"It seems we've already been noticed by the trainers from the Saffron Gym," Brock said with a serious expression. "This is the first time I've encountered a Psychic so perceptive. I didn't expect someone to detect us from such a long distance… even I can't manage that!"
Ash narrowed his eyes, his thoughts racing. "No… At this distance, even a Psychic-type Pokémon wouldn't be capable of that—unless it's a Legendary-level being!"
Hearing this, Cynthia's expression shifted with disbelief. "You mean to say that Sabrina—just from within the city—has been monitoring us this whole time? If that's true, then her psychic power must be at least on par with a Tier-3 Legendary Pokémon."
Ash shook his head slightly. "It's not that exaggerated. I don't think it was purely her own power. I sensed two distinct energies—it had to be amplified or borrowed from something else."
He turned to the others and said with a chuckle, "Let's go. I'm curious to meet this Sabrina. That was quite a bold provocation."
"Oh?" Cynthia teased, raising an eyebrow. "Are you interested in what she looks like, or just looking for an excuse to approach her?"
Ash smiled helplessly. Cynthia's teasing didn't bother him—after all, ever since he resolved the knot in his heart, he didn't dwell much on romantic matters anymore.
Just then, cheerful laughter rang out nearby. Ash and the others turned and spotted a little girl bouncing a ball, smiling brightly at them.
She wore a frilly pink dress like a princess, her long violet hair flowing down her back. With her fair skin, white stockings, and bright eyes, she looked like a porcelain doll come to life.
"Hey, kid… What are you doing out here all alone?" Brock asked curiously. Gone were the days when he'd go lovestruck over every girl—something Ash still found a bit suspicious.
He remembered how, after Brock challenged the Vermilion Gym, he confessed he'd fallen for Suzie, the breeder they'd met earlier. No wonder Brock had been acting strangely lately. Now that Ash knew the reason, he didn't tease him about it anymore.
Ash planned to bring Brock back to Suzie once they found a new Pokémon Breeder for the team. Besides, now that Brock had someone, it wasn't ideal for him to keep tagging along like a third wheel.
Brock had agreed too. When in love, he didn't want to miss any chance to be alone with Suzie.
The little girl ignored Brock's question and simply ran off with a joyful giggle, quickly disappearing into the distance.
"No need to chase her," Ash said, stopping Brock from running after her. "That girl was a manifestation of Sabrina's psychic abilities. If I'm right, it was an illusion of what she looked like as a child."
"Psychic powers can do that?" Brock asked, stunned.
"There are many branches of psychic ability," Ash explained. "Especially ones involving mindfulness. Those who develop that kind of power are often emotionally fixated on something."
"I think Sabrina must've been incredibly lonely as a child—her only companion was likely a doll. So when her psychic powers developed, she gained the ability to manifest that doll into reality."
Technically speaking, Ash's Sharingan-like ability was also a kind of psychic power, though its capabilities were fixed.
"What about your psychic ability, Ash?" Cynthia asked curiously. "You said earlier it's not a typical waveguide… but more like a spiritual power. How did that awaken?"
Ash fell silent.
In truth, he didn't know how to explain it. He couldn't exactly say it came from the system. Claiming it was a mutation felt absurd—how could Aura mutate into a spiritual psychic ability?
Seeing his silence, Cynthia didn't press further. From her perspective, Ash's power must have come from some traumatic childhood experience. She quietly concluded that the origin of his ability was painful and best left alone.
If Ash knew what she was thinking, he'd probably get a headache and groan, "You've definitely watched way too many TV dramas. Who has that many tragic backstories?"
As evening fell, the group arrived at the forest near Saffron City. But to Ash and the others' surprise, the area was eerily silent—so quiet that not even a single Pokémon could be found.
"What's going on here?" Ash muttered, glancing around. "Why aren't there any Pokémon around? Not even a simple Caterpie in sight."
"Don't bother looking," Brock said with a frown. "I think they were all driven away by Sabrina's psychic powers. That girl must have something seriously wrong deep in her heart."
After a thorough search confirmed that there really were no Pokémon in the area, Ash's expression turned grim.
"Brock, check something for me," Ash said. "If I remember correctly, most members of the Mugino family are psychics. While most of them are weak, there should be a few with strong abilities. Try to dig up some information on Sabrina's childhood. I don't think this is as simple as it seems."
"I found something," Brock said after a moment, tapping away on his phone. "The Mugino family is one of the top psychic lineages in Kanto. Their psychic abilities are powerful. According to this, Sabrina awakened an unusually vast amount of psychic power as a child—so much that she lost control and ended up causing significant damage to her own family."
"Because of that, many people started avoiding her. Her father, not knowing what else to do, appointed her as the head of the Saffron Gym so she could manage the family's affairs."
As Brock spoke, he accessed Professor Oak's intelligence network—an information-sharing system accessible to certain trainers and families across Kanto. In situations like this, intelligence could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
"Mugino…" Ash narrowed his eyes, the name sparking a strange sense of familiarity. "Why does that surname feel so familiar… almost like I've heard it in a past life…"
Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind.
"Wait a second—Mugino Shizuri! The girl from A Certain Magical Index, ranked fifth among the strongest espers in Academy City. How is that name even here?!"
Ash's brows furrowed deeply as the realization struck him.
"Damn it… Could this world be some kind of fusion of multiple fictional worlds?"
That possibility left him unsettled. If true, it could mean the arrival of countless unpredictable elements—and dangers they were completely unprepared for.
...
TN:
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