket.
Ash had always hated that idea. In his previous life, Team Rocket had been comic relief Jessie, James, and Meowth, always chasing Pikachu and failing miserably. But in this world, reality wasn't so forgiving.
He imagined it now: an alternate future where the protagonist, rejected by the League, abandoned by law, joined the very evil organization that once hounded him. Team Rocket wasn't just a cartoonish gang it was a criminal empire.
Jessie, James, and Meowth might have once felt like comic nuisances, but even they were only a small part of something darker. Ash imagined himself side-by-side with them once rivals, now comrades. All of them desperate, corrupted, chasing other Trainers' Pokémon together.
What a terrifying twist of fate that would be.
Even fiction writers wouldn't dare touch such a cynical story arc.
But Ash would not walk that path.
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