"So, Bulbasaur, what do you think?"
"Pikachu, Greninja, Pidgeot... weren't they amazing?"
"You need to work hard too."
"Once you evolve into Ivysaur and reach LV.20, I'll bring you to the City Battle Arena as well."
Ash smiled as he looked down at the Bulbasaur staring at Pikachu and the others with eyes full of admiration.
During the matches at the arena, Ash had intentionally activated the Poké Ball viewing function, allowing Bulbasaur to watch the battles from inside its ball.
He wanted the little Pokémon to experience the atmosphere of real competition.
To see how stronger Pokémon fought.
To learn from their battles.
And the results were obvious.
After watching the matches, Bulbasaur had become unbelievably excited.
It looked as if it had been injected with pure adrenaline.
"Bulba! Bulba!"
Bulbasaur nodded vigorously.
Even though the thought of battling in front of so many people still made it nervous and shy, that didn't stop it from eagerly anticipating the day it would stand on the arena stage itself.
The battles at the City Battle Arena eventually came to an end.
After escorting Clarissa back to the Pokémon Center, Ash mounted his bicycle and headed toward Pallet Town alongside Gary and Green.
Dashiwan Valley: 61 patients
Stone Bridge Clinic: 57 patients
Viridian Power LV.61 → LV.62
Upon returning, Ash stopped by the two clinics in Dashiwan Valley and Stone Bridge.
As usual, large numbers of Pokémon had already gathered there waiting for treatment.
After healing them all, his Viridian Power finally increased by another level.
The combined number of patients between the two clinics totaled one hundred and eighteen Pokémon.
Yet despite treating that many, Ash only gained a single level.
Still, he wasn't disappointed.
After all, his Viridian Power had already surpassed Level 60.
According to the world's power classification system, that placed him firmly within the Gym-Class range.
At this stage, slower growth was perfectly normal.
Moreover, when combined with the Pokémon receiving treatment through the Pokémon Day Care's clinic network, Ash was now healing nearly four hundred Pokémon every single day.
Even so, his Viridian Power still increased by roughly two to three levels daily.
That speed was anything but slow.
Especially considering that he had recently discovered the proper method for cultivating Aura.
With the amplification provided by the Dream Law Imprint, even Aura only improved by around two levels per day.
Of course, Aura cultivation had one huge advantage.
It only required around two hours of meditation each day.
Viridian Power, on the other hand, demanded constant effort and almost no rest if one wanted comparable growth.
Fortunately, most of the Pokémon care responsibilities at the Skill Disc online store were now being handled by Melanie at the Pokémon Sanctuary.
Compared to before, Ash was no longer overwhelmed by endless work.
He now had far more time available for both Pokémon training and his own psychic cultivation.
"Aura Power is already at LV.34."
"Based on today's progress and my original plan, one more meditation session tonight should push it to LV.36."
As he walked through Pallet Town carrying Pikachu in his arms and leading the rest of his Pokémon home, Ash gazed at the peaceful night scenery around him.
At the same time, his thoughts drifted toward the future.
"It'll be about time to begin developing Aura for actual combat."
The Pokémon world was a world of supernatural creatures and monster tamers.
Pokémon possessed extraordinary powers.
Humans, by comparison, seemed fragile.
Weak.
Insignificant.
Aside from generally living longer and possessing better physical fitness than humans from Ash's previous life, ordinary people had very little ability to contend with Pokémon directly.
If humans wanted supernatural power, they generally had to obtain it through Pokémon.
By raising them.
Training them.
Partnering with them.
Humans themselves possessed almost no combat capability.
Almost.
Because exceptions always existed.
And those exceptions were known as psychics.
Psychics were often referred to as human-shaped Pokémon.
While the variety of psychic abilities humans could awaken was far smaller than the countless powers Pokémon possessed, simply gaining significant personal combat ability was already extraordinary.
Among psychic abilities, Telekinesis was by far the most common and versatile.
Over time, it had practically become synonymous with the term "psychic power" itself.
A person who awakened Telekinesis could be considered a human Psychic-type Pokémon.
Aura Power, however, was different.
Aura originated from the heart.
It transformed intangible thoughts and willpower into real power.
And because Pokémon such as Lucario were naturally capable of wielding Aura, Aura users could also be considered—
Human Lucarios.
Lucario itself was already a humanoid Pokémon.
That meant its methods of Aura development and combat training could serve as an excellent template.
When a Lucario's Aura became sufficiently powerful and refined, it could learn the move Aura Sphere.
For Ash, Aura Sphere was the perfect starting point for developing combat applications of Aura.
But that wasn't all.
Lucario wasn't merely an Aura user.
It was also a powerful Fighting-type combatant.
Which meant Ash could follow that path as well.
Humans in the Pokémon world were naturally stronger than ordinary humans from his previous life.
After awakening psychic abilities, their bodies became even stronger.
And on top of that—
Ash possessed healing abilities.
That meant he could train far more aggressively than normal people.
In theory, he could treat himself exactly like a Fighting-type Pokémon.
Like a Lucario wearing human skin.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Maybe moves like Karate Chop, Low Kick, Rolling Kick, Submission, Mach Punch, Dynamic Punch..."
"If I fully understand the principles behind them, maybe I can reproduce them myself."
The more Ash thought about it, the more excited he became.
"Close combat with Fighting-type techniques."
"Long-range combat with Aura Sphere."
"And maybe even other special attacks developed from Aura itself."
"By then, when I challenge Gym Leaders during my travels..."
A certain purple-haired Psychic Gym Leader immediately appeared in his mind.
"Sabrina?"
"Hah."
"I'd knock her down with one punch."
"There'd be no way I'd end up getting tortured over and over like in the original story."
"And I definitely wouldn't need to run all the way to Lavender Town just to recruit a Haunter for comic relief."
Just imagining the possibilities filled Ash with burning anticipation.
The future suddenly seemed limitless.
"I'm home!"
Pushing open the white wooden gate, Ash finally returned home.
Inside the living room, Delia had already finished handling the flower shop's business for the day.
She was sitting comfortably on the sofa watching television.
Nestled in her arms was the Pokémon Serena had helped capture for her in the Kalos region—
Flabébé.
When it had first arrived in the distant and unfamiliar Kanto region, the tiny Pokémon had struggled to adapt.
But after spending time with Ash's family, it had completely integrated into their household.
Flabébé possessed an innate ability to care for flowers.
Under its attention, blossoms could maintain their freshness and vitality for much longer than normal.
As a result, Delia not only had a cheerful companion keeping her company every day, but her flower shop's business had also improved significantly.
With Flabébé helping maintain the flowers, her bouquets consistently looked fresher and healthier than those sold by neighboring shops.
Whenever Ash saw Delia and Flabébé happily spending time together, he couldn't help smiling.
No matter how much time passed, he remained convinced of one thing.
Helping his mother obtain Flabébé had been one of the best decisions he had ever made.