"Whoooosh…"
"Haaaa…"
"Pidgeot, Fearow—next, I want you two to fly steadily over Cerulean City and the surrounding sea. I'm going to begin Aura meditation training."
The night wind near the ocean was especially fierce—
And even stronger up in the sky.
After giving his instructions to Pidgeot and Fearow, Ash fell silent.
"Pid-geot~" (Understood.)
"Kraaah~" (Got it.)
The two birds responded before immediately beginning to circle calmly through the skies above Cerulean City exactly as Ash requested.
"Huuu…"
Ash slowly exhaled a deep breath.
Then he emptied his mind and entered the state of meditation, beginning the cultivation method known as "Listening to All Things."
His consciousness swiftly entered the psychic meditation space.
The gray fog filling that world surged violently like a tidal wave the instant he arrived, before rapidly condensing into an enormous blank canvas suspended in the void.
As Ash entered deep meditation, all the sounds his ears captured from the outside world began pouring clearly into that space—
And after being analyzed and interpreted by his consciousness, they transformed into images upon the empty canvas.
The endless honking of vehicles flowing through the city's main roads.
The sounds of flowing waterways branching throughout the city like veins, along with the noises of Quagsire, Wooper, and Lotad moving within the canals.
The footsteps of pedestrians walking through the streets at night.
Conversations.
Street vendors shouting advertisements and selling goods.
The mournful howling of wind sweeping past towering skyscrapers and city trees.
The crashing roar of ocean waves slamming against the shoreline.
Compared to when he had lived in Pallet Town and meditated while listening to the peaceful sounds of rural countryside life—
After arriving in Cerulean City, not only had the environment completely changed, but the sounds he could hear were vastly more varied.
And because Cerulean City was one of Kanto's major cities, the "voices of all things" here were far richer and more abundant than in Pallet Town.
Especially now, with Pidgeot carrying him through the skies above the entire city, Ash could hear even more sounds—
More voices.
More life.
More of the world itself.
Every condition necessary to verify his hypothesis about the "Listening to All Things" meditation method had now been fulfilled.
If he still couldn't confirm his theory under these circumstances—
Then there truly would be no other way left to test it.
But in reality…
Ash didn't need to wait until his mental energy was exhausted two hours later to discover the answer.
The very instant he entered meditation—
He already understood.
"Yes… hearing more diverse Voices of All Things in different environments really does improve meditation efficiency. Frequently changing locations truly is the correct way to use the Listening to All Things meditation method."
The moment he entered meditation, Ash immediately noticed that both his mental power and the Aura within his body had become far more active compared to when he trained back in Pallet Town.
Actually, the same thing had happened yesterday while meditating inside the seaside hotel room.
But at the time, Ash had been too deeply immersed to notice.
And compared to simply sitting still in a hotel room—
Right now, riding on Pidgeot's back while traveling across the skies above all of Cerulean City amplified the effectiveness of "Listening to All Things" even further.
Especially when Ash intentionally focused on observing the differences, the results became incredibly obvious.
Carried by Pidgeot and escorted by Fearow, Ash roamed through the skies above Cerulean City for a full two hours.
After finishing today's Aura meditation training, Ash immediately opened his status panel to check the results.
…
"Ascension Trainer System" (Severely Damaged)
Host: Ash
Gender: Male
Age: 6
Strength: 12 (Average adult: 10)
Constitution: 10 (Average adult: 10)
Intelligence: 10 (Average adult: 10)
Charm: 12 (Average adult: 10)
Talents:
Viridian Power LV.59
Aura Power LV.27
Pokémon:
Pikachu LV.44
Greninja LV.43
Pidgeot LV.43
Fearow LV.40
Shiny Magikarp LV.21
Shiny Feebas LV.21
Items:
Soothe Bell
Divine Catalyst Ring
Green Pearl Bracer
Light Ball (fused with Pikachu)
Quick Claw
Sharp Beak (fused with Fearow)
Scope Lens
Razor Claw
Razor Fang
Wide Lens
…
"…Hiss!!"
The moment Ash saw the results of today's two-hour training session, his eyes widened in shock as he sucked in a cold breath.
Yesterday, meditating in the hotel room for two hours had already doubled the efficiency of his previous training sessions, increasing his Aura Power by two levels.
At the time, he had already found that unbelievable.
But now—
He realized he had still underestimated the true potential of the "Listening to All Things" meditation method.
Today, after flying around Cerulean City's skies for two hours, the training efficiency had increased to three times his normal rate back in Pallet Town.
The same two hours of meditation—
Yet his Aura Power had risen by an entire three levels.
Directly jumping from LV.24 to LV.27.
And most importantly—
There wasn't even the slightest instability in his foundation.
"So this really is the proper way to use Listening to All Things…"
"Only by hearing more abundant and diverse Voices of All Things can the true power of this meditation method be fully unleashed."
Ash couldn't help muttering to himself in amazement.
"And honestly… this meditation method is practically perfect for traveling."
"It feels like it was specifically created for a trainer journey lifestyle."
At the same time, Ash inwardly felt like he had struck the jackpot.
After all, this "Listening to All Things" meditation method had originally been something he casually found online shortly after awakening his psychic abilities—
Buried deep within a Saffron City psychic enthusiast forum.
Finding a peerless cultivation technique randomly online…
This was basically the modern-day version of:
"Falling off a cliff and discovering a legendary martial arts manual inside a hidden cave left behind by a mysterious master."
"This is incredible…"
Ash said excitedly, unable to contain his happiness.
"With this kind of efficiency, my Aura Power should improve very quickly. Even if it can't catch up to my Viridian Power immediately, it definitely won't take long before I reach the goals outlined in my Aura Development Plan."
What Ash didn't know, however—
Was that the creator of the "Listening to All Things" meditation method had indeed developed it specifically during their travels.
But the reason the effects were so abnormally powerful for Ash right now…
Also had a lot to do with the Dream Law Imprint secretly left upon him by Mew.
"Pidgeot, Fearow, that's enough for tonight. Let's head back to the hotel."
After meditating in the open air and enduring sea winds for two straight hours, Ash finally belatedly realized that he was starting to feel cold.
He patted Pidgeot's shoulder, signaling it to return.
"Pid-geot~" (Roger.)
"Kraaa~!" (Gotcha!)
The two birds responded immediately before turning around and flying back toward the Seaview Sky Hotel where Ash and the others were staying.
--------------
T/N:
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