"Blue..."
Having finally noticed the key detail, Clemont excitedly pushed up his glasses and stared in amazement.
"That energy, and that detection effect, could this really be the legendary power of Aura?!"
Bonnie's eyes sparkled.
"Wow, it can glow, and it can even detect things behind you that you can't see. That's so cool, so cool! Big brother, I want that too!"
"Ash..." Serena was no less stunned than the other two. This was also her first time seeing this side of him, and her eyes shone with wonder.
On the second-floor balcony, Froakie froze.
I've been found?!
It was surprised by Ash's incredible perception.
It had no idea what the blond human meant by Aura, but that did not stop it from sensing something kindred in Ash.
In truth, it was not only Lucario and a small number of humans who could possess Aura.
Other Pokémon also had the potential to awaken it, and this Froakie was one of them.
It was precisely because it had mastered Aura and could see things others could not that it had later been sent off to do nothing but chop wood for years.
Just as Clemont was assuming that this wild Froakie was naturally distant from humans and would ignore Ash completely before fleeing the scene,
"Froakie!"
Froakie suddenly jumped down from the second-floor balcony and landed beside the group.
Its usual narrow, indifferent eyes had widened at some point, and when it looked at Clemont, its gaze was full of fighting spirit. It clearly looked ready to battle on Ash's behalf.
Clemont was caught completely off guard.
Ash had only just arrived, and already a wild starter Pokémon that was not afraid of people had come over on its own. It did not even need to be battled first. Ash's luck was downright terrifying.
Why couldn't he ever have that kind of luck?
[Ability]: Battle Bond (When Greninja and its Trainer share the same convictions, Battle Bond can activate, allowing it to enter its bond form.)
[Level]: Lv. 7
[Moves]: Pound, Growl, Bubble
[Special abilities]: Frubbles, Aura (weak)
[IVs]: HP 31, Attack 31, Defense 31, Special Attack 31, Special Defense 31, Speed 31
[Base stats]: Total 314, HP 41, Attack 56, Defense 40, Special Attack 62, Special Defense 44, Speed 71
...
[Can be enhanced]
[Ability]: Battle Bond I (As long as Greninja and its Trainer are both present, Battle Bond can activate, allowing it to enter its bond form.)
[Enhancement task]: Defeat Clemont in a 1v1 battle.
The system panel did not just show a Pokémon's species and Ability. It also displayed its other attributes as well.
Seeing perfect IVs across all six stats, Ash could not help admiring Froakie's exceptional talent.
And the enhanced Battle Bond I was genuinely tempting.
Going from requiring complete unity of conviction to merely needing both Trainer and Pokémon to be present dramatically lowered the margin for error.
It only made Ash want this Froakie even more.
Clemont pulled up a map on his phone, guided them into the forest park nearby, and led them down a staircase paved with large green stone slabs. At the bottom was an open-air battle field.
Tall trees shaded both sides of the field, and benches had been set up beneath them.
It was still morning, but the sun was already blazing.
Serena, with her natural good-wife energy, quickly noticed the sweat on Bonnie's forehead and took her by the hand, leading her over to one of the benches under the trees to watch the battle from there.
Standing across from Ash and Froakie, Clemont pushed up his glasses in excitement.
"I'm counting on you, then. Go, Bunnelby!"
As the red-and-white Poké Ball in Clemont's hand opened, a red beam shot out and took shape on the battlefield.
When the light faded, a rabbit Pokémon with grayish-brown fur, wide ears, its trademark buck teeth, and sharp, intelligent eyes appeared on the field.
[Ability]: Cheek Pouch (No matter what kind of Berry it eats, it restores HP after consuming it.)
[Level]: Lv. 12
[Moves]: Tackle, Mud-Slap, Double Slap, Mud Shot, Dig
[IVs]: HP 31, Attack 31, Defense 31, Special Attack 7, Special Defense 20, Speed 31
[Base stats]: Total 237, HP 38, Attack 36, Defense 38, Special Attack 32, Special Defense 36, Speed 57
Type-wise, Water and Normal had no advantage over each other.
