Pokémon: Releasing Them? Not a Chance!

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"Sure! It's pretty boring traveling alone anyway. Nice to meet you!" Ash didn't refuse. Traveling alone was indeed much more boring.

"Mm! Nice to meet you!" Misty was also happy to hear Ash's response. Both extended their hands and shook hands, as if re-introducing themselves.

"Let's go!"

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After shaking hands, Ash called out a greeting, and the two embarked on their journey together. Their next destination was Pewter City. To reach Pewter City, they first had to pass through Viridian Forest.

Pewter City was located north of Viridian Forest, and traversing Viridian Forest was the closest route.

"Hmm??" Upon reaching the entrance of Viridian City, Ash again felt a sensation similar to what he felt in the park earlier. He instinctively turned his head to look around.

Aside from passersby, there was nothing unusual, but he still felt as if something was watching them.

"Could those two have followed us?" He mumbled to himself. With this feeling recurring, Ash felt he couldn't be wrong. His first thought was Team Rocket. With their persistent, lingering nature, it was indeed possible it was them, but he didn't see any sign of them.

"What did you say?" Misty, beside him, didn't hear clearly and asked instinctively.

"Oh!" Misty didn't ask further and followed Ash's steps, leaving Viridian City.

They hadn't walked far along the road when they saw a plain, and beyond it, a dense forest. That was the famous Viridian Forest.

Viridian Forest was a natural labyrinth, and also the largest forest in the Kanto region. It was considered a test map for newcomers. With its dense trees, sunlight rarely penetrated, making it impossible to observe the sun's position, so it was easy to get lost.

Because anyone who received a Pokémon from the Kanto region, unless it was their family's Pokémon, would follow this route after receiving a Pokémon from Professor Oak in Pallet Town. They would inevitably pass through Viridian Forest. Furthermore, Viridian Forest was vast and contained a rich variety of Pokémon, making it the best place for many new trainers to catch Pokémon.

"Hey, hey, hey! You've been like this since we entered the forest! It's hard for me to walk like this!"

Entering Viridian Forest, the light became very dim. Such a place could easily cause claustrophobia. At this moment, Misty was hiding behind Ash, her hands on his shoulders. Ash was like a guide dog now. Misty kept her eyes closed, only daring to open them occasionally to peek.

Ash knew Misty was afraid of Bug-type Pokémon, but he hadn't expected it to be so exaggerated in reality.

"I can't help it. In this environment, I feel like 'that' could appear at any moment..." Misty said, her body trembling.

It wasn't strange. Some people weren't afraid of anything but bugs. Some weren't afraid of losing limbs, but feared injections. It wasn't anything strange, and there was no need to make fun of it.

"Even Bug-type Pokémon are Pokémon, right? You're making them feel very sad!"

However, some fears could be overcome. For example, she was also afraid of Gyarados, but in the end, didn't she use Gyarados well?

"Even if you say that, it's hard for me to face them!" Misty felt a little better after hearing Ash's words. Indeed, they were all Pokémon; her behavior was simply unfair to them.

Swish swish swish!!!

"Ah!! It appeared!"

Just as things quieted down, a piercing cry rang out. Ash instinctively covered his ears, feeling himself being pushed sideways.

"Ugh..." Ash looked at the roadside. A Pokémon, about the length of his forearm, with a segmented body, green all over with faint yellow circular patterns, was a Caterpie.

"Even if it's a Bug-type Pokémon, you're being too exaggerated!" Ash was a bit speechless. Caterpie and Magikarp were widely considered among the weakest Pokémon. With her own strength, she should be able to handle it, right?

"Anyway, just deal with it quickly~~~" Misty still had her eyes closed, clinging to Ash's clothes from behind, not daring to look.

"Honestly! Pikachu, use Electric... Uh... forget it, use Quick Attack!"

"Pikachu! Pi pi pi pi... ka!!"

Pikachu, hearing Ash's command, instantly sprang into action. Ash had originally thought of using Thunderbolt, but on second thought, he decided against it. Changing the command, Pikachu instantly charged out, its speed increasing rapidly, transforming into a silver streak of lightning and colliding with its target.

The Caterpie in front of it couldn't react at all. It was directly knocked away by Pikachu, letting out a shriek, and crashed into the tree behind it.

Ash, seeing this, pinched the brim of his hat, turned it to the back of his head, then took out an empty Poké Ball.

"Go, Poké Ball!"

He directly threw the Poké Ball. Just as Caterpie crashed into the tree and was about to fall, it landed precisely on Caterpie. The Poké Ball opened, and Caterpie instantly turned into a red light and was sucked into the Poké Ball. The Poké Ball closed and fell to the ground. A red light flashed on the button in front of the Poké Ball. The Poké Ball shook slightly. Ash watched the shaking Poké Ball.

Ding!!!

After a few shakes, the Poké Ball soon emitted a pleasant sound. The Poké Ball stopped shaking, and the light on the button simultaneously disappeared.

"Alright! Good job, Pikachu." This was his first official capture, and he was still a little excited. He walked forward and picked up the Poké Ball.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu was also very excited, because now it had another companion.

