If it were possible to crawl through the internet cable, Unlucky Ash would've already squeezed himself through just to strangle Newbie Ash.
Sure, he'd asked the question himself—but seeing someone show off their pull in the Chat Group, especially when you were cursed with bad luck, was enough to make you want to punch something.
And this wasn't just any pull. An S-Tier! An S-Tier!!
Did they even realize what that meant?!
There were over a hundred Ashes in the Chat Group. Each had pulled hundreds of times, with some hitting three hundred draws. And out of all those thousands of attempts, only one or two S-Tier abilities had ever appeared.
And this newbie? How many times had he pulled?
The first time had been three draws. This time, maybe four or five? Altogether, less than ten.
Less than ten pulls, and he'd already gotten two S-Tiers? That wasn't luck—that was divine intervention!
Forget Newbie Ash. He ought to be called the Chosen One.
[Champion Ash: Another S-Tier? Yeah, that probability's insane. You're basically the polar opposite of Unlucky Ash. Might as well rename yourself Lucky King.]
[Newbie Ash: Heh… let's not. I'm afraid the veterans will pound me into the ground.]
[Aura Guardian Ash: What's the ability? And how many draws?]
[Newbie Ash: It's a one-time ability called Radiance of the Chosen. I did three pulls. Got an A-Tier Sp. Atk stat ceiling increase, a C-rank Novice Breeder, and that S-Tier one-time.]
[Unlucky Ash: …]
He was done. Why did sea lions even exist? Why? Why?!
He'd always known life was unfair, but this level of unfairness was ridiculous.
It felt like Newbie Ash had only joined the group just to torment him. That couldn't be his imagination, right?
Unlucky Ash's mental breakdown aside, the three abilities Newbie Ash had drawn left the whole group stunned.
Not that they really needed these abilities. Most were already standing at the Peak of their own paths, or at least among the elite. For them, these abilities were just icing on the cake.
But this level of luck? Absolutely unprecedented in the group.
Even if every ability Newbie Ash pulled from now on was garbage D- or E-Tier, he'd still be remembered as the luckiest member ever.
Because no one else had ever pulled more than one S-Tier.
On sheer luck alone, Newbie Ash had already become the undisputed strongest.
[Champion Ash: Radiance of the Chosen… never heard of it. And it's one-time use, huh? Sounds pretty powerful. S-Tier abilities always come with an "instruction manual" from the Chat Group. Just check the light point in your mind later.]
Champion Ash's reminder made Ash realize—right, S-Tier abilities came with usage details stored in the mental light point. Even if the veterans didn't know what it did, the Chat Group itself would.
[Breeder Ash: Forget the S-Tier for now—the C-rank's great! Novice Breeder gives you full knowledge of the basics: which Pokémon like what flavors, where to massage certain species to relax them, stuff like that.]
[Breeder Ash: With it, you can skip all the tedious memorization and jump straight into my Advanced lessons.]
Of everyone, Breeder Ash was clearly the happiest. For Newbie Ash to pull that ability meant he'd taken a real step forward on the path of a Breeder.
Soon, he'd definitely devote more energy to the profession. And Breeder Ash? He'd finally get to enjoy the feeling of mentoring someone properly.
He'd always hoped someone in the Chat Group would exchange Breeder knowledge with him. Even if it was just one-sided teaching, being able to pass on his craft felt satisfying.
[Harem King Ash: What a shame. If you'd pulled one of my abilities, I could've taught you a thing or two. Nobody would've stopped me then.]
There was another Ash desperate to "preach": Harem King Ash. But unlike Breeder Ash, no one wanted to learn from him.
Why? Because most Ashes didn't care about building harems. Some had partners, sure, but a whole harem? Only he did. Everyone else focused entirely on Pokémon. Who had the time to chase dozens of girls?
So Harem King Ash never found anyone to convert. Now that a blank slate like Newbie Ash had appeared, he'd been blocked again—told not to fill a Beginner's head with nonsense before he became a competent Trainer.
Which was why he was sulking. If only Newbie Ash had pulled a romance-related ability, then he'd have had a legitimate excuse to "preach."
[Miner Ash: Heh, quit trying to corrupt people. If you want to pass something down, let him learn mining from me! Those glittering gems are worth risking your life for.]
[Harem King Ash: Hah?! You're crazy! Mining? You want to waste a rookie's time teaching him that? Don't mislead him!]
[Miner Ash: You're the one misleading people!]
[Champion Ash: Ahem. Enough bickering. What Rookie needs now is to focus on training and raising Pokémon. You two can save your sermons. Rookie, check out that new ability of yours. This group won't calm down anytime soon.]
[Newbie Ash: Got it.]
Ash agreed—sticking around here would only make things worse. Everyone was already arguing because of him. Best to slip away.
He quickly followed Champion Ash's advice and left the Chat Group.
…
Back in reality, Ash opened his eyes. Above him stretched a star-filled sky, with a thin crescent moon hanging high among the glittering lights.
It was past midnight. Everyone else, including Pikachu, was sound asleep. Nobody noticed he was awake.
Ash glanced around, then dove back into his mind. Sure enough, alongside the Chat Group, there was another glowing point.
He touched it, and a flood of information rushed into him.
[Radiance of the Chosen: Every chosen one carries immense fortune. This powerful destiny allows them to encounter rare and elusive Pokémon—even Legendary Pokémon. Normally, this luck is passive, slow to build, and unpredictable: when or where it manifests is uncertain.
The one-time Radiance of the Chosen, however, ensures that within three days, the user will encounter an extremely rare Pokémon—and will have a high chance of capturing it. Activation occurs automatically upon viewing this light point.]