Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 102 – Arriving at Kanto's Largest City: Saffron City

At the hotel—

Asahi released Gardevoir, sat on the sofa, and turned on the TV for background noise. With one hand, he petted Eevee, who was watching a show, while he stared at the system panel in deep thought.

He had no interest in collecting hats, so Ash's limited edition hat set didn't appeal to him at all.

Besides, if he really wanted them, he could just ask Lance and get a bunch with no effort.

That left him with two choices: Aura Power or an Elite Four-level Pidgeot.

Aura Power made sense—after all, Ash was destined to wield it in the future. So it wasn't surprising that defeating him would drop this ability.

But… giving out a high-level Pidgeot? Was the system trying to imply something about Ash?

Choosing between Pidgeot and Aura Power wasn't actually that difficult.

First, Asahi already had a Pidgeotto.

Even though it wasn't the most prominent member of his team, it was gentle-natured, and he was quite satisfied with it. If he chose Pidgeot, the focus of his training would inevitably shift, leaving Pidgeotto with only two options: release or daycare.

And Asahi wasn't the type to bench one of his own Pokémon just because a stronger one showed up.

The second reason was that he wanted to see how Viridian Force and Aura Power would interact.

Aura was a mental force, capable of communicating with Pokémon just like Viridian Force. However, unlike Viridian Force, it lacked healing properties but offered heightened perception, minor offensive capabilities, and defensive potential.

As an Interpol agent constantly facing danger, Asahi knew he couldn't always rely on Gardevoir's protection.

What if one day Gardevoir got restrained by an enemy and couldn't shield him? He needed to improve his own survival abilities.

So…

[System, I choose Aura Power.]

A blue light enveloped Asahi.

Gardevoir, who had been reading, immediately stood up and looked at him.

She sensed a familiar yet foreign psychic energy.

Upon realizing it was Asahi's own power evolving, she relaxed and sat back down as if nothing had happened.

However, the lingering presence of her psychic energy showed she was still keeping a close watch.

Eevee, nestled in Asahi's lap, had a more direct reaction.

"Bui?"

It tilted its small head, staring at its glowing trainer.

A tiny Eevee with a huge question mark in its heart.

The blue glow came and went quickly. Asahi soon regained clarity and sensed an unfamiliar power within himself.

Stretching out his hand, he tried to activate Aura Power.

Soon, a small, blue energy sphere formed in his palm.

Eevee's jaw dropped as it stared at the scene.

Asahi ruffled Eevee's head and casually dispersed the barely-formed Aura Sphere with a wave.

Then, he attempted to communicate with Eevee using Aura. A few tests later, he realized that Aura's form of communication felt quite different from Viridian Force.

If Viridian Force was all about direct communication, then Aura Power was more like Gardevoir's telepathy—it understood thoughts by sensing emotions.

More importantly, Viridian Force required close proximity to be effective, at least within visual range.

Aura Power, however, worked within the radius Asahi could sense with his aura.

For example, at this very moment, he could perceive Green's Chansey happily playing with Jigglypuff and Clefable in the next room.

[If I combine these two abilities…]

Asahi experimented with merging Viridian Force and Aura Power.

Soon, a blue-green energy sphere appeared in his palm.

From it, he could feel both Viridian Force's healing energy and Aura Sphere's destructive power.

"…So what is this supposed to be? Hit someone and heal them right after?"

The thought of throwing this at an enemy was bizarre—first, they'd get critically injured by the Aura Sphere, then instantly healed by the Viridian Force.

"That's just weird…" Asahi shook his head.

Still, this was only the beginning. There was plenty of potential for developing new techniques.

Putting the matter aside, Asahi picked up Eevee and called to Gardevoir. "Let's go! To celebrate passing the Pewter Gym assessment, we're having a feast!"

"Bui!"

At the mention of food, Eevee's eyes lit up instantly.

Through Aura, Asahi could also sense Gardevoir's joy from her psychic waves.

---

Asahi didn't stay in Pewter City for long.

After all, who knew when Giovanni might notice his absence from Viridian City and decide to take a 'leisurely stroll' on Mt. Moon?

And then 'coincidentally' run into him.

That would be a real headache.

So, keeping his distance from Giovanni seemed like the best plan.

---

Saffron City

As the largest metropolitan hub in Kanto, Saffron City boasted the highest population density, the most developed commercial district, and the largest tax contribution to the Pokémon League.

At this moment, Green was reviewing online information about Sabrina.

"I heard that Saffron Gym's leader, Sabrina, is known as the Psychic Prodigy. Not only does she have powerful Psychic-type Pokémon, but she also possesses psychic abilities herself."

"The online reviews say the biggest complaint about Saffron Gym is that she's way too hard to beat."

"Other than that, she keeps a low profile and seems dedicated to running the gym. So she shouldn't be a problem, right?"

On the surface, Sabrina seemed to be a dedicated gym leader with the professionalism of Brock and the beauty of the Cerulean Sisters.

No problems? Huge problems.

Who would suspect that the elegant Psychic Prodigy of Saffron City was actually one of Team Rocket's top three executives?

To keep Green from letting her guard down, Asahi reminded her, "No investigation, no right to speak. You can't trust everything online."

Green paused, deep in thought.

So… Asahi suspected something was off with Saffron Gym?

"Should we bring in auditors?"

She loved storming into gyms with a full crew.

But Asahi shook his head. "Saffron Gym has a whole batch of psychic trainees. They won't be easy to deal with. If we bring people, it's just as likely they'll intimidate us instead."

"Besides, Saffron Gym isn't Cerulean Gym. In a big city like this, even if there's something shady, they'll have covered their tracks well."

***

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