While thinking about Aura Sphere, Ash suddenly remembered another technique that was remarkably similar to it.
Unlike Aura Sphere, whose underlying principles he didn't fully understand, he knew this technique's mechanics inside and out.
He had never personally trained in it like he had with Jujutsu in his previous life, but he understood exactly how it worked.
That technique was the A-Rank, hand-signless ninjutsu from Naruto—
Rasengan!
In the original manga, Rasengan was a secret technique created by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, after drawing inspiration from the Tailed Beast Ball and spending years developing it.
Its principle was simple in concept but incredibly difficult in execution.
The user concentrated chakra into their hand, forced it to rotate chaotically in countless irregular directions, and continuously compressed it, creating a palm-sized sphere of pure chakra that could be used to attack an opponent.
More importantly, the anime had provided an extremely detailed explanation of how the technique was learned.
When Naruto trained to master Rasengan, every stage of the process was thoroughly described and demonstrated.
Anyone who had seriously watched Naruto could remember both the move itself and the method used to learn it.
Therefore, if his Aura Sphere training didn't progress smoothly later on, Ash intended to try using Aura Power to replicate the training process of Rasengan.
~
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Even if Aura Sphere training went perfectly, Ash still planned to experiment with Rasengan afterward.
After all, in his eyes, Aura Sphere was fundamentally just a powerful energy projectile.
It probably contained some sophisticated energy-control techniques, but the move's true strength likely came from the user's Aura Power itself.
Rasengan was different.
As a non-elemental, hand-signless technique, its power clearly didn't originate from chakra alone.
The real source of its strength was its underlying mechanism.
Compressed energy created explosive force upon impact.
The chaotic internal rotation generated terrifying cutting power.
And the concentrated energy granted incredible penetration.
Since he didn't yet understand the true mechanics of Aura Sphere, Ash couldn't say for certain whether Aura Sphere or Rasengan was stronger.
But based on his personal impressions, Rasengan seemed more powerful.
There was another reason he was so fascinated by it.
A huge advantage that Aura Sphere didn't possess.
Rasengan wasn't merely a single technique.
Just like Jujutsu was part of an extensive martial arts system, Rasengan itself formed the foundation of an entire family of techniques.
It was the starting point of an enormous "Rasengan system."
From that base, countless advanced variants could be developed:
Rasengan.
Big Ball Rasengan.
Massive Rasengan.
Big Ball Rasengan Barrage.
Planetary Rasengan.
Rasenshuriken.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Massive Rasenshuriken.
Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken.
And many more.
Granted, some of those techniques required unique powers or special conditions to use.
Ash had no intention of recreating every single one.
If he could successfully reproduce even a portion of them, he would already be satisfied.
After all, even the most basic Rasengan was an incredibly powerful technique.
In Naruto, aside from taijutsu, Shadow Clones, and occasionally borrowing the Nine-Tails' power, Naruto's primary battle strategy could be summarized in two words:
"Throw Rasengans."
Ash realized he could borrow far more than just the technique itself.
He could even draw inspiration from Naruto's entire combat development path.
Naruto had taijutsu.
Ash had Jujutsu and Laijutsu.
Naruto mastered Rasengan.
Ash could create Rasengan too.
And unlike Naruto, he also possessed Aura Sphere.
Naruto had the Nine-Tails.
Ash didn't currently have a Ninetales—
But who said he couldn't catch one in the future?
Naruto only had Kurama.
Ash had Pikachu.
Greninja.
Pidgeot.
Fearow.
Valor the shiny Gyarados.
Lumina the shiny Milotic.
Bulbasaur.
And many more to come.
As protagonists, Naruto possessed things Ash could potentially obtain.
But Ash also possessed many things Naruto never could.
For now, he was merely borrowing ideas from another protagonist's journey.
Using it as inspiration.
Using it as a reference.
But Ash firmly believed that one day he would surpass it.
Still—
A towering skyscraper could only be built one brick at a time.
For now, all he needed to do was continue moving forward steadily.
One step at a time.
...
After the morning training session ended, Ash returned home with his Pokémon.
"Pikachu, Greninja, Pidgeot, Fearow... go ahead and eat lunch first."
"Rotom, send a message to the Rotom over at the Pokémon Day Care. Tell Melanie to transfer over the Pokémon scheduled for skill training this afternoon."
"And don't forget to reopen the order queue for the Skill Shop. Accept new requests periodically so the training roster stays full."
While speaking, Ash began preparing food for the Pokémon that had trained hard all morning.
The Pokémon happily buried their faces in their bowls and started eating enthusiastically.
Meanwhile, Ash entered the kitchen.
As he rinsed rice and prepared lunch, he continued issuing instructions to Rotom.
Although Rotom's natural talent wasn't particularly impressive and it had little interest in battling, it handled countless aspects of Ash's daily life.
The operation of the Skill Shop.
Management of the online clinic.
Responding to customer inquiries.
Moderating fan groups.
Updating social media accounts.
Replying to comments and private messages.
And much more.
Since Rotom didn't need to eat, its only real expenses were the occasional new piece of cutting-edge technology Ash bought for it.
As a member of Ash's team, Rotom's presence often felt surprisingly small.
But low visibility didn't mean low importance.
Quite the opposite.
Rotom was irreplaceable.
Its value to Ash couldn't be measured.
Much like the Champion-level Charizard Professor Oak had lent him as a personal bodyguard.
Most of the time, Charizard did little beyond eating and sleeping.
Yet no one could honestly claim it wasn't important.
Neither Ash nor his Pokémon had fully matured yet.
If they ever encountered an enemy they couldn't overcome, Professor Oak's Charizard would remain their ultimate safety net.
And whether it was Rotom—the utility specialist—
Or Charizard—the professional nap enthusiast—
Ash still infused both of them with Source Infusion once every day.
After all, nobody ever complained about having more talent.
Even Pokémon that rarely battled benefited enormously from higher aptitude.
A more talented Pokémon simply performed every task better.
The clearest example was the Rotom Ash had helped Melanie obtain through the League.
Compared to his own Rotom, it simply wasn't as smart.
Its efficiency was lower.
Its problem-solving ability was weaker.
The difference was obvious.
And the reason was equally obvious.
Ash's Rotom had spent a long time receiving the benefits of Source Infusion.
Its body had been continuously enhanced.
Its aptitude had risen.
Its intelligence had improved.
As a result, it had become significantly more capable than an ordinary Rotom.