"Greetings, all companions who have become or are about to become Trainers, I am Professor Oak!"
"Today, we are holding a summer camp to help everyone understand wilderness survival environments, develop wilderness survival skills, and learn how to obtain necessary information and resources from nature."
"For convenience, and to prevent any accidents, please pair up now. Trainers who have already received a Pokémon will lead partners who have not yet received a Pokémon to form temporary teams.
I will score everyone throughout the camp, and the team with the highest final score will receive a mysterious prize!"
"Oh—!"
The excited group of young students immediately began searching for teammates.
As soon as Ace heard the rules, he became interested. Without hesitation, he took Serena's small hand.
"Serena, how about we form a team?"
"Eh? G–good… I haven't received my starter Pokémon yet."
Serena smiled softly, gently pulling her hand back.
She didn't dislike Ace touching her—she was just shy in front of so many people.
Soon, under Professor Oak's guidance, fifteen teams were formed.
Red and Blue each brought a child from their town.
Gary brought one of his many girlfriends.
Ash, by chance, was paired with a young boy.
He had dark skin, blue eyes, and a naturally arrogant expression—standing out among the kids.
"Eh? Goh?!"
Ace instantly recognized him.
Goh—yes, that Goh—was the notorious "rotten apple" character created in Pokémon Journeys to replace Ash.
Why rotten apple?
Because the guy had zero dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, had dogshit-tier battle skills, yet somehow possessed Master Ball luck with normal Poké Balls.
One throw, one capture.
Every time.
Like some bullshit cheat code.
Meanwhile, he only caught Pokémon to fill the Pokédex and then ignored them—dumping them into the lab's back garden.
He wasn't even a Trainer—he wasn't even a caretaker. Just a collector with no responsibility.
Worse, he frequently intercepted Pokémon Ash wanted to catch, even after Ash helped him countless times.
And then he dropped the infamous line:
"I never even thought about helping Ash achieve his dream."
Yeah. A scar in every fan's soul.
Naturally, Ace, being a veteran Pokémon fan, hated him too.
But now that he walked the Pervert's Path…
He naturally had to think about Goh's sexy, voluptuous mother instead…
"But if Goh is here, Chloe should be here too, right?"
Ace scanned the crowd and finally spotted a small girl with braided pigtails and a floral dress near the podium.
Chloe.
Her cherry-colored long hair matched beautifully with her creamy white skin.
Her short-sleeved dress showed off her slender arms, while her striped blue-and-white socks wrapped around her delicate legs.
She had a petite chest, but her subtle curves under the skirt were unexpectedly alluring.
Ace licked his lips.
"Hmm… a loli, huh? Great development potential~"
Chloe, the female lead of the Journeys era.
Calm, cautious, overshadowed by Goh hogging screentime—earning her the nickname side-character heroine.
As Professor Sakuragi's daughter, and also Professor Oak's student, her presence here made sense.
In the original anime, Chloe and Goh attended a summer camp with young Ash.
But in this merged timeline, everyone happened to meet now.
Since Goh and Chloe hadn't begun their Journeys-era adventure, they had no Pokémon yet.
Their academy-style clothes made that clear.
"Grandpa, Chloe hasn't found a partner yet. There are exactly 31 kids participating," Nanami said, holding Chloe's hand.
"Hmm? That's troublesome… I recall Chloe isn't old enough to receive a Pokémon…" Oak rubbed his forehead.
"Leave her to me. I already have two Pokémon—it'll be safer during survival training."
Ace stepped forward.
Nanami instantly understood from Ace's look that he had his eye on the pretty girl beside her.
Her eyebrows tightened.
"How can that be? In that case—"
"I think it's fine. Ace has learned a lot here these years. It's more stable to let Chloe go with him," Professor Oak said, then added, "And Nanami, you can always lend a hand if needed!"
"Then… okay."
Nanami puffed her cheeks slightly and sent Chloe to Ace's side.
But looking at the two beautiful girls beside Ace—Serena and Chloe—both of whom were on par with her in looks, she felt a subtle discomfort in her chest.
"Hello, my name is Chloe Sakuragi. Please take care of me for the next few days."
Chloe politely held out her hand.
She was a girl who valued manners, just like Serena.
"Hello, I'm Serena~"
"Ace. You can call me Big Brother Ace."
Ace grinned.
Finally—someone shorter than him. He could enjoy being the older brother for once.
Chloe blinked at him, hesitating.
"Um… are you really a Trainer? You look even younger than me…"
"…"
Ace went silent.
To be fair, he really did look younger.
Short, delicate features, chubby cheeks—cute almost to the point of looking like a plush toy.
"Pfft—"
Nanami burst into laughter at his wounded expression.
"Ace is just a late bloomer. He's older than you, Chloe. He just looks cute like this~"
She reached out and rubbed Ace's head.
Ace glared at her chest hatefully.
"I see…" Chloe tilted her head, looking at Ace again.
Somewhere deep inside, she felt a soft warmth.
She always wanted a big brother but never had one. Meeting Ace for the first time, she felt a strange closeness.
"Big Brother Ace~" she said sweetly.
"Aww~! Awesome!" Ace beamed.
This little girl was sensible. If the chance came, he'd definitely give her more "juice."