[First Pokémon received. You have earned 1 lottery draw.]
[Lottery entry below…]
When Ash tapped the glowing icon, only two lines appeared before him: one told him he had earned a lottery draw, the other provided the entrance to it.
Both messages left him baffled.
A lottery? What kind of lottery? Did this chat group really have prizes to give?
[Champion Ash: You should see that you've got a draw now, right?]
[Ash: Yeah, it says I got one for receiving my first Pokémon. But… what exactly am I drawing for?]
[Champion Ash: For our abilities.]
[Ash: Your abilities?]
[Champion Ash: That's right—our abilities. This lottery contains everything aside from physical objects: my battle experience, Breeder Ash's breeding knowledge, Tactics Master Ash's strategic thinking, and so on…]
Ash's eyes widened. He couldn't quite wrap his head around it, but just the thought of being able to inherit someone else's knowledge made this lottery sound like something unbelievably overpowered.
[Champion Ash: And it's not just experience. The lottery also includes our abilities. Each of us has countless abilities within us—some worlds manage to develop them, others don't. Take Aura Guardian Ash, for example. He's almost fully awakened his Aura Power. Just relying on himself, he can go head-to-head with Legendary Pokémon.]
[Ash: Uh… what's a Legendary Pokémon?]
[Champion Ash: …What have you even been learning all this time? Do you at least know Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos?]
[Ash: Nope.]
[Champion Ash: …Unbelievable.]
Even Champion Ash was at a loss. He'd spoken with every other Ash in the group, but never once had he seen one start off this clueless.
Didn't understand a thing, couldn't do a thing. Didn't know Pikachu, fine, but not even Legendary Pokémon? Not even the local Kanto legends—Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos?
This wasn't just a newbie. This was a walking embodiment of "Newbie Ash"!
[Aura Guardian Ash: Just think of Legendary Pokémon as the strongest Pokémon in the world. That's enough for now.]
[Ash: Seriously…? Humans can actually fight Pokémon that powerful?]
If it weren't for the fact that everyone in the chat was literally himself, Ash would've suspected they were all ganging up to mess with him.
Humans squaring off against the strongest Pokémon alive? Wasn't that the kind of tall tale you'd hear in a bedtime story?
[Champion Ash: What reason would we have to lie to you here? Anyway, go use your lottery ticket. Let's see what your first draw gives you.]
[Champion Ash: The abilities in the lottery are ranked: S, A, B, C, D, E. The chance of pulling an S-Tier ability is less than one in ten thousand. Among all of us here, each of us has drawn at least a hundred times, but only one or two have ever landed an S-Tier.]
Unlike the new Ash, the others had all joined the group as finished products—champions, masters, experts. They'd started with over fifty draws apiece.
But the prizes barely mattered to them.
After all, in their own worlds they were already at the pinnacle. Most abilities and knowledge weren't much use anymore.
[Ash: That low? So who's managed to pull an S-Tier?]
[Breeder Ash: Ahem. That would be me. And honestly, I wish I hadn't! What's the use of giving a Breeder all the battle experience of Tactics Master Ash? When I pulled it, I laughed out loud!]
Just thinking about it made Breeder Ash furious. Finally lucked into an S-Tier, only to get something completely useless to his own field.
Still, he couldn't deny that Tactics Master Ash's knowledge fascinated him. He'd even tried a battle with Johto Champion Lance afterward. The result? Lance was so disgusted by the underhanded tactics that he swore never to battle Breeder Ash again.
It wasn't just the strategies themselves, but the way of thinking—the meticulous observations, the predictions, the twisted methods of combat. That was what gave the ability its S-Tier value.
Give that power to a Trainer who knew nothing about battling, and they'd instantly rise to fight on par with the top Champions.
Unfortunately, it had landed in the hands of a Breeder…
[Tactics Master Ash: Hey! What's wrong with my ability? Ask Champion Ash—he'd kill to have it. You should be grateful you drew me!]
The difference between Champion Ash and Tactics Master Ash was stark. The Champion had overwhelming raw power—high-level Pokémon, sheer strength. The Tactician, on the other hand, specialized in winning against stronger foes, deploying every dirty trick in the book.
When Champion Ash had first exchanged notes with him, even he had been stunned. Who could dream up such filthy strategies?
Toxic Spikes, endless stalling with a wall that boosted defenses until the opponent collapsed—that was something a human brain actually invented?
Not to mention tricks like Substitute + Toxic, or Serene Grace Chansey spam…
Even Champion Ash hated battling Tactics Master Ash. It wasn't a battle, it was torture.
Winning or losing didn't even matter—the sheer frustration maxed out the experience bar.
[Champion Ash: Anyway, just go use your lottery ticket. The entrance should be in your notifications.]
Hearing that, Ash suppressed his urge to keep chatting and opened the notification page, entering through the lottery gateway.
A massive wheel appeared before him, divided into six sections—the ability tiers Champion Ash had mentioned.
The S-Tier wedge was so small it was practically invisible, just as he'd said: a sliver no wider than one in ten thousand.
Good thing the wheel was huge. Otherwise, you'd need a microscope to even spot it.
"No wonder the odds are so low. With a slice this tiny, who could ever land on it?" Ash muttered, even as his thoughts spun the wheel.
It blurred in a dizzy whirl, impossible to follow with the eye. Ash simply picked a moment and stopped it.
The wheel slowed, the pointer ticking gently forward, until finally it eased to a stop—resting perfectly within that near-invisible S-Tier wedge.
Ash blinked. Then rubbed his eyes out of reflex—though as a consciousness body, he couldn't actually touch them.
Which only confirmed it wasn't an illusion. The pointer really had landed on S.
The wheel vanished. In its place appeared a glowing prompt:
[Congratulations! You have drawn an S-Tier Ability: Aura Power. Your Aura Power has now been fully awakened to S-Tier. All methods of using Aura Power have been implanted into your mind. You may access them at will.]