Chapter 6: The Trainer is Warming Up! The Trainer Enters the Battle! The Trainer Used Aura Sphere!
"Pika?" You're alive?
The sound that reached Ash's ears was still just a Pokémon's cry, but somehow, he understood its meaning perfectly.
"Is this the power of Aura, too?" Ash murmured to himself, his belief in what his other selves had told him growing stronger.
To be honest, up until a moment ago, a part of him still doubted the existence of the chat group and the parallel versions of himself. The whole idea was just too unbelievable.
But now, having received the power of Aura and personally experiencing its strange magic, Ash was almost completely convinced.
He hadn't even actively tried to use his new power yet, but its passive effects were already a massive benefit.
One of the biggest hurdles between a Trainer and their Pokémon was the language barrier. While Pokémon could understand human speech, it was incredibly rare for a human to understand a Pokémon. That kind of connection usually required years of living together, building up an unbreakable bond of trust and understanding.
But now, he could do it effortlessly. For a Pokémon Trainer, that ability alone was a god-tier skill.
"Heh heh! Listen up, Pikachu. I'm super strong now!" Ash declared, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest with an air of supreme confidence. "Taking you to the top of the world will be a piece of cake. If you decide to be my partner now, you won't regret it!"
Pikachu gave him a look that clearly said, Are you an idiot?
"Pika pika?" Did you hit your head or something?
"Hey, watch it! I can understand what you're saying now, you know! You just said I hit my head, didn't you!"
"Pika... Pikachu??" H-How is that possible??
Pikachu was completely taken aback by Ash's perfect translation. Its look of disdain quickly shifted to one of shock and suspicion.
"Haha, surprised ya! This is my true power. Pretty impressive, huh?" Seeing the stunned expression on Pikachu's face, Ash became even more smug. He was like a kid with a brand-new toy, eager to show it off to his friends.
"Pika pika?!" What kind of weird trick is this?!
"It's not a trick! It's called Aura Power! It's a special ability!" Ash retorted, annoyed.
He then mentally opened the "user manual" for his new power and began to browse through its functions.
The orb of light in his mind expanded, and an ocean of knowledge flooded his consciousness. There was so much information that Ash could barely process it all. The applications of Aura were incredibly diverse. Just as the Aura Guardian had said, it was a power that could rival a Legendary Pokémon, and its versatility was in a league of its own.
Combat, sensory perception, communication, soothing emotions, telepathy... the list went on.
Aura was a force that existed within every living being, but very few could ever learn to use it. It was also tied directly to one's life force. Using too much Aura could be fatal. Therefore, unless one's own Aura was exceptionally strong, it had to be used sparingly, as the side effects were more than any normal person could handle.
The Aura Ash now possessed was a gift from the chat group, a power he had won. His own innate Aura was almost completely undeveloped.
This meant that this world's Ash had a potential ceiling for Aura that was even higher than the Aura Guardian's.
As for how to develop and use it, the "manual" had everything. But the sheer volume of information was immense. Ash had only managed to skim the basics; it would take a long time to truly master it.
But for now, it was more than enough.
At the very least, it would be enough to earn Pikachu's respect.
"Hmph! I'm even stronger than you now, Pikachu!" Ash declared, pointing a finger at the small Pokémon. "You don't accept me as your trainer, right? Then let's have a battle! Winner calls the shots. How about it?"
In the world of Pokémon, the standard way to catch a Pokémon was to battle it. If you could defeat it in a fair fight, you earned the right to catch it and, in doing so, gain its initial respect.
But that rule had never, ever been applied to a human fighting a Pokémon. It was one thing for a human to command a Pokémon in battle, but for a human to fight one directly? It was unheard of.
So, when Ash threw down the gauntlet, the expression on Pikachu's face was one of absolute bewilderment.
He'd been around humans for a while, but this was the first time he'd ever seen one challenge a Pokémon to a one-on-one fight.
"Pika pi?" Ash, are you serious?
"Huh? You used my name, Pikachu," Ash said, his face lighting up. "If you're ready to accept me as your trainer now, we don't have to fight." Could it be? Had his charismatic personality won Pikachu over without a fight?
"Pika pii~~" Nah, I was just giving you an easy way out~
Pikachu wiggled its tiny finger, signaling that it was merely offering Ash a chance to back down. But since Ash was going to be stubborn about it, then it was time to get serious.
"We'll see who's being stubborn!" Ash shouted.
On a grassy trail in the outskirts of Pallet Town, a boy and a mouse stood facing each other. Golden sparks began to crackle around Pikachu, and at the same time, a brilliant, azure light flared to life around Ash.
"Pika pika?" What is that?!
The light emanating from Ash made Pikachu pause. It even rubbed its eyes, wondering if it was seeing things.
How could a human be glowing? Could humans use moves, too? Wasn't that something only Pokémon could do? Could it be that what Ash said about having "Aura Power" was true?
"PIKA—CHUUU!!" When in doubt, attack first! After a brief moment of hesitation, Pikachu quickly gathered its power and unleashed a bolt of golden electricity straight at Ash.
Ash threw his hands up, and the Aura around him solidified into a shimmering blue barrier.
Zzzzzzt!
Pikachu's attack slammed into the barrier and dissipated completely.
Pikachu used Thunder Shock!
The attack had no effect!
Ash is launching a counterattack!
Ash used Aura Sphere!
A compressed ball of blue energy shot from Ash's hands and struck Pikachu, sending it flying.
Pikachu is unable to battle!
"Whoa! Pikachu! Are you okay?!" Seeing his partner get knocked out in a single hit, Ash snapped out of his battle focus and rushed to its side.
He carefully picked up the unconscious Pokémon and channeled a gentle stream of his Aura into its body. As a form of life energy, Aura couldn't heal wounds directly, but it could revitalize a creature's stamina and lessen the severity of its injuries, acting as a powerful form of first aid.
A few moments later, Pikachu's eyes slowly fluttered open.