Pokemon: Trait Master

Pokémon Calendar, Year XXX, Month X. 

Kanto Region, Pallet Town— 

"Ash! Are you still asleep? Today is the day you set off on your journey!" 

Delia Ketchum, a woman with delicate features and a gentle voice, called out from downstairs. She was dressed in an apron, looking every bit the doting mother. 

"I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm just packing some food for Pikachu—it took me a bit longer than expected!" 

As his voice fell, a boy dashed down the stairs with quick, energetic steps. 

But despite his words, he didn't look like a ten-year-old at all. 

The boy's face was strikingly handsome, with two lightning-bolt-shaped markings on his cheeks. He wore a red-and-white cap, a black undershirt, a blue denim jacket, and matching jeans. His entire appearance made him seem more like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old rather than a child. 

And perched on his shoulder was an adorable, golden-furred pokemon—Pikachu! 

Ash slung a blue backpack over his shoulders and stood before Delia, towering over her. 

At ten years old, he was already close to 1.65 meters tall—almost reaching the height of some adult men. 

"Ash, have you grown even taller again?" Delia asked, slightly surprised. 

"Hm? Have I?" Ash casually compared their heights, then shrugged dismissively. 

"Ah, it's not important! Mom, I'm heading out! Just wait at home for the good news of me becoming the Champion!" 

"Pika Pika~~" Pikachu chirped in agreement. 

With that, the boy and his Pokémon dashed out the door. 

Watching her son wave goodbye, Delia suddenly felt a wave of melancholy. 

The boy she had raised single-handedly had finally reached the age where he could spread his wings and fly. 

She believed in her son's words. 

After all, Ash had always been extraordinary—he was bound to rise above millions and become a Champion! 

Still… 

Watching her child leave home, what mother wouldn't feel worried? 

— 

Outside, Ash ran toward Professor Oak's lab with Pikachu on his shoulder, reminiscing about the past ten years. 

He was Ash Ketchum, but at the same time, he was an Ash with memories of a past life. 

When he was just two or three years old, the memories of his previous life had awakened within him. 

Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would be reborn into the Pokémon world—let alone as Ash himself. 

He wasn't exactly a hardcore Pokémon fan, but he was familiar with Ash, Pikachu, and other iconic characters. 

In his previous life, he had been overworked to death, quite literally. 

This time, he decided he would properly experience what a childhood was supposed to be like. 

Though not a devoted fan, he had dabbled in some of the Pokémon games—ones he couldn't afford as a kid but had played as an adult to make up for lost time. 

Thanks to his casual knowledge of the games, Ash started helping out at Professor Oak's lab when he was just five. 

At six, he attended a summer camp where he encountered a certain pink, cat-like Pokémon… 

And where he met the Pikachu by his side. 

At the time, Pikachu was still a Pichu. 

After some shared experiences, Pichu ultimately decided to stay with him. 

It was after that event that Ash's hidden system awakened. 

The activation condition? Encountering a Mythical Pokémon. 

And the pink feline he had met, Mew, was recognized as a Mythical Pokémon by the system. 

Thus, the Trait System was activated. 

This system allowed Ash to materialize and enhance traits for Pokémon. 

Whenever he defeated an opponent, the system would randomly generate a new trait. 

Traits came in different rarities, ranked from lowest to highest: White, Blue, Purple, Orange, Red, Gold, and Rainbow. 

Each higher tier was worlds apart from the previous one. 

The Rainbow-tier represented traits that surpassed even Legendary Pokémon! 

If Ash received a trait he didn't want, he could use it as upgrade material for other traits. 

Regular traits could be sacrificed to upgrade up to Gold-tier, 

but Rainbow-tier traits could only be obtained through trading other Rainbow traits. 

If a Rainbow trait wasn't to his liking, he could trade three Rainbow traits to upgrade a Gold one to Rainbow— 

a scam among scams! 

Trait upgrading followed a simple pattern: 

- 10 White → 1 Blue 

- 10 Blue → 1 Purple 

- And so on. 

And the best part? 

The Trait System didn't just work on Pokémon—it worked on Ash himself! 

After unlocking the system, Ash realized something shocking— 

The Pichu he had befriended was the very same Pikachu he was destined to have! 

And the reason was clear— 

Ash stole a glance at Pikachu, whose status screen unfolded before his eyes. 

[Name: Pikachu] 

[Gender: Male] 

[Trainer: Ash] 

[Type: Electric] 

[Level: Gym Intermediate (Quasi-Elite).] 

[Ability: Static] 

[Moves: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Thunder Shock, Nuzzle, Agility…] 

[Talent: ???] 

[Special Move: 100, 000,000 Volt Thunderbolt – Thor!] 

[Traits: Infinite Reincarnation (Rainbow), Thor (Gold), Master of Acting (Orange), Exceptional Intellect (Purple), Move Overload (Purple)] 

(Level Rankings: Beginner, Normal, Advanced, Elite, Professional, Gym Leader, Elite Four, Champion, Divine.) 

Pikachu's status? Utterly extravagant! 

That Quasi-Elite label? It meant that Pikachu was already knocking on the door of the Elite Four's ranks! 

Who the hell starts their Pokémon journey with something like this?! 

Above Quasi-Elite was Elite, the level of the Elite Four—the four most powerful Trainers in each region. 

Even though they each had multiple Pokémon at the Elite level, it didn't change the fact that the Elite rank was an unattainable height for most Trainers. 

If anyone told the Pokémon League that a rookie's starter Pokémon was Quasi-Elite, 

they'd laugh for ten years straight! 

Not. A. Chance. 

And yet, here Pikachu was—an actual Quasi-Elite. 

All thanks to Ash grinding in the "newbie village" for years! 

Every single one of Pikachu's high-tier traits had been farmed from low-level wild Pokémon! 

Ash had no idea how many Rattata or Spearow Pikachu had electrocuted to make this happen. 

But in the end, he had done it! 

After all, he wasn't even an official Trainer yet. 

Without adult supervision, he wasn't allowed to venture too far from Pallet Town. 

Even though, by the time he was seven, he had already been strong enough to travel on his own… 

From the very beginning, Pikachu had been born with two traits—Reincarnation and Master of Acting. 

That was how Ash immediately confirmed that this Pikachu was the same one from his destined future. 

He hadn't watched much of the Pokémon anime, 

but he knew about some of its most famous memes. 

Like how Pikachu mysteriously reset its level every time they reached a new region. 

Or how Pikachu could defeat Legendary Pokémon yet lose to a rookie's Snivy. 

That's just "Reincarnation" plus "Master of Acting," isn't it?! 

At first, the Reincarnation trait was Gold, and Master of Acting was Blue. 

Now, after years of grinding, they had been upgraded to Rainbow and Orange respectively.