As the plane landed smoothly on Sinnoh's soil, Ash Ketchum stepped out of the cabin with steady strides, accompanied by Aipom and Pikachu, officially setting foot on this familiar land once more.
"Mmm~~"
Ash took a deep, almost greedy breath of the air, then spread his arms wide and shouted, "Sinnoh region! I'm back!"
"Pika~!"
"O~ki!"
The people near the airport looked at Ash with expressions that seemed to say, "This is the spirit of youth!"
Aipom and Pikachu responded excitedly to Ash's high spirits.
After all, stepping onto a new, unknown land and feeling thrilled was only natural, wasn't it?
To openly express one's feelings in such a moment was something worthy of envy.
"Let's go! Let's become the strongest together!"
"Pika~!"
"O~ki!"
Pikachu and Aipom didn't dwell too much on what Ash's words meant. To them, it seemed like Ash was simply declaring his dream as usual.
But how close he was to that dream depended on what he would gain in this region.
However, Pikachu, perched on Ash's shoulder, noticed something when Ash spoke those words. His expression seemed different from when they had set out for Johto or Hoenn.
His entire demeanor felt… different—more mature, more composed, perhaps?
Though Ash's words gave off an initial impression of pure confidence, confidence had always been his hallmark.
His unwavering belief in becoming a Pokémon Master was nothing new, so Pikachu didn't think too much of it in that regard.
"But before that…"
Ash turned to Aipom, and under its fearful gaze, he grabbed it, swiftly snatching back the cap it had been wearing on its head and placing it back on his own.
"I've got to deal with you first. How did you even sneak into my backpack? And how did neither Pikachu nor I notice you… wait a second! If that's the case, then the stuff in my backpack…"
Ash suddenly realized things might not be as he thought.
He quickly set Aipom and Pikachu down on the ground and unzipped his backpack.
Sure enough, because Aipom had squeezed in, the clothes and some food packed inside had been pushed out.
When had it done this? Probably before boarding the plane, right?
But why hadn't this guy been caught by security? Or did the security staff simply think it wasn't unusual for a Pokémon to be stashed in a backpack?
"Thanks to you, I'll have to buy all these essentials again… Seriously, if you wanted to come with me so badly, why didn't you just say so? Why all the sneaking around?"
Ash grumbled, but Aipom's expression suggested it didn't think it had done anything wrong.
In fact, it had a look that practically screamed, "Sorry, my bad, but I'd do it again!" This devil-may-care attitude left Ash at a loss for words, so he let it slide for now.
"O~KIKI~!"
Seeing that Ash wasn't scolding it, Aipom instantly became lively again.
After Ash packed up his things and stood up, Aipom jumped back onto his head, once again snatching his signature cap and plopping it onto its own.
Seriously, why was Aipom so obsessed with this cap?
Ash felt a bit helpless about Aipom's antics, but since it had been "so long" since they'd been together, he didn't bother arguing with it. As long as Aipom was happy, that was enough…
Just like the choice it had made back then…
At that thought, a pang of regret hit Ash.
It wasn't just Aipom. Whether it was Pidgeot, Infernape, Butterfree, Lapras, or Larvitar…
If he could, Ash would want them all to stay by his side, journeying together toward becoming the strongest.
But the world was full of unavoidable circumstances.
Butterfree had found its true love.
Lapras had returned to its pod.
Larvitar had gone back to its mother.
Ash felt some comfort knowing they had found their places, returning to their own kind.
But for cases like Aipom or Infernape, he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of regret…
Pidgeot's situation was a bit different. He hoped that the next time he visited, the Pidgey and Pidgeotto it led had found a new leader.
"Speaking of which, is there a Pokémon Center nearby? I need to get your Poké Ball sorted out. You two can't just stay on my shoulders forever, you know."
"OKI!"
Aipom showed no sign of remorse, looking as if it genuinely believed it could stay out of its Poké Ball forever. He'd have to teach it a lesson about the harsh realities of the world once he got its Poké Ball back.
Ash let out a soft sigh and didn't linger any longer, heading toward a map display near the airport.
After this brief adjustment period, Ash's mindset had shifted.
He didn't know why he had traveled back in time or whether he'd suddenly return to his original timeline, but since he was here now, his goal was simple and unchanged—
To become a Pokémon Master!
Compared to the uncertainties of the future, Ash cared more about the regrets of the past…
This time, he wasn't going to lose to Paul or the others, nor would he end his Sinnoh journey falling in the top four.
Since he had been given this rare and precious chance to start over, he was determined to do his absolute best…
For him, the most valuable thing about this do-over was the memories and experience he had accumulated over the years.
Compared to the training methods he'd perfected during his peak maturity, the current Ash still had many shortcomings in how he raised his Pokémon.
As long as he could address those gaps and improve, he was confident he could bring out the full potential of all his Pokémon in battles, defeating not just Darkrai and Latios, but all of his opponent's team.
Speaking of which, were that guy's remaining Pokémon all Legendary Pokémon too? It wouldn't be just the first two that were Legendary, right? That would be such a letdown…
With all sorts of expectations for the future, Ash finally embarked on his new journey.
But lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice that high above in the distance, a Meowth-shaped hot air balloon was slowly trailing behind him.