"Aura... Power?" Ash murmured, then realized that Aura was the strength Champion Ash mentioned, the one that allowed him to physically withstand Legendary Pokémon?
He had doubted the truthfulness of this power back then, and even now, he was still half-believing, half-doubting. How could a human body possibly contend with the world's most powerful Pokémon in reality?
Ash's physical condition was already considered outstanding among his peers. In terms of physical fitness, no one in all of Pallet Town could match him. This seemed to be his innate talent.
But facing the seemingly cute Pikachu, he was still shocked into helplessness. Even with rubber gloves, if Pikachu wanted to, he could just unleash a Thunder Shock directly at Ash's body, and the rubber gloves would be essentially useless.
So, if it came down to a fight with Pikachu, Ash's chances of winning were practically zero.
If he was like this against a beginner Pokémon, what would happen against those Pokémon at the peak of the world? They could probably just blow a breath, and a human would be severely injured, right?
Yet now, the power he had questioned was actually drawn by him.
[Champion Ash: How is it? Any results? What level of power did you draw? B? C? Even a D-rank ability should be quite useful for you right now.]
Currently, Newbie Ash is like a blank slate. Any ability, for Newbie Ash, is a significant improvement.
Even a relatively weak D-rank ability would be equivalent to gaining some of the experience, or even partial abilities, from the versions of Ash in the group, which would be of considerable help to Newbie Ash.
[Ash: Uh... I think I drew an S-rank.]
[Unlucky Ash: No, wait a minute, what do you mean, 'I think I drew an S-rank'? Did you seriously look at that turntable? The probability of an S-rank is only one in ten thousand. You only had one draw, can't you see if you drew it or not yourself?]
A new Ash appeared in the group. Although Ash didn't know what 'Unlucky' meant in this context, he felt that those words seemed to harbor a lot of malice towards humans.
[Ash: It is S-rank, that's right. The prompt said I drew an ability related to Aura, and it raised the Aura within my body to S-rank. It also transmitted experience regarding the use of Aura to me. I'll have to look up the specifics later.]
At this moment, Ash had already 'seen' a ball of light in his mind. That should be the experience and memories of Aura that the chat group mentioned. However, since he was still chatting in the group and hadn't returned to the real world, Ash hadn't clicked on that ball of light yet.
[Unlucky Ash: No! Impossible! I don't believe it! How can anyone draw an S-rank ability on their first try! This is unscientific! I don't believe it!]
[Ash: Uh... what's wrong with this senpai? He seems very upset.]
[Champion Ash: Ahem, ignore him. His original name was Fishing Enthusiast Ash, but he had too many fishing trips where he caught nothing. However, his fishing skills are absolutely top-notch. He even once caught a Kyogre, though he couldn't capture it.]
[Champion Ash: After joining the chat group, Fishing Enthusiast Ash always wanted to draw an ability related to battle, so if he ever caught a Legendary Pokémon again, he could capture it through battle. However... hehe, all the abilities he drew were below B-rank. His highest record was ten consecutive draws: five D-rank abilities and five E-rank abilities, all of which were everyday abilities.]
[Ash: ...]
What's with this tragic encounter? If he remembered correctly, although the proportion of A and B on that turntable was small, together they probably accounted for about ten percent. If you included the C area, it would probably reach thirty percent.
So, after ten consecutive draws, he didn't even get a C? That's too unlucky!
[Aura Ash: So, in the end, he angrily changed his name to Unlucky Ash, because his luck was so incredibly bad. He could be said to be the unluckiest person in the entire group.]
Now Ash learned new knowledge: there is someone who is the reincarnation of Unlucky.
[Ash: Just asking, how do I change my name? Also, what should I be called if I have very good luck?]
[Aura Ash: If you have very good luck, you're called a Lucky One. But don't change your name to that, be careful, Fishing Enthusiast Ash might try to fight you. If you want to change your name, in the upper left corner of the chat group, there's a settings icon. You can change your name, personalized signature, etc., there, but only once a month.]
Hearing this, Ash dismissed the idea of showing off his luck. Although it was impossible for the other party to cross space to hit him, it was still 'himself' after all! It's one thing to provoke others, but what's the point of provoking himself?
[Aura Ash: But speaking of which, you actually drew my ability. As a beginner, drawing this ability is actually quite good. You'll encounter all sorts of dangers while traveling in the wild. Generally, you need to rely on your Pokémon to get through these crises, but for a beginner, not only do they have few Pokémon, but their Pokémon's strength is also generally weak.]
[Aura Ash: At this time, the Trainer himself needs to step up! As the saying goes, a Trainer who can't battle Pokémon isn't a good Trainer. An S-rank ability almost inherits all of my power, so the current you should be able to fight even Champion-level Pokémon without falling behind.]
[Aura Ash: After fully mastering my power, even if a Legendary Pokémon comes, it will avoid you by three paces! So now you no longer need to worry about your safety while traveling outside.]
Aura Ash's words left Ash stunned. Is this Aura really that powerful?
[Champion Ash: For now, if there's nothing else, you can go offline. Aura is indeed a good ability, not only in battle but also very useful in interacting with Pokémon. You'll know the specifics once you return to the real world and use it.]
Ash thought for a while before understanding what 'offline' meant: it meant for him to return to the real world.
'I always feel like 'I' use such modern language.'
Ash thought to himself, and his consciousness exited the chat group, returning to the real world...
"Pika? Pikapi? Pikachu?" In reality, because Ash had entered the chat group, his body remained motionless, frozen in place.
At first, Pikachu didn't pay attention, but after a while, he noticed that Ash was sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, not moving at all. He thought something had happened to Ash, so he went over to check on Ash's condition.
After investigating, Pikachu realized that Ash wasn't pretending to get his attention. He genuinely seemed to have lost consciousness, completely still.
This made Pikachu a little panicked. Although he didn't like human Trainers, that absolutely didn't mean he was malicious inside. On the contrary, his heart was very kind. Otherwise, even if Ash wore rubber gloves, if Pikachu didn't want to, Ash would absolutely not be able to take him, and Pikachu could even counterattack and electrocute Ash.
So, Ash's current situation left Pikachu somewhat at a loss. He didn't know whether it was better to run back for help, or to perform CPR on Ash here.
Should he try giving Ash a Thunder Shock?
As Pikachu was thinking this, Ash slowly opened his eyes, and the human and the mouse met each other's gaze.