Once upon a time, Ash’s hands weren’t so calloused and scarred from saving Pokemon, people, and the world, but instead only lightly calloused and scarred from what naturally came from playing outside as a young child.

Once upon a time, Ash’s hands weren’t abuzz with remnants of electricity. Before Pikachu, the most electricity they had felt was the slight shock that came with natural static. But after receiving his partner, electricity started becoming normal, and, particularly in small doses, it even became a comfort, especially in stressful moments or when the trauma became too much to bare.

Once upon a time, Ash’s hands, alongside the rest of his body, didn’t have a light blue aura around them that only he could see. Before that incident at the Tree of Beginning, Ash had never even heard of aura before, only to be told he had a, to be quite honest, insane amount of aura and taught the basics about it, it gave him a bit of whiplash in the beginning, but he’s since grown used to the constant glow.

Once upon a time, Ash’s hands weren’t constantly slightly damp due to the bond phenomenon. Before he and Greninja had started to deal with the bond phenomenon, Ash’s hands weren’t constantly damp, and honestly were a bit dry just due to journeying and failing to moisturize them. But due to Greninja being a water type and the bond phenomenon blurring the lines, Ash’s hands had become slightly damp. It was a bit off-putting at first, feeling like his hands were constantly sweating, but like with everything else, it was something he got used to.

Once upon a time, Ash’s hands didn’t twitch so bad and wouldn’t be able to instinctually move to his Pokeballs at a moment’s notice without a thought. But now, he had a duty, even if he’d rather believe it was constant right place at the right time coincidences, and he had seen enough of the bad from the world and defended it enough to react that way on instinct. While yes, he had always been a bit twitchy, he was a hyperactive kid from the time he learned to walk, he had became much more so between Team Rocket, having to save the world so many times, and all the other random shenanigans he had found himself wrapped up in.