Chapter 3

【Chloe: "But it's already past the meeting time."】

【"He is a very energetic boy who lives nearby," Professor Oak says with a smile.】

【Professor Oak was originally prepared to let the children wait a little longer, but someone is unwilling.】

【"That guy must be a scatterbrain," a boy in the group says unhappily.】

【Who is this? Professor Oak doesn't remember him being on his camp list. Upon asking, he finds out the boy was invited by Chloe and his name is Goh.】

【Compared to the sweet and kind Chloe, this child named Goh is a bit annoying.】

【"Then, how long do we have to wait for that scatterbrain?! Our time is very precious," Goh questions Professor Oak.】

The audience watching the video is dumbfounded at this scene.

Whose child is this brat? Does he know who is in front of him? To dare to speak to Professor Oak like this—he is truly too impolite.

Gary: "Hmph, I really want to beat this guy named Goh up."

Gary has never had a good impression of posers, himself excluded.

【Professor Oak is still good-tempered and doesn't get angry even when questioned by Goh. Although he really wants to wait for Ash a bit longer, he can't waste the other children's time. With no other choice, Professor Oak has to take the other children and leave first.】

【At this moment, Ash wakes up from his sleep with a start. The sun is high in the sky, and there is a broken alarm clock under the bed; Ash cries out that it's bad.】

【He doesn't even change his clothes and rushes to Professor Oak's lab, but it is already too late.】

4: Parallel World Ash Arrives, 5 Years Old and Diligent!

Bruno: "I feel sorry for Ash for a second; he looked forward to the camp for so long, only to miss it."

Misty: "Who can he blame? He's the one who slept in."

Brock: "If I were Ash, I'd probably be so depressed I wouldn't be able to sleep all night."

Misty: "And then sleep in again the next day?"

Ash: "..."

Gary: "As expected, without me, Ash, you can't do anything. If I had been there, I definitely would have made Grandpa wait for you."

Misty: "I don't think it would have been any use. With that guy named Goh fanning the flames on the side, even if you were there, I don't think Professor Oak would have waited."

Professor Oak is a man of principle; he wouldn't follow Gary's words just because Gary is his grandson.

Gary: "Fine, you're right; I don't have that much influence."

Listening to Gary's constant trash talk in the livestream, President Goodshow can't help it either. He sighs to Professor Oak beside him: "Sigh, it's not easy for you either, Professor Oak."

"Sigh."

Professor Oak responds with a sigh as well.

It really isn't easy for him; saddled with these two brothers, Ash and Gary, he is truly going to live at least five years less.

In the process of everyone chatting, the screen with the white border suddenly dims, while conversely, the screen with the black border becomes bright.

Cynthia: "The protagonist in the white-bordered screen is Ash. I wonder if the black-bordered one will be any different."

Steven: "My suggestion is that the black-bordered screen could have me as the protagonist. Believe me, my story is definitely more exciting than Ash's."

Talking about Ash, a rookie trainer who hasn't traveled for a year—what's the point? It's better to talk about his story: starting from zero to becoming a Champion, then resigning from the Champion position to pursue his dreams—it's definitely ten thousand times more exciting than Ash's story.

With Steven saying this, Lance also becomes interested.

Lance: "You could show me, step by step, punishing evil and promoting good, finally becoming a great Dragon Master."

It's not Lance bragging; his experiences, if put into a novel, would definitely be the protagonist template.

Diantha: "You haven't even become Champion; what qualifications do you have to compete with us for the protagonist role?"

Cynthia: "That's right, that's right. Wait until you pass Lorelei's hurdle before talking about being the protagonist."

Lance: "Champion? Lorelei? Sorry, excuse me."

Diantha and Cynthia poke at Lance's sore spot, but he has no way to refute them, as what they said is the truth.

Hop: "My brother Leon is the most suitable!"

Since his debut, he has had an undefeated record in official Pokémon League battles.

Hop just wants to ask, who else is there? Who else!

Steven: "Young man, you don't understand. No one wants to watch a story that is smooth sailing; everyone prefers stories with twists and turns."

Hop: "Uncle, you don't understand young people today at all. What era is this? Who still watches stories where the protagonist is abused? Protagonists who are invincible from the start and crush everything are the most sought after by young people."

Therefore, his brother Leon is still the most suitable to be the protagonist in the black-bordered screen.

