"Hey hey! Do you want to battle?!"

Sakura blinked up at the boy standing next to her seat; though it would be more accurate to say he was vibrating in place. An unfamiliar Pokemon bobbed in the air beside the boy, matching his wavelength. Sparks seemed to fly in the air.

No, Sakura thought, and shook her head, getting rid of the last traces of fuzziness from her daydreaming. The view from the windows of the Magnet Train had been soothing even as they constantly shifted, and it made the perfect backdrop to rest up after her short hike from Fuchsia to Saffron. Feeling a prickle of guilt at her lack of situational awareness, she squinted at the boy. Her second impression was the right one.

There were actual sparks, shooting back and forth between the boy and the Pokemon, the latter being a yellow light-bulb with a smiley face. The boy had spiky yellow hair, making the effect even more striking.

A pang went through her as she looked at that hair. She instinctively focused on her breathing to calm down after the (thankfully metaphorical) shock. Looking closer at the boy, there were less resemblances to Naruto than she'd first seen. His eyes were dark brown and his face squarer. No whisker marks either, obviously enough.

But the expression on his face…energetic, excitable and passionate…That was the same.

Sakura tamped down on the budding hope she was feeling. His expression may make him look like Naruto, but there was no sign of recognition in his eyes. She knew she looked essentially the same as her past life, whatever quirk of fate and genetics giving her the same pink hair and green eyes.

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It wasn't him.

"Sorry, random boy," she smiled at him. "Don't think we're allowed to fight on the Train."

The boy squinted in confusion, before his eyes widened in realization.

"Oh man, I'm too used to the Battle Subway!" He scratched his cheek sheepishly, looking around. Thankfully there weren't any other passengers in the compartment; Sakura had chosen the earliest possible time to avoid the rush specifically for that reason.

"I guess there's no space to battle, either…I did think that was weird."

"Tadbulb! Bulb!" his Pokemon chimed in, still hovering around his head.

"Sorry, pal. Guess we'll have to wait till we reach Goldenrod. Oh!" he perked up, back to staring at Sakura. "Will you battle me when we reach? I'm sorry, Visquez-neechan said not to bother anyone else on the train but I just saw you and thought you're definitely a strong Trainer and had to ask!"

Sakura blinked. Behind them, the compartment door chimed and opened. The constant stream of words was slightly too much for her still foggy-brain, but the familiarity of it was a welcome feeling.

Sakura sighed, but couldn't help the wave of fondness that washed over her. "Sure, let's do it."

"Awesome," he grinned, and she couldn't help smiling back. Then he looked up and frowned at something behind her. "Hey, what are you do-?"

Something shifted in the air behind her, and her instincts screamed. Finally fully awake, Sakura started to turn-

And fell into darkness.