[Complete enhancement tasks to enhance a Pokémon's Ability. If the Ability is changed, its enhancement level will be retained.]
As the system prompt faded, a virtual screen that only Ash could see appeared in front of him.
Two portraits flashed on it.
One was Pikachu, who doubled as both the adorable mascot and the emergency fallback. The other was Latias, who loved clinging to Ash whether they were eating or sleeping.
They were also the only two Pokémon Ash had brought with him to Kalos this time.
Latios, Mewtwo, and his other Pokémon had all been left behind in Pallet Town to protect his mother and the town's residents.
Speaking of Abilities...
It was worth mentioning that Pikachu's original Ability had been Static, but Ash had asked Professor Oak to make an Ability Patch and successfully changed it to Lightning Rod.
Of course, it had not been free.
Over the years, Ash had not only studied Pokémon battles, he had also published quite a few research results of his own.
Among them were Milotic's evolution, the relationship between Mega Stones and Key Stones, and the mysteries of Mega Evolution.
By gathering up Prism Scales and Mega Stones ahead of time, Ash and the families backing him and Professor Oak had made an absolute fortune.
From that point on, money had become nothing more than a string of numbers.
Pulling his thoughts back, Ash tapped Pikachu's portrait.
Pokémon: Partner Pikachu (♂)
Ability: Lightning Rod (Draws Electric-type moves to itself. It takes no damage from them, and instead raises its Special Attack.)
[Can be enhanced]
Ability: Lightning Rod I (Draws Electric-type moves to itself. It takes no damage from them, and instead greatly raises its Special Attack.)
...
I?
If there was a one, then there had to be a two. In other words, Ability enhancement was clearly not a one-time thing.
Judging from the effect of Enhancement I alone, it was already excellent.
Instead of raising Special Attack by one stage, it now greatly raised it by two stages.
At the same time, Ash became even more curious about just how far Lightning Rod could be enhanced.
His gaze moved downward to the evolution requirement below.
[Enhancement task]: Defeat Team Rocket trio
That one would be easy enough.
His Pikachu seemed born with natural charm and had always kept the trio hopelessly fixated on it. No matter where Ash went, he always ran into them.
And honestly, the Team Rocket trio counted as legends in their own way.
Their physical toughness was practically on Tom's level. They were like indestructible cockroaches.
One more defeat would hardly make a difference.
Then he turned to Latias.
As for dragon-girl Latias and Sylveon, Sylveon would probably be saying, "Hey, I'm the one in a hurry here."
[Can be enhanced]
Ability: Levitate I (Floats above the ground, so it is not affected by Ground-type moves. Speed is increased to 1.2×, Attack is increased to 1.1×.)
Latias's base Speed and Attack were 110 and 80 respectively.
110 × 1.2 = 132.
80 × 1.1 = 88.
After the enhancement, Latias's base 132 Speed would let her outspeed almost every Pokémon out there.
Compared to that, the boost to 88 Attack felt a little underwhelming.
Still, there was no question that compared to temporary stat stage boosts, which capped at +6, an increase to base stats was far more direct. It also effectively raised a Pokémon's upper limit.
Too bad it wasn't boosting Special Attack.
Unlike in the games, where plenty of Ground-based attacks had no trouble landing on airborne targets, reality worked differently. In the real world, it was not just Ground-type moves, any move with insufficient range simply could not hit a flying Latias.
Because of that, boosting her Speed and Attack was nowhere near as useful as boosting her Special Attack.
That said...
The faster something moved, the more momentum it carried, and the greater its force became. In that sense, increasing Attack did make perfect sense.
And Ability enhancement was not limited to a single stage.
On top of that, Latias's Attack base stat would rise even further after Mega Evolution. Her future looked promising.
Still, compared to that...
A certain hardworking figure he had met and caught in Unova came to Ash's mind.
What he was even more curious about was whether Mewtwo, who had always been held back by its Ability, would finally gain the power to stand on equal footing with the other major Legendary Pokémon this time.
Because during this Kalos journey, the Pokémon world was not exactly peaceful.
Whether it was the one-versus-six showdown that made Shiny Mega Rayquaza famous after the incident caused by Hoopa in the movie, the sea battle in the Mega Evolution arc where Hoenn's three great legends fought over the Giant Rock, or the rampaging Zygarde, the Giant Rock Zygarde that sought the Sundial...
It was shaping up to be a year full of disasters.
Compared to ordinary Pokémon, or even the Latios siblings, Mewtwo was undeniably strong.
But because its Ability dragged it down, Mewtwo had always been unable to truly contend with the real top-tier Legendary Pokémon, let alone face off against multiple major legends or monsters as elevated as Sinnoh's creation trio.
The existence of Ability enhancement let Ash see hope for Mewtwo's rise.
Mewtwo really was about to make its comeback this time.
...
At 9:00 a.m. Kalos time, after a thirteen-hour flight, the plane landed at Lumiose Airport.
At the exit, Serena, who had been keeping in touch with Ash and had known for a long time that he was coming to Kalos to travel, was already waiting there early.
The moment she spotted him from a distance, she could not help calling out excitedly, waving her fair, slender arms high in the air.
"Hey! Ash, over here!"
The girl's shout immediately drew attention from the people around them.
And in the world of Pokémon, famous and powerful Trainers were top-tier celebrities to begin with.
Five straight League titles, that astonishing draw against Cynthia, and his suggestive friendship with Diantha had made the name Ash far from unfamiliar across Kalos.
Following Serena's line of sight, everyone saw the boy in a blue-and-white adventure outfit and baseball cap.
"It's Ash!"
"Oh my God, so his next stop is Kalos? I feel bad for my son who just started his journey this year."
"Hey, Ash, can I get a photo with you?"
"Move aside, buddy. Ash, you absolutely have to tongue-kiss me."
"Ma'am, while I understand that's a very Kalos way to say hello, I'm going to have to decline."
Ash sent out Latias, using her psychic powers to separate the excited crowd, especially that particularly enthusiastic woman.
Calmly and methodically, he maintained order at the scene.
There was no question that Latias's sudden appearance poured even more fuel onto the frenzy.
Shrieks rose one after another from the crowd.
Only after everyone realized they could not get through the psychic barrier did their excitement finally begin to cool.
Ash then gladly agreed to take pictures with his fans.
He asked Alexa to help take the photos, and at the same time introduced her social media account so fans could download them there later.
It was a more efficient way to solve the problem, and it also gave Alexa's account some extra publicity.
After accepting Alexa's repeated thanks all over again, Ash finally managed to break free from the crowd and meet up with the Serena who had been waiting for him this whole time.