In a void of chaos, a man with black-rimmed glasses held a notebook and pen. As he wrote, he muttered:
"Pokémon, short for 'Pocket Monsters'. On this planet live creatures beyond belief. In forests, in the sky, in the sea—they are everywhere. Thus, humans and Pokémon form various bonds, coexisting in this world."
As he spoke, the surrounding darkness filled with color, revealing strange creatures—the "Pokémon" he spoke of. And various "humans" resembling young boys.
"And the protagonist of this story is this sleeping boy, Ash."
With the glasses-wearing boy's narration, the scene quickly shifted to a boy's bedroom. The sleeping boy on the bed was the "Ash" mentioned by the glasses-wearing man.
"Today is his first day as a Pokémon trainer, but due to his excitement last night, he overslept. Ah, such a classic development," the glasses-wearing man continued while writing.
Suddenly, the boy on the bed jolted awake, yelling, "Wha—! Mom, why didn't you wake me?" He then clumsily fell off the bed, completely ignoring the glasses-wearing man standing by the bed.
Watching Ash, still in his pajamas, rush out of the room, the glasses-wearing man pondered for a moment, continuing to write, "Next, he's going to get his first Pokémon. This will officially make him a Pokémon trainer and start his own journey. Who knows what kind of extraordinary journey this reckless boy will have?"
"You said yourself that you'd wake up on your own when you turned ten," Ash's mother, busy with housework, looked up and noticed Ash leaving with only a piece of bread in his mouth. She couldn't help but call out, "Hey, Ash, breakfast can't just be bread... Ah, he's gone."
Ash rushed out of the house, not even bothering to eat the bread in his mouth, and sprinted towards the Oak Laboratory.
As Ash passed by the glasses-wearing man, the man closed his notebook.
"Alright, this is the beginning of the story. The story of young Ash begins here.
What? You're asking who I am.
I am Anzai, an obscure writer. Don't worry, we'll meet again. Now, please focus on this little brat, Ash!"
With that, the man disappeared on the spot.
In this world, there are all kinds of professions, but the most admired is naturally the Pokémon trainer. Through journeys and adventures, they grow and become the strongest Pokémon masters, which is almost every child's dream under ten. Ash is no exception.
However, not every child has the conditions and talent. It inevitably requires a lot of money and time. Ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to become Pokémon trainers who can support themselves.
Ash's family is not wealthy, but the town he lives in, Pallet Town, has a famous Pokémon researcher, Professor Oak. He recruits children from nearby towns every year to become researchers in his laboratory. He provides these children with travel funds and initial Pokémon.
Today is Ash's first day of adulthood, which is also the legal age to become a Pokémon trainer. In other words, he has come of age.
While running, Ash accidentally bumped into someone at the corner.
"Ah, it hurts!"
Ash loosened his mouth, and the bread flew out. He looked closely and found that the person he bumped into was a girl. She wore a pure white sun hat, a bright blue tight-fitting shirt, a red miniskirt, and her long, shiny black hair made Ash instantly recognize the girl's identity.
"Misty! Ah, my bread!"
Ash's bread was bitten by Misty.
"Hmm~ what is this..."
Misty was about to throw the bread away, but Ash rushed forward and grabbed her hand, yelling, "No, no, no, that's my breakfast!"
"Ash?"
Misty only then noticed that the person who knocked her down was her childhood friend Ash.
"Wait, so this bread was bitten by you..."
Thinking of this, Misty's face turned red, and she threw the bread onto Ash's face.
"This... this... this is an indirect K... KIS..."
Misty stood up, her face flushed.
Ash didn't care. He opened his mouth and ate the bread, then burped, "Burp~ Yo, gotta keep going. Misty, hurry up, or we'll be late."
Misty suddenly remembered that she was also about to be late and hurriedly chased after Ash, "Ash, wait for me!"
The two ran along the streets of Pallet Town.
The scene shifted to Professor Oak's laboratory, where an elderly man with white hair anxiously looked at the entrance, muttering,
"Those two, how dare they be late at a time like this. They really don't take me, Professor Oak, seriously."
"They're always like that, Grandpa," a boy standing nearby said disdainfully.
This handsome boy with brown spiky hair was named Gary, Ash's childhood playmate. However, due to his excellence, he now had an arrogant personality.
"Huff~ forget those two, Gary, you choose your Pokémon first," the professor growled, like a child who had been stood up.
"Alright. Actually, it doesn't matter which one I choose. No matter what kind of Pokémon, I can bring out their greatest power," Gary said, walking up to the three red and white balls and taking one.
"Grandpa, this is the one."