Ability-wise, Froakie before evolving was practically fighting with a blank slate, so Bunnelby had the edge.
Level-wise, Bunnelby was five levels higher.
Move-wise, Bunnelby knew more moves, and they were stronger too.
IV-wise, Froakie had the advantage with flawless stats across the board.
Base stat-wise, Froakie's total of 314 was already much higher, and those stats were not evenly distributed either. With especially strong offensive stats and Speed, Froakie was clearly far superior in those areas.
Ash silently ran through the comparison in his head.
Overall, Froakie's enormous advantage in IVs and base stats made up for most of its disadvantages in level and move pool. All in all, this would be a pretty even battle.
But Ash still had another card to play.
Unlike the old Ash, who used to leave so much to chance even with over twenty years of battle experience packed into a ten-year-old body, the current Ash was intensely driven, and that drive was not limited to making money and training Pokémon. It also extended to training himself.
Not only was he a normal eighteen-year-old standing six foot one, he also had a powerful, perfectly honed physique, along with fully developed Aura powers.
By now, Ash had developed his Aura to the point where he could form Aura Spheres by hand.
He could even imitate Sabrina's psychic synchronization and link with Pokémon, sharing with them directly.
By connecting his Aura to a Pokémon's, he could create a one-plus-one-equals-two effect, and he could also help Pokémon with awakened Aura learn Aura Sphere.
On top of that, Fighting-type moves dealt double damage to Normal types.
So from Ash's perspective, he was standing in an unbeatable position before the battle had even started.
For him, the greatest purpose of this battle was to better understand Froakie as it existed now and, while he was at it, enhance its Ability.
"Bunnelby, Tackle!"
Facing the already famous Ash, Clemont instinctively approached this more like a challenger than a Gym Leader. So instead of putting on the host's act from Ash's memory and politely letting him make the first move, he launched the attack right away.
Bunnelby sprinted forward with agile speed, white light already gathering above its head.
"Use Frubbles to pin it down."
Froakie's Frubbles were not a move, but that did not stop them from being useful in battle.
More importantly, Froakie could actively control how sticky or slippery the bubbles were, allowing them to adapt to the situation in combat.
"Froa!"
Froakie leaped into the air and peeled off chunks of foam from around its neck, flinging them downward in a predictive arc. The bubbles landed perfectly and trapped Bunnelby in place.
"What?!" Clemont's eyes widened in shock.
"It can do that?!" Serena and Bonnie both stared with their lips parted, faces full of surprise.
Ash and Froakie had only just met, and yet they were already able to understand and make use of Froakie's natural traits this effectively?
Not far away, hidden beside a tree trunk, a man, a woman, and a cat wearing white uniforms with a large red R on the chest watched the battle through binoculars.
"Heh, just what you'd expect from the twerp."
"Yeah, yeah. Makes dragging ourselves all the way from Kanto worth it."
"This is perfect. Once the battle ends and the twerp gets careless after winning, how about we make our move and snatch Pikachu from the little girl, meowth?"
"Great idea. We'll do exactly what you said, Meowth."
At the same time,
"Bubble!"
The moment he gave the order to attack, Ash sensed something.
He had just felt three familiar Aura signatures, the kind he would recognize even if they were reduced to ashes.
Aura really was useful.
In the real world, Team Rocket's disguises were close to flawless.
They were nothing like the deliberately silly disguises from the anime that were only meant to make sure the audience recognized them. Early on, Ash had actually been fooled a few times.
Thankfully, he had awakened Aura later on.
With Aura as a signal that never changed no matter how they disguised themselves, the trio's covers became completely useless. Every time, Ash saw through them instantly.
Excellent.
Now it was not just Froakie that had a chance to complete its enhancement.
Even Pikachu's Ability enhancement task had finally found its target.