"Heath? What are you doing here?!" Ash looked at Heath in surprise. He really had never expected to see him here. After all, Heath had always been in Viridian City, where he had stayed for four whole years.
Although there was a dedicated bus service from Pallet Town to Viridian City, going there every time he wanted something to eat was still too much trouble. Ash could only tag along for a meal when his parents went to Viridian City on errands.
So Ash really had never expected to see Heath here.
"I'm out traveling, of course. I'm a little older than you, and I'm planning to travel around Kanto to see if I can find any distinctive ingredients and things like that." Seeing Ash put Heath in a much better mood. Ash was not yet the hot-blooded boy he would become, but he was close. Once Ash received Pikachu and set off on his journey, his future would keep moving forward, and those familiar storylines in this world would probably start unfolding too, wouldn't they? Heath felt rather wistful at the thought.
Still, Heath was also a little curious. If he gave Ash a Charmander when it was time for him to collect his starter Pokémon, how would Ash's future change?
Perhaps the pairing of Ash and the almighty Pikachu would change then? Or would something else happen?
But Heath was not so bored that he would do something like that just for the sake of it. Besides, keeping the future within a range he could manage was far better, no matter how he looked at it, than letting it spin completely out of control. At the very least, the storylines Heath knew would still unfold step by step. Jessie would still team up with James and become his