"Aura… Power?" Ash muttered under his breath, then quickly realized—wasn't this the same Aura Power Champion Ash had mentioned, the one strong enough to clash head-on with Legendary Pokémon?
He'd doubted it at the time. To be honest, even now he still wasn't convinced. A human standing against the most powerful Pokémon in the world—how could something like that exist in reality?
Among kids his age, Ash was already considered outstanding. In terms of physical ability, nobody in all of Pallet Town could match him. It felt like something he'd been born with.
But when it came to facing that cute little Pikachu, he still couldn't do a thing. Even wearing rubber gloves, if Pikachu really wanted to, it could just fire off a Thunder Shock at his whole body. The gloves would be useless.
If he had no chance against even a beginner Pokémon, what hope did he have against those at the very top of the world? A single breath from them could probably leave a human half-dead.
And yet, the very power he'd been doubting had just landed in his hands.
[Champion Ash: Well? Did it give you a result yet? What tier did you draw? B? C? Even a D-Tier ability should be pretty useful to you right now.]
Right now, Newbie Ash was like a blank sheet of paper. Any ability at all would be a huge improvement.
Even a so-called "trash" D-Tier ability meant receiving part of the other Ashes' experiences or minor abilities. For Newbie Ash, that was nothing to scoff at.
[Ash: Uh… I think I pulled an S-Tier.]
[Unlucky Ash: Hold on, what do you mean you think you pulled an S-Tier? Did you not look carefully at the wheel? The odds of S are one in ten thousand! You only had one draw! Either you landed on it or you didn't, don't give me this "I think"!]
A new Ash had joined the conversation. Though Ash didn't know what "Unlucky" meant, the word felt like it carried nothing but malice toward people.
[Ash: No, it really was S-Tier. The prompt said I got an ability related to Aura Power, boosted my Aura Power up to S-Tier, and transferred all the experience of using it straight into my mind. I'll have to check the details later.]
Already, Ash could see a glowing orb in his mind—that had to be the memory packet the chat group had given him, all the knowledge of Aura Power. But since he was still chatting here, not back in the real world, he hadn't opened it yet.
[Unlucky Ash: No! Impossible! I don't believe it! How could anyone pull S-Tier on their very first try?! That's not science! I refuse to believe it!]
[Ash: Uh… what's wrong with that guy? He looks like he just took a huge hit.]
[Champion Ash: Ahem, ignore him. His original name was Fishing Master Ash. His fishing skills are unmatched—he once even hooked a Kyogre, though he couldn't catch it. But after joining this chat group, he's been desperate to pull a battle-related ability so he could actually subdue the Legendaries he hooked. Problem is… haha… every single ability he's drawn has been below B-Tier. His best record? A ten-pull that gave him five Ds and five Es—all useless daily life abilities.]
[Ash: …]
That sounded downright tragic. If he remembered correctly, the A and B sections of the wheel, while small, still added up to about ten percent. Include C, and that was nearly thirty percent.
And this guy hadn't pulled even a C in ten tries? That was brutal.
[Aura Guardian Ash: So in the end, he rage-changed his name to Unlucky Ash, since his luck really is bottom of the barrel. Easily the worst in the group.]
Ash nodded to himself—so "Unlucky" basically meant your luck was garbage.
[Ash: Just asking… how do you change names here? And if your luck's really good, what would you be called?]
[Aura Guardian Ash: The lucky ones are called "Luck Master." But don't you dare change your name to that—Fishing Ash will come after you. To change names, go to the settings icon in the top left corner of the chat. You can edit your name, signature, whatever. Just remember, once a month max.]
Hearing that, Ash gave up on showing off his luck. Sure, the other Ash couldn't actually cross worlds to smack him, but still—he was himself! Showing off to others was one thing, but showing off to yourself? That just felt wrong.
[Aura Guardian Ash: But seriously, you pulled my ability? That's actually a great starter power. When you're traveling out in the wild, you'll run into all kinds of danger. Normally, you'd rely on your Pokémon to handle those situations. But as a beginner, not only do you have few Pokémon, they're not strong yet either.]
[Aura Guardian Ash: That's when a Trainer has to step up themselves! Like the saying goes: a Trainer who can't fight alongside their Pokémon isn't a real Trainer. With an S-Tier draw, you've basically inherited all my strength. Even against Champion-level Pokémon, you should be able to hold your own now.]
[Aura Guardian Ash: Once you fully master it, even Legendary Pokémon will think twice before taking you on! So you don't need to worry about your safety on the road anymore.]
Ash stared wide-eyed at the screen. Was Aura Power really that incredible?
[Champion Ash: Anyway, if nothing else is going on, you should log off for now. Aura Power is indeed a great ability, not just in battle but also in building bonds with Pokémon. You'll understand once you try it back in the real world.]
Ash paused before realizing what "log off" meant—basically, return to reality.
'Wow… even the way "I" talk sounds trendy,' Ash thought with a wry smile, before willing himself out of the chat and back into the real world.
…
"Pika? Pika pi?? Pikachu??"
In reality, Ash's body had frozen the moment his mind entered the chat group.
At first, Pikachu hadn't thought much of it. But after a while, when Ash remained seated on the ground, eyes shut tight and completely motionless, Pikachu panicked, thinking something bad had happened.
He hurried closer to check. A few tests later, Pikachu realized Ash wasn't pretending to get his attention—he really looked unconscious, utterly still.
That left Pikachu anxious and flustered. He might not like Trainers much, but that didn't mean he was cruel. Quite the opposite—he was kind at heart. Otherwise, rubber gloves or not, Ash never could've taken him away. If Pikachu had wanted, he could've fried Ash into charcoal on the spot.
Now, though, seeing Ash like this, Pikachu didn't know what to do. Should he run for help? Try to revive Ash himself?
Maybe… give him a little Thunder Shock to jump-start him?
Just as Pikachu was debating, Ash slowly opened his eyes.
The boy and the mouse locked gazes.