Ash had never imagined that a tiny feather could possess such incredible effects.
It could prolong life, help Pokémon break through talent limitations, assist Pokémon in recovering stamina during battles, enhance the power of two types of moves, and also serve as the key to the Rainbow Hero's trial.
With all these effects combined, how was it any different from a cheat device?
[Newbie Ash: Isn't this just a feather? Can a feather really have such a big effect?]
[Champion Ash: Yes, it can, because it's a Legendary Pokémon's feather. People pursue Legendary Pokémon partly because of their rarity, and partly because of their incredible power.]
[Champion Ash: Legendary Pokémon possess immense power and extremely high potential from birth. Even without deliberate training, they can easily reach Elite level, and their talents are generally A-rank or higher. Coupled with their special abilities, which far exceed those of ordinary Pokémon, they are invincible in battles against peers of the same level.]
[Champion Ash: And Legendary Pokémon are treasures from head to toe. Their dropped items are invaluable enhancement tools for ordinary Pokémon, and even have powerful amplifying effects on themselves. Especially Pokémon that reach God Realm level, their entire bodies undergo qualitative changes.]
[Newbie Ash: God Realm level... What kind of level is that exactly? Is it much stronger than Champion?]
[Tactician Ash: I can only tell you that Champion and God Realm are not on the same level at all. Against a Champion, my tactics can still be extremely effective. Even if you gave me six Elite-level Pokémon to fight six Champions, I'd still have a 30% chance of winning. But if you gave me six Champion-level Pokémon to fight one God Realm Pokémon, my chances would be less than 20%.]
Tactician Ash's battle strategies were so impressive that even Champion Ash praised them. With six Elite-level Pokémon against six Champions, he could even have a 30% chance of winning.
But with six Champions against one God Realm Pokémon, his chances were less than 20%, which showed just how enormous the gap between Champion and God Realm levels truly was.
[Champion Ash: Generally, God Realm Pokémon also have another name... First-Class Legendaries! Pokémon that can reach God Realm level are not necessarily First-Class Legendaries, but First-Class Legendaries can definitely reach God Realm level. Ho-Oh is one of the best among First-Class Legendaries, which is why a single one of her feathers can have such powerful effects.]
First-Class Legendaries... Ash silently noted down this title, then, after asking a few more questions about Ho-Oh's legendary status in the group, he exited the chat.
Back in the real world, Ash first gave the Speed Boost to Pikachu. After drawing it from the lottery, he had been too distracted by the Insight Eye and had forgotten about the other reward.
It was only when someone in the group mentioned it that Ash suddenly remembered.
Speed Boost, as the name suggested, could raise a Pokémon's speed ability talent limit. If Ash had drawn an S-rank version, Pikachu's speed talent would instantly reach S-rank.
Even if it were A-rank, Pikachu's limit might still increase by one level, but if it was only C-rank, then the effect would be present but not dramatic.
According to the estimates of the experienced trainers in the group, if a Pokémon's talent was A-rank, and it was given C-rank ability boosts, it would probably take hundreds of them to achieve the breakthrough from A-rank to S-rank.
However, Ash currently only had Pikachu, so he gave it to him. Little by little, he would eventually be able to make all of Pikachu's ability limits reach S-rank.
After feeding the Speed Boost to Pikachu, Pikachu didn't feel any changes, but Ash saw that Pikachu's speed stat had changed from D—B+ to C—B+.
Ash hadn't expected this item to also raise Pikachu's ability fluctuation lower limit.
Earlier in the group, Ash had also asked about Pikachu's strange ability fluctuations, and the various experienced trainers in the group all confirmed that it was a normal phenomenon.
Pikachu's ability values would continuously fluctuate until reaching Champion level. This seemed to be a special characteristic that every Ash's Pikachu in every world possessed.
As for how to control the ability fluctuations, that seemed to be related to Pikachu's mood, the battles encountered, and the surrounding environment, making it a very difficult fluctuation to control.
The effect brought by this fluctuating ability was that Pikachu's upper and lower limits would change during battles, which was a huge test for both the trainer's commands and for Pikachu himself.
After all, which Pokémon could display battle power comparable to Gym level in one battle, only to suddenly plummet to Normal level in the next?
This made calculations for damage, damage taken, and various aspects of battle extremely difficult. In particular, Tactician Ash, who was famous for his strategies in the group, had initially struggled terribly because of Pikachu.
Sometimes Pikachu could be the winning ace, but other times he would be completely useless. Only after reaching Champion level would his ability value fluctuations completely stabilize.
But now, the ability enhancement drawn from the chat group seemed to be able to help Pikachu stabilize his fluctuating ability values, which was an unexpected bonus.
"Click."
The door opened, and Misty, wearing pajamas and drying her hair, casually spoke. "I'm done. You go wash up."
If others had seen this scene, they might have mistakenly thought they were a married couple.
"Me? I don't need to wash up, do I? It'll be the same if I wash tomorrow~"
"No! You're absolutely filthy! Look how much dust is on you, from the battle with Spearow, the mud from the rainy day, and the dirt from leaning against the rock wall... Anyway, hurry up and go take a bath!"
Ash rolled his eyes somewhat helplessly. "Alright, alright, really, just like my mom..."
"What did you just say?!"
"N-nothing, you misheard." Ash's voice trailed off as he and Pikachu darted into the bathroom, only to run out a few seconds later, rummaging through his backpack for a change of clothes, then darting back in.
This series of actions left Misty holding her breath for a long time, but she finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"I feel like the upcoming journey will be quite interesting~" Misty murmured softly, then took out a hairdryer to blow-dry her soft, flowing hair.
After Ash finished showering, both of them immediately lay down and fell asleep. The experiences of this day, for Ash, were more exciting, thrilling, and exhausting than his previous fifteen years of life combined.
Even with his enhanced physique, he couldn't help but feel tired. Both of them slept soundly, all the way until morning.
In the morning, after washing up, the two arrived at the Pokémon Center front desk, and Misty began to explain to Ash about the Kanto League's Pokémon tournament, also known as the Indigo League, and related matters.