January 4th, Monday.

The final festivities at Cameran Palace were winding down.

Lucario traced the mural of an Aura warrior wielding a staff.

"Lucario." Ash's voice echoed through the hall.

Turning, Lucario met the boy's gaze.

"No need for sorrow at parting, Ash."

Lucario's voice carried quiet strength. "Wherever we are, our shared Aura connects us. Call it fate..."

The proud warrior straightened, crimson eyes locking onto Ash.

"...or the bonds we forged."

Meanwhile...

Natsume and Steven were engaged in a heated mining game within the castle.

"Mr. Steven, where'd you learn that hook technique?!"

Natsume gaped at Steven's flawless mining rhythm.

"Nothing special." Steven smiled serenely. "Just practice."

A question mark materialized above Natsume's head.

His eyes then caught a peculiar player icon—a tiny Ditto with only 24 hours of playtime.

The choice of avatar made sense—most gamers avoided real photos.

(Natsume himself used a grinning Gengar.)

But whether this "player" was human at all remained... questionable.

Especially since Meowth had only installed the wifi yesterday.

"These days, you can't tell if your teammate's human or Pokémon," Natsume muttered.

A thought struck him.

My Togepi's probably logged in too...

As sunset painted the towers gold...

Natsume examined his fingerless gloves in his chamber.

The enhanced version's red-and-black design was undeniably cool.

His smirk faded at sudden chatter outside.

Stepping onto the balcony, he found a crowd gathered below.

At the center, Blastoise and Lucario were engaged in a one-armed push-up contest.

Lucario had initiated the challenge after descending from the castle.

Hours later, Blastoise's form remained impeccable.

When Lucario's arms began trembling, Blastoise smirked—

—and switched to single-finger push-ups, one arm behind its shell.

Lucario's jaw dropped. "Y-you... how?!"

Natsume facepalmed from above.

Of all challenges, why pick push-ups against Blastoise?

This was the same blastoise that used them as daily training!

...

With the crisis resolved...

Team Rocket departed first to continue their training card project.

Natsume finally reviewed his mission rewards.

"I was supposed to evaluate Ash..."

He massaged his temples.

"Now I'm paying for Blastoise's recovery items instead?!"

Basic Full Restores wouldn't cut it anymore.

Maybe traditional herbal medicine...

As for his actual reward—

[Mission Complete: Special Talent • Ripple Aura of Ripple]

The System had explained:

Such talents couldn't be purchased directly.

The Tree of Beginning's aura-rich environment had triggered this unlock.

Natsume recalled the fundamentals:

All living things possessed aura—

—not unlike "the Force" or "qi" in other worlds.

"So much for simple materialism," he muttered. "Might as well say everything's made of light."

Ripple Aura enhanced one's perception of this energy.

Mastery allowed telepathy, barriers, even aura transference.

Beginner applications included night vision or...

...theoretically lifting skirts with air currents?

"Got it!" Natsume snapped his fingers. "It's just chi manipulation!"

He imagined countering Lt. Surge's punches with qi bursts—

"—Wait, this sounds like cheap martial arts tricks!"

[?]

Still, the benefits were clear:

Sharper battle commands.

Easier gaming reflexes.

Most critically—

Blastoise now synergized better with him than even Gengar.

If it Mega Evolves too...

Natsume groaned.

Goodbye, security deposit.

Staring at the twilight sky, he sighed.

"What was my plan again?"

A memory surfaced.

"Oh right." He covered his face.

"I went to that daycare looking for a slacker Pokémon..."

...

Fireworks blossomed across the night sky.

The festival's grand finale illuminated Cameran Palace.

Queen Ilene and Lucario stood on the castle balcony, watching Ash's retreating figure.

"That boy has an exceptional mentor," the queen Ilene murmured.

Lucario gave a slow nod.

Memories of that terrifying Blastoise surfaced as it gazed at the stars.

"With him guiding Ash... he'll become a true Aura warrior soon enough."

Steven's luxury SUV offered absurdly comfortable seating.

Driving Natsume and Ash to the airport, Steven leaned his elbow against the car window and smiled, "Natsume-sensei, I look forward to our next trip."

Suddenly, Natsume recalled the image:

Light-blue hair gleaming, Steven kissing his Key Stone as he faced the Three Regis.

This is what peak performance looks like.

Touched, Natsume nodded vigorously. "Absolutely!"

As the taillights faded...

"Damn it—forgot to give him the Mega Stone!"

Steven's fingers tightened on the wheel before relaxing.

"I'll have it delivered," he decided aloud. "Right to his doorstep."

At the departure gate...

Togepi happily kicked its feet while clutching Natsume's phone.

The chat screen showed a Ditto-iconed user spamming ■■ symbols.

"Togepi~!" Togepi replied with its own ■■ barrage.

Natsume blinked.

You're actually communicating like this?

Then it hit him—infants had their own "language."

Though Mew was millennia old, it was essentially...

A giant newborn.

"Surprisingly logical," Natsume conceded.

The airport chime sounded.

Togepi was already in a multiplayer game with Mew.

Shaking his head, Natsume stood. "Time to go, Ash."

"Huh? Oh, right!" Ash jumped up, still processing everything.

Suddenly anxious, he asked: "Natsume-sensei... did I really pass?"

"Pikachu and I caused so much trouble..."

Natsume rested a hand on Ash's head.

"Without question."

His smile held quiet pride.

"Now we'll see what title Professor Oak gives you."

--------------------------------------

Enjoying the story? Get early access to 430+ Advanced Chapters!

👉 Support now: patreon.com/PokemonStoryWeaver

--------------------------------------