"Aunt Delia! Aunt Delia! Come quick—Ash fell into the river!"
"What? What happened?!"
A woman wearing an apron dropped her cleaning cloth in shock and rushed out of the house, her expression filled with panic.
"We were fishing for Water-type Pokémon near the river outside the village. Ash and Gary both hooked an old Poké Ball at the same time. They started fighting over it, saying each one caught it first… and then Gary accidentally pushed Ash into the water!"
The child who spoke was already crying as he led the frantic woman toward the riverbank.
…
…
[Ding! Host transfer successful.]
[Current world: Pokémon]
[System initializing... 10%]
[System initializing... 20%]
[System initializing...]
[Ding! Detected resistance from World Will — activating defensive protocol.]
[Ding! Energy reserves insufficient. Unable to resist World Will's interference.]
[System damage detected!]
…
…
It was impossible to tell how long his consciousness had been drifting in the endless dark. Then—finally—a faint light appeared in the distance.
That flicker of light became his only hope. Instinctively, the transparent soul drifted toward it, yearning for warmth. The closer he got, the clearer the sounds became—someone calling his name.
The voice was familiar… and yet strange.
"Ash… Ash…"
"Nurse Joy, will my son be all right? He already coughed up the water, so why isn't he waking up?"
"Don't worry, Delia. Ash will be fine," another woman said gently, holding her own child close.
...
...
As his consciousness pierced through the white light, the woman's voice grew louder—closer—until his eyelids fluttered open.
He found himself lying on a hospital bed, surrounded by the sterile smell of disinfectant. Beside him sat a woman with tear-streaked cheeks, clutching his hand tightly as she sobbed his name again and again.
He didn't know who she was. He didn't even know where he was.
But something deep within his body—a reflex, a memory—made him whisper a single word.
"Mom…"
Delia's tears turned into laughter as she threw her arms around him, trembling. "You're awake! Thank goodness, Ash—you scared your mother half to death!"
Her voice cracked as she held him tighter, whispering again and again, "You're safe now… You're safe…"
Ash—no, Tajiri—blinked in confusion as he glanced around the room. The furniture, the walls, the faint beeping of machines—all unfamiliar.
Did I… transmigrate?
The thought struck him suddenly, cold and clear.
He remembered everything.
In his previous life, he was just an ordinary man—an orphan who had struggled his way through university. During an outing, he had jumped into a river to save someone from drowning. He managed to pull them out alive… but in the end, it was his own life that slipped away.
No family, no attachments, just quiet regret. He had survived through the chaos of a pandemic, dreaming of a better future that never came. And yet—after death—he'd somehow opened his eyes again.
He couldn't help but laugh softly. Looks like even fate decided to give me a second chance.
But before he could savor the thought, his head throbbed violently.
A torrent of foreign memories poured into his mind—images, sounds, emotions. The sensation was excruciating, as if someone had forcefully crammed another person's life into his skull.
Thankfully, the original body's memories were few. After several minutes of pain, he finally adjusted.
And when he did… his expression froze.
Wait—Pallet Town? Delia?
The fragments aligned in his mind, and realization struck like lightning.
"I actually transmigrated… into the world of Pokémon?!"
His heart pounded. He wasn't just anyone here—he was Ash Ketchum, six years old, not yet on his first journey.
For a moment, he was speechless.
He had died once already. Getting a second life at all was a gift. But getting to live here—in a world filled with wonder and adventure, instead of bloodshed and war—was beyond his wildest dreams.
If he had ended up in a brutal world like Naruto or Attack on Titan, he'd probably be dead within a week. But this world?
This was paradise.
The world of Pokémon wasn't without danger—but compared to others, it was peaceful, beautiful, and alive.
And for him, that was everything.
In his previous life, he had been a die-hard Pokémon fan. He had watched every episode, read the manga, played the games—anything to feel closer to this world. Growing up in an orphanage, those adventures had been his only escape, his dream of friendship and courage.
He used to imagine what it would be like to walk through tall grass, to catch his first Pokémon, to see Pikachu smiling beside him.
Now that dream was real.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. Maybe fate isn't so cruel after all.
But as he glanced at Delia—his new mother—guilt flickered through his eyes. He had taken over another boy's body. The real Ash had drowned… and it was his consciousness that replaced him.
Even though the original had already been gone before his soul arrived, part of him still felt like he had stolen someone else's chance to live.
Still… what was done was done. He couldn't change it.
He clenched his small hands into fists and whispered silently in his heart:
Then I'll live well—for both of us.
...
...