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Not being late like in the anime, Ash woke up early.
After his usual morning run, when he returned home, his mother, Delia, was still asleep.
In these three years, Ash had integrated into this family.
After returning home, seeing that Delia was still asleep, Ash went to the kitchen and made breakfast.
He had occasionally helped with cooking over the past few years.
He was about to embark on a journey, so he also wanted to make a meal with care.
He placed Delia's portion on the table. After eating his fill, he went upstairs to shower and change.
The clothes were made by Delia herself.
He put on his new clothes and stood in front of the mirror.
Although Delia made them, the style and design were based on his ideas, so they were different from the original story.
They were mainly red. He wore a black short-sleeved T-shirt underneath, with a white-collared red sleeveless jacket over it.
He had black fingerless gloves on his hands, black slim-fit jeans, and black and red high-top sneakers, with the extra length of his pants tucked into his shoes.
Compared to Ash's initial attire in the anime, the current Ash preferred this outfit from the games, which was the attire of Red, the protagonist of the games.
In fact, they were both the same person, just one was the protagonist of the games and the other was the protagonist of the anime.
Red was actually Ash; the difference was that one was taciturn and composed, while the other was sunny, optimistic, and careless.
But in essence, they were the same. The taciturn nature was also because the protagonists in games were mute, and games naturally prioritized the player's enjoyment.
If you didn't win the championship every year, who would play this game? So, there was nothing wrong with the perfect character design in the game, because people often project themselves into game characters and naturally believe the game characters are perfect.
Conversely, it's normal for anime character designs to be immature to cater to children's tastes.
"Alright! Let's go!" Dressed in his new clothes, he walked to the table and picked up the hat placed there.
The hat was also red, with only the front part being white, and a green Poké Ball symbol in the upper left corner.
After putting on his hat, he grabbed his prepared backpack and headed out the door.
He glanced at Delia's room door, which was still closed, and didn't disturb her. He slung his backpack on and went downstairs.
Ash didn't notice that shortly after he left, Delia came downstairs, and she didn't look like she had just woken up. After Ash left, Delia also came to the kitchen.
Her eyes reddened slightly as she looked at the beautifully arranged breakfast on the table. She saw the note on the table and took it from under the plate.
It simply read...
"I'm off! Remember to eat breakfast, take care of yourself — Ash!"
"This child~~" Delia felt touched by the message. Because in these three years, Ash had become increasingly sensible, no longer that careless child.
She should have gone to see him off, but Ash had become so sensible over the years that she felt a bit reluctant to say goodbye. Looking at the breakfast on the table, Delia had decided not to go.
For her child's dream, she was afraid that if she showed too much reluctance, it would put pressure on him.
...
"Ash! Today's the day to set off, do your best!"
"Good morning, Auntie! Thank you, Auntie!!" As he walked along, although it was still early, many people in the other houses along the way were already awake. When they saw Ash, they greeted him warmly.
Enthusiasm and early rising seemed to be a habit of the people in this world, truly experiencing what it meant for the local customs to be simple and honest.
"Gary, go Gary! Gary is the best!!" Arriving at Professor Oak's research lab, Ash could already hear the cheers from a distance.
Ash was speechless at the sound, his face showing a "just as I expected" expression.
He looked up and saw that a large crowd had gathered at the lab entrance, mostly there to watch the spectacle.
For Pallet Town, this was a once-a-year custom. Usually, many people would come to watch the excitement.
Few would eventually become top trainers, but that didn't stop the adults from having expectations for their children.
And at this moment, at the front of the crowd, a group of beautiful girls, roughly eighteen or nineteen years old, stood at the entrance like a cheerleading squad, shouting slogans.
"Excuse me, please move aside!" Walking to the edge of the crowd, Ash politely spoke. Hearing his voice, many townspeople recognized Ash and knew he was one of today's protagonists, so they immediately made way.
"Ash, you're too slow, aren't you? You can't be so lax!" Gary had already arrived. These girls were his fan club.
To be honest, being handsome and having a good family background indeed made him very popular.
"Professor Oak hasn't opened the gate yet, so I'm not late. You're exaggerating too much, aren't you?" Ash didn't care.
He was used to their bickering over the years. He glanced at the fan club beside him and felt a bit speechless.
"Hmph! Mind your own business. You're not jealous, are you?"
"You can say what you want..." Ash heard this and didn't bother to argue. Jealous? To be honest, he really had nothing to be jealous of.
In his past life, in the anime, he had many titles, and "King of the Seas" was one of them, even if it was just a meme.
Gary didn't say much. Ash also glanced around.
The other two had also arrived.
A total of four people were setting off today. Besides Ash and Gary, there were two others, a boy and a girl.
He didn't have much impression of the boy, but the girl, he had actually seen her during his three years here. Ash was also surprised the first time he saw her.
Her name was Blue, nothing too special, basically fitting the naming style of this world.
But anyone who had played the games or read the manga and some side stories/special editions would know her. She was the protagonist of the Blue version among the Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green versions of the game.
However, from beginning to end, in the four-color versions, the playable character was still Ash, and the rival was always Gary. And Blue only appeared on the promotional cover of the Blue version, but there was no trace of her in the game itself.