"It's really impressive, Ash. I never would've guessed you've already traveled through so many regions, and each time you managed to achieve pretty good results in the League tournaments."
Though it was Dawn who had invited Ash over, at the dinner table, it was Johanna who ended up talking more with him, while Dawn felt more like an outsider.
But thinking about it, that made sense. After all, both Ash and Johanna had travel experience, so naturally, they had more common ground to discuss.
There were many moments where Dawn simply had no chance to chime in. She just quietly ate her meal, absorbing useful bits of information from Ash and Johanna's conversation.
"They weren't that great, honestly. Most of them ended in regret. If I had been a bit more mature back then, things might've turned out differently."
As Ash said this, his mind suddenly drifted to Charizard.
During the Indigo Conference's Top 16 match, his immaturity at the time failed to earn Charizard's respect. So, unsurprisingly, when he sent it out, it just lay down on the ground, refusing to fight. In the match against Ritchie, it was deemed to have lost its will to battle, resulting in a direct loss.
How did he feel back then? He couldn't quite recall now, but it probably wasn't just disappointment or anything like that, right?
After all, he was genuinely weak back then—both in commanding battles and in other aspects. He was far from a mature Pokémon Trainer.
If there was anything about the Indigo Conference that truly left Ash feeling disappointed, it wasn't his defeat, but the fact that he couldn't face off against Gary in their first League tournament.
Gary hadn't expected it, and Ash certainly hadn't expected to lose so early.
But it was precisely because of that failure that both he and Gary had more time to reflect on their shortcomings. That defeat was what spurred their growth afterward.
That's how Ash had made it this far, and Gary had walked a similar path.
"I think you're being a bit too modest. For a rookie in their debut year, forget making a mark in a League tournament—collecting all eight Badges to even qualify for the League isn't easy. And speaking of immaturity~"
Dawn: "?!"
Alert.
Though Johanna didn't immediately glance at her, Dawn could sense where this was headed. The next topic was almost certainly going to…
"Sigh, if only Dawn could be as mature as you, Ash~ She's always so scatterbrained, constantly lost in her own world, not listening to anyone. And she loves to say 'No problem!' all the time, but whenever she says that, it's usually when…"
"No way! Don't make stuff up!!"
Dawn indignantly cut Johanna off. She couldn't believe that even staying quiet on the sidelines would get her used as a bad example.
"Oh~?"
Johanna let out a long, meaningful hum.
"But didn't you forget your keys when you went out today? I didn't remind you this time, but the number of times you couldn't get back home because you forgot your keys must be in the double digits by now, right? If you've really grown up, at least remember something as small as that."
"Ugh…"
Dawn had no comeback. She lowered her head and resumed eating in silence. Seeing her like this, Ash spoke up:
"Once you start traveling, you grow a little every day. I was probably worse off than Dawn back then. On my very first day, I got chased by dozens of Spearow. To escape, I even had to jump into a river. And back then, Pikachu wasn't close to me at all. It was really tough."
"Pika!"
Pikachu, who had been quietly eating on the side, hadn't expected the conversation to dig up its embarrassing past. Startled, it quickly turned away, unable to face the gazes of Aipom, Dawn, and the others.
But after hearing such an amusing story, Aipom, true to form, couldn't stay still. It put down its food, scampered behind Pikachu, and started poking it, seemingly eager to dig up more dirt about the past.
"Really? That's… quite something…"
Johanna's face was full of sympathy.
She had assumed Ash was the steady-growth type, but she never would've guessed his first day as a Trainer could be so disastrous.
"Though being a Pokémon Trainer does come with dangers, your experience is probably one in a thousand."
"Hmph! I'm super popular with Pokémon! There's no way I'd ever get chased and attacked by them!"
Dawn, brimming with inexplicable confidence, boldly declared this before even starting her journey.
Ash didn't contradict her and just continued.
"Looking back, it was pretty dangerous, but it turned out okay. After surviving that ordeal, my bond with Pikachu grew stronger, and something good came out of it. Thinking about it now, it feels worth it."
A sky cleared after the rain, a colorful figure with beautiful wings slowly gliding across one side of the heavens. A rainbow trailed its form, stretching into the distance.
Back then, Ash didn't know who that mysterious Pokémon was, but during his later travels, he learned that the Pokémon he'd seen was none other than the legendary Ho-Oh.
After the Bell Tower incident, it had vanished from people's sight, retreating behind the scenes to observe the world.
The story of his meeting with Pikachu must have been seen by Ho-Oh, and the bond and feelings between them were likely acknowledged by it. Otherwise, it wouldn't have appeared before him.
Though it was merely a passing encounter, with no exchange or even eye contact.
Still, Ash now felt that ever since seeing Ho-Oh that day, his travels had been filled with all sorts of surprises, brimming with "good luck."
Well, this "good luck" meant constantly getting tangled up in events involving legendary Pokémon.
Sure, they were dangerous, but he had no complaints.
After all, he was a Pokémon Trainer. Meeting all sorts of legendary Pokémon and creating memories with them was something to be happy about.
Every danger he faced had genuinely turned into experience and motivation to grow stronger, integrated into his being, pushing him to keep moving forward.
At the dinner table, the hosts, Johanna and Dawn, barely spoke. They listened quietly to Ash's various stories, completely immersed.
Only when they had questions would they ask curiously. Most of the time, they were just ordinary listeners.
Even Johanna, who had her own travel experience, couldn't help but admire and yearn for Ash's journeys, let alone Dawn, who hadn't yet set foot on her own.
As Ash recounted his many stories with ease, Dawn's expectations and longing, along with a certain idea, began to take root in her mind, gradually growing stronger.