"Hmm…"
Now that he had finally earned his mother Delia's approval, Ash felt more at ease than ever. His secret plan—to capture a Pokémon before the legal age of ten—was ready to be put into motion.
Originally, he had wanted to tell his mother not to worry about the tax issue anymore. But then a thought struck him.
Wait a minute… in the original story, my Pikachu was officially registered and handed out by Professor Oak himself.
That meant the tax system still had some connection to the official starter program. So, if he refused now, it might cause problems later when he was supposed to receive his Pikachu.
He paused, reconsidered, and finally said, "The Starter Tax can be paid anytime, so let's just leave it for now, okay?"
Delia, still emotionally fragile from earlier, didn't question his decision. She simply smiled softly and nodded. "You're growing more thoughtful by the day, Ash. Mom will listen to you."
…
After lunch, Delia began cleaning up the table and went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Ash offered to help, but as always, she insisted that he go rest instead. So, he quietly returned upstairs, sat down at his old wooden desk, and turned on the bulky desktop computer that hummed faintly as it booted up.
His goal today wasn't about Pokémon training—it was about himself.
Specifically, about unlocking the mysterious powers sleeping inside him: the Aura of the Wave and the Power of Viridian.
He typed into the search bar:
"How to awaken psychic or supernatural powers."
To his surprise, there was a lot of information.
Forums, blogs, and research discussions—hundreds of them.
One of the most active communities was the Saffron City Forum, filled with posts about psychic awakening, telekinesis training, and meditation methods.
That was no surprise—Saffron City was the "City of Psychics," the beating heart of the Kanto region's supernatural studies.
The name carried weight across the entire world.
Rumor had it that almost every Saffron native carried traces of psychic blood. Over the generations, though, the ability had weakened—only a few rare individuals were able to awaken it now.
In fact, in the original timeline, when the old Ash had traveled through Saffron City, the only true psychics he met were Sabrina and her father.
Even inside Sabrina's Gym, the so-called "disciples" of psychic training could barely bend a spoon with their minds.
Their struggles made one thing clear: psychic awakening was not easy.
Of course, the kind of psychic power those people possessed—telekinesis—was fundamentally different from Ash's Aura and Viridian gifts.
Still, he figured the underlying principles might overlap.
After all, psychic power was still psychic power—it originated from within the human spirit.
He began exploring the threads labeled "Proven Awakening Methods" and "Guidelines from the Psychic Association."
Then he created a new Word document titled "Awakening Data — Compiled Notes."
For the next two hours, he carefully summarized the most credible posts, cross-checked their theories, and filtered out the nonsense about crystals, incense, and alien DNA.
When he was done, he leaned back in his chair, eyes gleaming.
He finally had some real insights.
The first revelation shocked him—humans in the Pokémon world were not biologically identical to those on Earth.
They looked the same, sure. But internally? Completely different.
Their strength, stamina, and resilience were all far superior.
He chuckled as he remembered the ridiculous feats people performed here:
The original Ash, barely ten years old, could carry a Larvitar—a creature weighing over sixty-five kilograms—without even breaking a sweat.
Team Rocket got electrocuted by Pikachu's Thunderbolt every other episode, blasted into the sky like fireworks, and somehow survived every single time.
Clearly, Pokémon world humans were built different.
Their physical development was accelerated too. While a ten-year-old on Earth was still an innocent child, ten-year-olds here were already considered biologically mature.
That explained the world's laws—ten-year-olds were legally adults here, with full civil rights. That's why parents could let their children travel around the world with Pokémon at such a young age without worry.
That difference was also crucial for understanding psychic potential.
According to the Global Psychic Association, every person was born with a latent "psychic factor," categorized as either Dominant or Recessive.
When a person reached physical maturity—around age ten—their psychic potential either activated or stagnated.
Those who awakened powers before or by that age were considered to have Dominant Psychic Genes. Their powers manifested naturally, their minds aligned with energy flow, and their spiritual awareness bloomed.
But those who reached ten without any signs of awakening? They were classified as Recessive.
After that point, awakening psychic powers became exponentially harder—sometimes even impossible.
The Association's research had confirmed it: the probability of awakening was directly tied to the growth of the body and the development of mental strength.
Before age ten, both of those factors skyrocketed. After ten, they plateaued.
That's why most psychic awakenings occurred before that critical age.
The official data even stated:
"In individuals with Dominant Psychic Genes, the probability of spontaneous awakening by age ten is 100%."
But there was a catch—those who awakened younger tended to have stronger, more refined powers.
As the age increased, so did the difficulty.
Still, Ash smiled faintly as he read the last line of one post:
"Every human's development is unique. Age ten is not an absolute barrier—it's only a reference point."
He closed the window, tapping the desk lightly with his finger.
"So… it's not hopeless after ten," he murmured. "Good."
Because if the original Ash had never shown signs of these powers, and yet he—reborn, awakened, and aware—could feel the potential within himself, then maybe…
He could be the one exception.
The one who broke the rule.
…
…