Pokémon: Ash's Sinnoh Reset

Time always flies when you have common topics to discuss. Before they knew it, it was already evening. The orange sunlight slanted in through the windows, adding a gentle atmosphere to Dawn's house. It was when the evening sun shone on Johanna's face that she realized it was already so late.

"Oh my, I got so engrossed for a while. I didn't expect it to be almost dinner time."

"Really."

Not only Johanna, but even Dawn and Ash had just realized how late it was.

Perhaps it was because he rarely had the opportunity to talk to others about his past stories, so he enjoyed it so much that he didn't notice the passage of time at all.

"Pika~"

"Aipom~~"

Ash got up and looked for Pikachu and Aipom, and soon found the two little ones curled up on the sofa.

Pikachu and Aipom also seemed tired from traveling. He didn't know when it happened, but probably shortly after lunch, they had fallen asleep. Pikachu and Aipom were lying together. Pikachu was curled up in a ball, and Aipom's tail was drooping on Pikachu's body, looking like it was covering it with a blanket. Slight snores came from their noses and mouths, looking warm and beautiful.

"They fell asleep..."

Ash scratched his head and whispered with some embarrassment.

He had said to hurry up and prepare to leave, but he didn't expect Pikachu and Aipom to be sleeping so sweetly. Pikachu was fine, after all, it had slept for a while on the plane, but Aipom hadn't slept much at all in order to follow him. The active and curious Aipom would naturally be too excited to sleep after arriving on a new continent and seeing new things.

And the reason why they were able to fall asleep in Dawn's house was probably because they felt a sense of security.

During this afternoon, the three of them sat at the dining table and whispered stories. Pikachu and Aipom became sleepy as they listened.

"Meow~"

After seeing Johanna also come over, Glameow, who had been lying on the back of the sofa, also got up and called out lazily. Seeing this, Johanna just smiled and stroked its fur, and then seemed to see through Ash's thoughts and suggested, "It's very late now, why don't you stay here overnight? If you don't have anything urgent."

"Well... there is indeed nothing urgent. After all, this is my first day in the Sinnoh region. I will slowly challenge the eight Gyms, obtain the badges, and then participate in the League competition."

"Then it's okay for you to stay here tonight, right? Just consider it a reward for telling us so many fascinating stories."

After Johanna finished speaking, she didn't give Ash a chance to refute, and went straight to the second floor to start preparing the guest room for Ash to stay.

"It feels so familiar." Ash said to Dawn, who was still a little distracted, "It feels like Aunt Johanna is a bit like my mom. If you went to my house, I feel like my mom would do something similar."

Ash thought that his mother Delia Ketchum's personality had never changed, whether now or in the distant future.

"But I think my mom is really annoying. She always likes to poke at my past sore spots. I'm about to start traveling, and I've already grown up."

Although an afternoon had passed, Dawn was still brooding over some of the episodes in the afternoon. After all, Ash was here this afternoon. If Ash wasn't there, Dawn would have actually become immune to Johanna's behavior. At most, she would only express her dissatisfaction verbally.

"Although I think just being able to start traveling doesn't count as growing up."

"Hey--why do even you say that, Ash!"

Dawn said with dissatisfaction, hands on her hips and cheeks puffed out. Now Dawn didn't feel any awkwardness when facing Ash, as if they were old friends who had known each other for many years.

"Ah, sorry, sorry~" Knowing that Dawn just wanted recognition that she had grown up, Ash went along with her and said, "But isn't your dream to become a top coordinator who surpasses your mom? If that's the case, why not start using actions to speak for you from tomorrow? Standing on the awards platform of a large stage, asking 'Have I grown up now?' in front of the TV, wouldn't that be more effective?"

"That..."

Dawn frowned slightly, tapped her finger against the corner of her mouth, and then smiled happily, seeming to think that Ash's suggestion was very good.

"That's right! I must do that when I receive the award! That way she will have nothing to say, right! Humph~!"

Dawn raised her chin, her expression completely full of a triumphant smile as if she had already won. With beautiful visions of the future, she had even forgotten that she was just a rookie who had just debuted. How difficult would it be to win the championship in the first year of her debut? It would be impossible to reach the peak immediately after debuting unless she was a rare genius.

But...

Runner-up? That would be nice...

Dawn did indeed have talent in this area. In the first year of her debut, she achieved the runner-up position on the stage of the Grand Festival, only one step away from the champion, Zoey.

Compared to Dawn, he really couldn't be considered a genius. His debut was just ordinary, only reaching the top 16 without attracting much attention, and he was stopped in the top 4 at the Lily of the Valley Conference.

"Of course, I believe you can definitely do it if it's you!"

Perhaps, the opportunity to start over was not only for himself, but also for Dawn.

Ash thought.

...

Night arrived as promised after the sun set. Twinleaf Town, which had not undergone large-scale urbanization, retained most of its natural features.

The cool night breeze blew into Ash's room from the window. He leaned against the wall by the window and looked up at the bright moon. He heard the calls of Bug-type Pokémon traveling at night, and...

"Pika~pi~~"

"Aipom~~~"

The sounds of Pikachu and Aipom snoring.

"Wait, didn't these two sleep all afternoon? Why can they still sleep so soundly at night!"

Ash complained about them strangely, but on the other hand, he was actually complaining about how he couldn't fall asleep.

He hadn't slept much, and he had walked quite a bit, but why couldn't he fall asleep, and he didn't even feel sleepy? He tossed and turned in bed for a long time without any signs of falling asleep.

Perhaps it was because he was too excited to be able to return to the past that he couldn't sleep.

Ash guessed.

"Oh well, I'll go for a walk."

After speaking, he generously pushed open the door and walked downstairs, planning to go outside to enjoy the night breeze.

Just as Ash went downstairs, he didn't notice that Dawn's door wasn't closed tightly, but was open a crack. After hearing Ash leave the room, Dawn poked her head out, thought for a moment, and made a decision, also heading out the door.

....