Pokemon: Trait Master

"Bulba! Bulba, Bulba!!" 

As Bulbasaur devoured the freshly made Grass-type Pokémon food Ash had prepared, 

its face lit up in pure astonishment. 

How could food taste this good?! 

From the very first bite, Bulbasaur was completely won over. 

After that, it shoved food into its mouth like crazy, eating at an insane pace. 

Pikachu, seeing this, kindly patted Bulbasaur's bulb, signaling for it to slow down. 

Bulbasaur paused for a moment— 

but surprisingly, it didn't reject Pikachu's gesture. 

Normally, if any stranger got that close, 

let alone touch its bulb, 

it would have whipped them away with Vine Whip immediately. 

But the Trainer of the Pikachu patting it 

was the one who had made this divine meal. 

So, how could it be rude in front of him? 

Even though it was a wild Pokémon, 

it was still a Bulbasaur with good manners. 

— 

Once it was full and satisfied, 

Bulbasaur turned to Ash and gave a polite nod of gratitude. 

At the same time, 

it asked what Ash wanted in return. 

If Ash had a request, 

Bulbasaur promised to bring it to him. 

"A reward, huh?" Ash smirked. 

"How about becoming my Pokémon? If you do, you'll be able to eat meals like this every day~" 

His tone was full of temptation. 

Bulbasaur's face clearly showed hesitation. 

But in the end, it shook its head. 

"Bulba, Bulba… Bulba!" 

I still have something I need to protect… I can't leave! 

"…I see." 

Even divine-tier cooking wasn't enough to tempt Bulbasaur? 

That meant… 

The thing it was protecting must be more important than anything. 

Such a loyal and righteous Pokémon— 

Ash wanted it even more! 

There was no way he was giving up so easily! 

So, he made a proposal— 

he wanted to go see what Bulbasaur was protecting. 

If he could solve the problem there, 

then Bulbasaur could come with him. 

Bulbasaur hesitated for a moment— 

but eventually nodded in agreement. 

After quickly packing up, 

Ash and the others followed behind Bulbasaur. 

As they walked, Serena finally found time 

to ask the big question that had been bothering her. 

"Ash… can you understand what Pokémon say?" 

At first, Bulbasaur had used gestures 

to indicate that it wanted Oddish's food. 

That much could be guessed through its actions. 

But later— 

Ash had been holding a full conversation with Bulbasaur. 

It was way too natural, 

like he actually understood every word! 

Misty also turned to look at Ash. 

She had the same question in her heart. 

Could Ash really understand Pokémon language? 

If that was true… 

Then wasn't he way too overpowered?! 

At this rate, was there anything he couldn't do? 

Ash simply nodded in response. 

"Yeah, I can understand Pokémon to some extent. 

"It's mainly because I have Aura powers and Viridian Force. 

"Both of these abilities allow me to communicate with Pokémon." 

"I can't translate every single word perfectly… 

"But I can understand 99% of what they're saying." 

"Aura powers?!" 

"Viridian Force?!" 

Both girls gasped in shock. 

They had never heard of these two abilities before, 

but they did know that a very small number of people 

in this world possessed extraordinary powers— 

such as psychic abilities. 

And clearly, Ash's powers were something similar! 

More than that— 

He had TWO special abilities?! 

Wasn't that a bit too unfair?! 

They had already been traveling with Ash for a while, 

but his mysteries seemed endless. 

The deeper they dug, 

the more they felt like he was a bottomless abyss— 

a black hole of hidden talents! 

At this moment, Serena was secretly relieved. 

Thank Arceus she had immediately set out to find Ash as soon as she was old enough to travel! 

Otherwise, with his good looks, ridiculous talents, and gentle personality… 

Who knows how many girls would have swarmed to him?! 

If she had waited until Ash traveled to Kalos, 

or if she had traveled for a year before meeting him again— 

She would've been too late! 

— 

Misty, on the other hand, 

was also feeling pretty lucky. 

Who would've thought that just a month into her journey, 

she'd meet such a ridiculously powerful guy?! 

Sure, they were only ten years old, 

but it wasn't too early to make a reservation! 

Besides, the entire world matured early— 

having a boyfriend or girlfriend at ten wasn't unusual at all. 

And for someone like Ash— 

Forget ten years old— 

if someone had reserved him at six, it wouldn't be surprising! 

Thinking about this, 

Misty snuck a glance at Serena. 

Wasn't this girl a real-life example of someone who had Ash in her sights since six years old?! 

…Did she still have a chance? 

Probably… right? 

Ahem. 

She needed to stop thinking like this. 

Right now, she was technically Ash's disciple. 

She couldn't go stealing her teacher, right? 

That would make her a betraying student! 

Ash, completely unaware of their inner thoughts, 

simply continued walking with Bulbasaur. 

His Aura powers and Viridian Force weren't secrets he needed to hide. 

Especially since Misty and Serena 

were likely to travel with him for a long time. 

They would find out sooner or later anyway. 

In fact, he had already been using Viridian Force for a while. 

They must have noticed by now. 

After all, some of the Pokémon he had defeated recovered instantly without using healing items. 

Even the Pokémon Misty and Serena trained, 

if they were tired or injured, 

they would recover quickly whenever Ash was around. 

Any half-brained person would have realized he had some kind of special power. 

It was just that the girls had subconsciously ignored the signs. 

After all, at the start of their journey, 

Ash had been honestly using potions for healing. 

Classic case of missing the obvious. 

— 

As they continued following Bulbasaur, 

Ash decided to explain the basics of Aura powers and Viridian Force. 

By the time he was done— 

Misty and Serena's mouths were hanging open, 

faces filled with nothing but shock. 

Their expressions had remained frozen in awe 

throughout the entire explanation. 

And just as Ash finished, 

they finally arrived at their destination. 

In front of them stood a small wooden cabin. 

A young girl was crouched by the cabin, 

surrounded by numerous Pokémon. 

She was grinding medicinal herbs, 

carefully applying them to the wounds of the injured Pokémon. 

Hearing the approaching footsteps, 

she lifted her head— 

And immediately saw Bulbasaur, 

along with Ash, Misty, Serena, and Pikachu. 

"Bulbasaur, you're back! 

Who are these three…?" 

A/N - 25 Powerstones for the next chapter Guys :)