"Aura… Power?" Ash muttered, then quickly realized, this must be the very same Aura Power Champion Ash had mentioned, the strength said to let a human clash directly with Legendary Pokémon.
Back then, he'd doubted it. Even now, he was still half-skeptical. Could a human body really stand against the most powerful Pokémon in the world?
Sure, Ash's physical condition was already impressive for his age. In Pallet Town, no one his age could match him in stamina or speed. That much felt like his natural talent.
But even so, when faced with Pikachu, an adorable-looking beginner Pokémon, he'd already been zapped into helplessness. Even wearing rubber gloves, one Thunder Shock from Pikachu had nearly fried him to ashes.
If he couldn't handle a starter, how could he possibly imagine fighting those world-class Pokémon at the peak of power? Wouldn't a single breath from one of them be enough to send a human flying?
And yet… the ability he had once questioned had just landed in his lap.
[Champion Ash: Well? How'd it go? What rank did you pull? B? C? Even a D-rank would be a huge boost for you right now.]
Right now, "Newbie Ash" was basically a blank slate. For him, even the lowest-ranked ability would be like a Helping Hand from another self—instant improvement, no matter what it was.
[Ash: Uh… I think I drew an S-rank.]
[Fishing Enthusiast Ash: Hold it. What do you mean, 'I think I drew an S-rank'? Did you even look at the wheel? The chance of S-rank is one in ten thousand! You only had one pull! Either you did or you didn't!]
A new Ash had joined the chat. His title was "Fishing Enthusiast Ash." Ash didn't know what "fishing enthusiast" meant in detail, but he could tell from the tone alone that this guy carried a lot of resentment.
[Ash: It really is S-rank. The prompt said I drew Aura Power, it awakened mine to S-rank and passed down all the related experience. I'll need to check the details later, but it's definitely there.]
Even as he spoke, Ash could already "see" a glowing sphere of light floating in his mind. That must be the inheritance of Aura Power experience the chat group had mentioned. Since he was still mid-conversation, he hadn't tapped into it yet.
[Fishing Enthusiast Ash: No! Impossible! There's no way! How could anyone pull an S-rank ability on their very first try?! This defies science! I refuse to believe it!!]
[Ash: Uh… what's wrong with that 'me'? He seems… kind of unstable.]
[Champion Ash: Cough, don't mind him. His original title was Lucky Ash. He spent so many fishing trips reeling up nothing but trash that his mood soured. But don't underestimate him, his fishing skills are top-notch. He even once hooked a Kyogre, though he couldn't capture it.]
[Champion Ash: After joining the group, he's always prayed for some kind of battle ability, so that if he ever hooked another Legendary, he could actually fight it. But… hehe, the best he's ever pulled is B-rank. His record draw streak was ten in a row: five D-ranks and five E-ranks. And all of them were… household skills.]
[Ash: …]
'What a tragic story!'
If Ash remembered correctly, the wheel's A- and B-rank sections together might have made up about ten percent. Add in the C-rank slice, and it should've reached nearly thirty percent.
And yet, after ten consecutive draws, Fishing Enthusiast Ash hadn't even managed to land a single C? That was too pitiful to believe!
[Aura Ash: In the end, he got so angry he changed his name to Fishing Enthusiast Ash, because his luck was just that atrocious. He's basically the unluckiest one in the whole group.]
Ash learned something new: apparently "Fishing" was slang here for terrible luck.
[Ash: Just asking… how do I change my name? And what would I be called if I had really good luck?]
[Aura Ash: If you're super lucky, the nickname is "European Emperor." But don't even think about changing your name to that. If you do, Fishing Ash might actually try to fight you. If you want to change your name, look at the upper left corner of the chat screen, there's a settings icon. You can change your nickname and profile, but only once a month.]
Hearing that, Ash immediately dropped the idea. Even if the other Ash couldn't cross worlds to smack him, provoking himself seemed pointless.
[Aura Ash: Anyway, the ability you drew, my Aura Power, is a good one. As a beginner, pulling this is practically the best you could hope for. Out in the wild you'll run into all kinds of danger. Normally, you'd have to rely on your Pokémon to protect you. But beginners only have a few Pokémon, and usually weak ones at that.]
[Aura Ash: That's when the Trainer himself needs to step up! As the saying goes, a Trainer who can't battle alongside Pokémon isn't a real Trainer. This S-rank ability basically passes on all of my power to you. With it, even against Champion-level Pokémon, you won't fall behind.]
[Aura Ash: And once you fully master it, even a Legendary Pokémon would give you a wide berth! So with Aura Power, you don't need to worry about your safety while traveling anymore.]
Aura Ash's words left Ash wide-eyed and speechless.
'Aura Power is really that strong…?'
[Champion Ash: For now, if nothing else, log out and test it. Aura Power isn't just useful in battle, it's also great for understanding and bonding with Pokémon. You'll know what I mean once you return to reality and start using it.]
Ash finally realized what "log out" meant, it was just another way of saying "go back to the real world."
'Why do all the other mes use such trendy language?' he muttered in his head, and then let his consciousness slip out of the chat group.
"Pika? Pikapi?? Pikachu, pika??"
In reality, Ash's body had remained frozen in place the entire time he was inside the chat.
At first, Pikachu ignored him. But after a while, he noticed that Ash was sitting there with his eyes closed, utterly motionless.
Pikachu tilted his head, then trotted over, ears flicking nervously. He checked Ash carefully. This wasn't some dumb trick to get his attention, Ash really wasn't moving at all.
Panic flickered across Pikachu's eyes. He didn't like humans, true. But that didn't mean he bore malice toward them. His nature was gentle, otherwise, no matter how thick Ash's gloves were, Pikachu would've blasted him long ago and walked away free.
Now, seeing Ash so unresponsive, Pikachu's thoughts scattered. Should he run back to Pallet Town and bring help? Or try some sort of chest-pounding revival like he'd seen other Pokémon do?
Or maybe a light Thunder Shock would wake him up?
Just as Pikachu's cheeks began to crackle with sparks, ready to try the world's most questionable form of CPR, Ash's eyelids twitched and slowly opened.
For one long, dramatic second, boy and Pokémon stared at each other.
Ash blinked. Pikachu blinked.