Amidst everyone's arguing, the black border is fully lit, and the video starts.

【A sunny morning, green trees, flowers, and an ordinary countryside house.】

The start is exactly the same as the image in the white border.

What is going on?

The system spent so much effort and even specially divided the screen into black and white, only to play the same content.

Wallace: "Is this to make us strengthen our memory?"

Diantha: "What kind of sacred being is this guy named Ash, that we have to watch the same video twice?"

Could it be that this child named Ash is the system's illegitimate son?

Is the reason the system appeared just to promote its illegitimate son?

Cynthia: "Don't talk nonsense; keep watching. I believe the system will give us the answer soon."

Cynthia's judgment is not wrong; sure enough, differences soon appear in the image.

【The Ash in the black screen doesn't act like a monkey, refusing to take the stairs and insisting on sliding down the banister. He walks down from the second floor steadily.】

【"Mom, I'm going to participate in the camp," Ash says, handing the poster to his mother, Delia, who is cooking.】

【"That's great, as long as our Ash likes it," Delia says with a smile. "By the way, Mom seems to have things to do on that morning; can our Ash wake up by himself?"】

【Ash glances at Delia and says speechlessly: "Mom, what are you saying? I started waking up by myself at three years old."】

【Delia seems to remember something: "Ah, right, our Ash stopped sleeping in at three years old."】

Misty: "Stopped sleeping in at three years old? I don't believe it; this isn't the Ash in my memory."

Ash: "Yeah, yeah, how could he stop sleeping in at three years old? He must be bragging."

Let alone Misty not believing it, even Ash himself doesn't believe it.

Professor Oak: "It's not impossible. The world in the black screen is very likely not our world, but a parallel world. Since it's a parallel world Ash, it's normal for his personality to be different." ===== CHAPTER 4 =====

5: The prize quiz begins, is Gou about to get beaten up?

Shigeru: "A parallel world?!"

Professor Oak: "That is the only explanation."

【Time: The day of the camping trip.】

【Satoshi woke up early, not even needing the help of an alarm clock.】

【He folded his quilt, finished washing up in the bathroom, and finally went to the first floor for breakfast—milk and bread that his mother, Hanako, had prepared for him in advance. Everything was so methodical.】

【After finishing breakfast, Satoshi habitually glanced at the clock and muttered to himself: "It's only 6:50, still plenty of time before the meeting. I can finish my training and still make it to the Professor's lab in time."】

【With that, Satoshi left the house and began his basic trainer training in the yard—throwing balls.】

Satoshi: "Huh? Do you even need to train for throwing balls?"

He had never trained for throwing balls in his life; he'd rather spend that time playing outside.

Professor Oak: "Throwing balls is the foundation for a trainer. Hanako still spoils you too much."

Takeshi: "He's only 5 and already working so hard. This Satoshi is terrifyingly self-disciplined."

Shiba: "Indeed. With such self-discipline, even I am starting to look forward to his future."

Professor Oak: "The Satoshi of the black world surely has a limitless future. What Satoshi lacks most is the fundamentals; as long as he builds a solid foundation, his future is worth anticipating."

Shigeru: "Limitless future? Grandpa, are you joking? What kind of future could a guy like Satoshi have? He's not like me, a genius with exceptional talent. Satoshi's talent is too ordinary; even if he spends time practicing the basics, it's useless."

Satoshi: "What are you so smug about, Shigeru? I will definitely defeat you at this Quartz Conference."

Shigeru: "Tch."

【After practicing throwing for over half an hour, Satoshi hadn't even broken a sweat. According to his usual habits, he wouldn't stop until he had trained for at least another hour, but he didn't continue today; he had to hurry to Professor Oak's lab.】

【"Professor Oak, aren't we leaving yet?" Koharu asked curiously.】

【"There are still ten minutes until the meeting time, let's wait a little longer," Professor Oak replied, glancing at his watch.】

【In fact, his action of checking the watch was just out of habit; if Satoshi hadn't arrived, it meant it definitely wasn't meeting time yet. As an elder who had watched Satoshi grow up, he knew very well how strong Satoshi's sense of time was. Even in wind or rain, as long as a time was agreed upon, Satoshi would never be late.】

【"That guy is too full of himself, making so many of us wait for him."】

【An annoying guy is annoying in any world. Even though Professor Oak had clearly said it wasn't meeting time yet, Gou still jumped out.】