"Phew... Ash, you really... you just had to catch it, why didn't you just drive it away? It's weak, and it's a Bug-type Pokémon," Misty sighed with relief, but also said with a hint of grievance.

"Don't say such childish things. Wouldn't it be pitiful for the Bug-type Pokémon like that? Since they exist, there must be a reason. Perhaps it can shine in a different way?" Ash said calmly, looking at the Poké Ball in his hand.

"But..."

"Even if you don't like it, there's no need to hurt it, right?" Misty was about to say something else, but Ash interrupted her. Ash then directly opened the Poké Ball and released Caterpie.

Regarding the female leads, I usually either have a single female lead or only a few. Although there are many beautiful women in Pokémon, for this type of novel, the female leads primarily serve to flesh out the story more.

Novels nowadays are not like before; even a simple kiss needs careful consideration, so I don't think it has much meaning. If it were an original protagonist, I (the author) would definitely follow the Cynthia (Shirona) route. If writing about Ash, I would mainly focus on Serena.

Of course, each generation's female protagonist, I think, except for Iris, should have their own CP fans. But analyzing it, among the female protagonists who like Ash:

Not many clearly show affection for Ash. First, Misty is definitely confirmed to like him, which can be seen in the Orange Islands, and also in the side story that I don't know if I can still find. It tells Misty's story, and there's a boy who likes Misty and is rejected by her. The boy asks Misty if she likes someone, and Misty blushes and denies it, but Psyduck beside her has a sly smile. Because she's the first female protagonist to appear and the one who traveled the most with Ash, even though she doesn't appear much now, the "Ash-Misty" pairing is still very popular.

Then there's Ash x May. I recall this CP also had people asking May, but May was also shy. However, I don't know why, but I always felt that May's shyness wasn't because she liked someone and was exposed, but simply shyness from being teased. This CP feels like it's mostly due to fans shipping them, which is why the "Ash-May" CP exists. They're more like good friends.

Next is Ash x Dawn. This pair had a more authoritative CP survey in Japan, and Ash x Dawn was the most popular, even surpassing the "Ash-Serena" CP, possibly due to personality differences! Dawn's personality is slightly gentler than the previous two female leads. Japanese people seem to prefer this type. However, from the ending, Dawn was quite accepting of their separation.

Then there's Iris. Honestly, this pair has almost no popularity outside of Japan, but I'm really not sure about the Japanese aesthetic or taste. This pair actually ranked very high in Japanese surveys. It's like how we in China get annoyed by Goh, but Japanese people don't seem to particularly dislike the character. Iris and Ash don't seem to have any CP chemistry, less than any of the previous pairs, and her appearance doesn't quite match most fans' aesthetics (though her new Champion design is alright). I feel they're more like buddies, so it's basically impossible to consider them a pairing.

My personal favorite (the author's) is Serena, partly because of how well Kalos was done, and partly because I genuinely like Serena. Like Dawn, she's gentle, and there's the touching moment from their childhood meeting where she recognized him at first glance when they grew up. Also, personally, I feel she has the most CP chemistry with Ash.

Although in the story, Ash is still the same oblivious straight man, he's definitely not as oblivious as he was with other female leads. For example, Serena wanted to go shopping and participate in showcases. If I remember correctly, Ash argued with other female leads over similar things, such as in Rainbow City, when Misty wanted to buy perfume, Ash was focused on challenging the Gym. May and Dawn also argued over whether to participate in a Gym battle first or a Contest first. Iris almost argued daily. Serena also argued with Ash, but personally, I don't feel it was an argument; it was a veiled display of affection, like during the time Ash lost a Gym battle and was depressed.

And while other female leads actively joined him, only Serena was actively invited by Ash, who even suggested going to the city where the showcase was first before challenging the Gym.

In summary, this is just my personal preference as the author. I won't include too many female leads, but every female character will appear. There's no need for everyone to obsess over it. Just enjoy shipping whichever pair you like when their story parts are written.

Regarding characters other than female leads, if it weren't Ash, the first female lead I (the author) would write about would definitely be Cynthia. If you want to see Cynthia, I can write about her too.

There's no need to worry about age gaps. If you understand Japanese anime fanfiction, you'll know that age differences are quite normal there.

I don't know if you've seen an old anime called Cardcaptor Sakura. In it, Clow Reed's reincarnation is an elementary school student, but his CP is a female teacher. Although Clow Reed is hundreds of years old while alive, after reincarnation, he's an elementary school student. He's actually similar to Ash, with an adult soul in a 10-year-old body.

And there are many strange CPs in Cardcaptor Sakura. For example, a female classmate of Sakura liked her elementary school homeroom teacher, and the homeroom teacher accepted the confession. The male and female protagonists, a group of elementary school students, were dating. I used to think nothing of it, but then when I grew older, I wondered, weren't they dating too early?

But then I learned that in Japan, there's no concept of 'dating too early.' In fact, if you ask school teachers, they'd be surprised by the term 'dating too early.' So, again, just enjoy shipping whatever CP you like when it's written. All female characters who appear will have good relationships with the protagonist, and there's no need to obsess over who ends up with whom.