To enter the Chat Group, Ash had to close his eyes and sink his mind into that faint light glowing inside his head.
Unless he was resting, doing this in front of others would look really weird. And since he wasn't traveling alone anymore—Misty and Brock were always at his side—Ash basically avoided entering the Chat Group during the day.
Nighttime, right before sleep, was the best time to log in.
…
[Newbie Ash: Sup guys, I'm popping up again.] The word "popping up" was something Ash had picked up from the Chat Group itself.
[Champion Ash: I remember you said you were going to challenge a Gym today. Did you clear it?]
[Newbie Ash: Yeah, yeah, I did! The tactic pro taught me worked perfectly. Even after Compound Eyes Sleep Powder got countered, I still used Supersonic to mess them up, and with Aura Sphere's type advantage, I basically won without taking a hit!]
Tactics Master Ash had taught Newbie Ash how to use Compound Eyes Sleep Powder, but he'd also explained its flaws. Sleep Powder wasn't hypnosis; it was still just a powder move, and easy to counter with things like wind, water, or fire.
That's why Tactics Master Ash had given Ash a backup plan—Supersonic.
The main reason he'd told Newbie Ash to catch a Caterpie in the first place was because Butterfree's moveset could make opponents miserable. For a Beginner, Butterfree was the cheapest and most accessible way to inflict status conditions.
Pokémon like Grimmsnarl or Amoonguss weren't ones Ash could realistically find or catch at this point. But for now, one Butterfree was more than enough.
[Aura Guardian Ash: So, how's it feel using Aura Fusion Resonance? Pretty good, huh?]
[Newbie Ash: Mm-hm! Aura feels endless, like there's always more to discover. Even though the Chat Group gave me a "user manual," I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface.]
[Aura Guardian Ash: Of course! This is one of the strongest forces in the Pokémon world. If you can fully master it, you could stand against even Godly Domain–tier Pokémon.]
Stand against a Godly Domain–tier Pokémon…
Ash froze at that line. The first thing that came to mind was Ho-Oh.
That Ho-Oh's power had been at the very Peak of the Godly Domain. Its Aura was like a vast ocean, endless and overwhelming. Compared to that, Ash's own Aura wasn't even in the same league.
Can humans really push Aura to that level…?
[Champion Ash: By the way, have you run into three weirdos yet? You'll know them—they've got a Meowth that talks and they always yell about being "the beautiful, charming villains" or whatever.]
[Newbie Ash: Yeah, yeah! Pikachu and I blasted them off! That was actually the first time I tried Aura Fusion.]
[Aura Guardian Ash: Figures. No escaping fate, huh? You'd better be careful—those guys have their eyes on Pikachu.]
[Newbie Ash: Huh? What do you mean?]
[Tactics Master Ash: You'll find out soon enough. They're a pain in the neck, that's all you need to know.]
[Champion Ash: Heh. Still, they're not exactly evil. More like people who lost their way. In some Parallel Worlds, they've even been reformed. Anyway, speaking of them… Rookie, you haven't drawn any rewards in a while, right? Go check your lottery wishes.]
lottery wishes?
Ash blinked, then remembered—he'd cleared his first Gym. According to the veterans, every significant "first" came with a lottery wishe, like an achievement.
Beating his first Gym definitely counted as significant, right?
He opened the Chat Group's notification tab. Sure enough, there were three new messages.
[First encounter with the Team Rocket trio: lottery wishe ×1]
[First time blasting off the Team Rocket trio: lottery wishe ×1]
[First Gym victory: lottery wishe ×1]
Three… three lottery wishes?
Ash's eyes went wide. He hadn't expected that at all. Two of those came just from running into Team Rocket—one for the encounter, one for blasting them off.
Just what kind of people are they, that I get two rewards just for meeting them?
Remembering what the veterans had said about how he'd be tangled up with Team Rocket for a long time, Ash suddenly felt a bad premonition.
But that was for later. For now, he should use his lottery draws.
Ash immediately pulled a triple draw. The three spinning dials on the wheel whirled at high speed, then slowly clicked to a stop at three slots.
[Congratulations! You've drawn an A-Tier Ability: Sp. Atk stat ceiling increase.]
[Congratulations! You've drawn a C-rank Ability: Novice Breeder.]
[Congratulations! You've drawn an S-Tier One-Time Ability: Radiance of the Chosen.]
A-Tier, C-rank, and… S-Tier again? Another S-Tier ability?! What kind of insane luck was this?!
When Ash saw the needle land on that tiny, nearly invisible sliver of space, he thought the system had glitched. The odds were microscopic—so small they were practically invisible to the naked eye. Even drawing one S-Tier ability the first time had felt like using up all the luck in his life.
The veterans had said that even with tens of thousands of pulls, they'd only seen one or two S-Tier abilities. That was how broken S-Tier was.
Just look at the Aura Power Ash had inherited. Before, he'd been just a little stronger than average. But with Aura Power, he'd turned into Superman.
Once he fully mastered it, he'd be able to stand toe-to-toe with Champion-level Pokémon—without even training his body.
If that wasn't broken, what was?
With odds of one in ten thousand, it made sense S-Tier was so rare. But Ash had now pulled six times total—and already gotten two S, two A, and two C.
This… this doesn't even make sense.
Unlucky Ashes everywhere would probably want to beat him up.
Still, the first two prizes he understood. But the third?
What the heck is "Radiance of the Chosen"?
[Newbie Ash: Guys, I just finished my draws. But one of the abilities… I don't get it.]
[Unlucky Ash: Don't tell me—you pulled another one? It better not be another A- or B-rank, damn it!]
[Newbie Ash: Uh… why not D- or E-Tier?]
[Unlucky Ash: Heh. Because those are pure garbage. Stuff so useless you don't even need an explanation. E-Tier abilities are things like "hoe farming." D-Tier might give you beginner skills like driving or basic computer use. Barely better than nothing.]
[Unlucky Ash: Only C-rank and above give you anything worth a damn. Like that one you got before. So, what Tier is it this time?]
[Newbie Ash: …S-Tier.]
[Unlucky Ash: ???]
[Unlucky Ash: You &&%&*@]