When Ash drew the S-tier ability Aura Power before, the strength had been poured straight into his body. Even without checking the instructions, he'd already gained an overwhelming force.
The problem was, he had no idea how to actually use it. He didn't know the techniques, nor how far that power could go.
But this time, when he drew another S-tier ability, after returning to reality, his body felt no different at all.
Instead, it was the C-tier Breeder ability that kicked in right away. The moment Ash came out, he felt as if his mind had been stuffed with knowledge.
At that moment, he looked around for Pikachu. As soon as he spotted him and thought about how to ease Pikachu's fatigue, a flood of information appeared in his head: massage techniques, as well as simple recipes that would help recovery.
This was the Beginner Breeder ability. Just as Breeder Ash had said, while it was only basic knowledge, for someone like him who was just starting out, it was a powerful boost.
Still, while the C-tier ability had already manifested, the S-tier one was nowhere to be found. So when Ash saw another glowing point in his mind, he tapped it without thinking.
What came up was the usage description—and at the same time, it triggered the one-time ability!
The one-time ability, Radiance of the Chosen, would ensure that within three days he'd encounter an extremely rare Pokémon, with a high chance of capturing it. But what exactly counted as "extremely rare"? Could it even mean a Legendary Pokémon?
But even if it were a Legendary Pokémon, there was no way he could catch it!
After meeting Ho-Oh, Ash had gained a very clear understanding: Legendary Pokémon weren't creatures an ordinary Trainer could just challenge. Even a Champion with six Pokémon might not be able to win.
As Tactics Master Ash had said, give him six Elite Four–tier Pokémon, and he could take down six Champions. But give him six Champions, and he wouldn't even be able to beat a single Godly Domain–tier. That was the massive gulf between Champion and Godly Domain.
So even if a Legendary Pokémon showed up right in front of him, capturing it was out of the question.
But if not a Legendary Pokémon, then what could possibly count as "extremely rare"?
Ash wanted to hop back into the Chat Group and ask the seniors, but just picturing the ongoing argument flaring up again made him hesitate. Better to leave it till tomorrow.
Next, Ash applied the A-rank Sp. Atk stat cap to Pikachu. Pikachu's Sp. Atk aptitude limit didn't change, but his stat fluctuation vanished, stabilizing at B.
Stats weren't fixed. As a Pokémon's Level rose, their stats would fall off, and only through training could they climb back up.
For example, if a Pokémon's Speed stat was B-rank at Normal, then upon advancing to Advanced, that Speed could drop to B- or even C.
Otherwise, if a Pokémon already had A-rank stats at one Tier, and kept them after leveling up, wouldn't that mean it had instantly jumped to the new Tier's limit? The world just didn't work like that.
If Tiers were bottles, then stats were the water inside. When the bottle got taller, you had to pour in more water.
But Pikachu was different. After leveling up, his stat fluctuation didn't shift at all. At Normal, his stats had fluctuated between D and B, and at Advanced, they stayed exactly the same.
Even his boosted Speed stat still only fluctuated between C and B.
In other words, Pikachu's stats didn't decrease with Tier advancement. For a Pokémon, that was downright unbelievable.
But even the existence of fluctuating stats was already strange enough. Most Pokémon, if they had fluctuations, it was only within the current Tier—like B- to B+. Dropping all the way to C or even D? Impossible.
Ash had used the Eye of Insight on plenty of Pokémon, but only his Pikachu behaved this way.
So maybe this was the reason Pikachu's stats didn't decline with Tier advancement. Every strength has its trade-off.
Now, with the help of the abilities from the Chat Group lottery, Pikachu's stat fluctuation drawback was being erased—while his advantage stayed intact.
If one day Pikachu's stats could stabilize at A-tier, then no matter how much he leveled up, they'd stay fixed at A. That would save an unbelievable amount of training.
The thought alone made Ash's lips curl into a smile.
…
The night passed. Early the next morning, Brock was already up preparing breakfast for Ash and Misty. Ash woke second, and when he saw Brock cooking, he hurried over to learn from him.
With Ash helping, Brock's pace sped up considerably.
"Ash, have you cooked before?"
"Nope."
"Really? Your basics look solid. Whether it's cutting vegetables, controlling the fire, or gauging the exact weight I asked for—you don't seem like a Beginner at all."
"Uh… maybe I was born to be a chef, hahaha~" Ash laughed it off, covering up the slip.
The real reason he was so skilled was, of course, the Beginner Breeder ability he'd drawn yesterday.
Being a Beginner Breeder meant mastering all the fundamentals—including cooking. After all, making food for Pokémon was part of a Breeder's training, which explained his practiced knife work.
Soon, breakfast was ready, and Misty was roused from her sleeping bag by the delicious aroma.
After washing up, she sat down at the makeshift table. The spread before her was so luxurious that she nearly teared up.
How long had it been since she'd had such a feast in the wild? No—she'd never eaten so well outdoors. Ever since leaving Cerulean City, it had been nothing but rations—or no breakfast at all, just biking to the next town to scrounge up a meal at some restaurant.
Traveling with Ash hadn't improved things either, since neither of them could cook.
But now—finally, a real cook had joined the team!
Thank Arceus!
"What… munch munch… you're telling me Ash helped too? munch munch No way. Yesterday he didn't even lift a finger," Misty said in disbelief as she chomped on a slice of tamagoyaki.
"Uh… I was just observing Brock's cooking yesterday so I could help today!"
"Seriously? If you could cook, then why have you been eating nothing but rations with me every day?"
"I only know the basics. Cooking outdoors is a pain, so I stuck with quick food."
"…"
After a bit more dodging, Ash finally managed to smooth things over about his sudden cooking skills.
Once they'd eaten their fill, the group packed up and headed into Mt. Moon. None of them noticed the three shadowy figures sneaking close behind.