Ash never imagined that a single feather could hold such terrifying power.
Extending lifespan, helping a Pokémon break past its stat limits, restoring stamina mid-battle, boosting the power of two types of moves, and on top of all that—serving as the key to the Rainbow Hero's trial.
All of these effects put together… how was this not a cheat item?
[Newbie Ash: It's just a feather, right? How can one feather do so much?]
[Champion Ash: It can—because it's a Legendary Pokémon's feather. The reason people pursue Legendary Pokémon isn't only their rarity, but also their overwhelming power.]
[Champion Ash: From the moment they're born, Legendary Pokémon wield immense strength and have extraordinarily high potential. Even without focused training, they can easily reach the Elite Four level. Their stats are almost always A or higher, and their species abilities far surpass ordinary Pokémon. In battles against others of the same rank, they're practically unstoppable.]
[Champion Ash: And their bodies themselves are priceless. The items they drop are rare power-boosting treasures for ordinary Pokémon, and even for themselves, they act as amplifiers. Especially once a Pokémon reaches the Godly Domain Tier—the entire body undergoes a qualitative transformation.]
[Newbie Ash: Godly Domain Tier… what kind of tier is that? Way stronger than Champion?]
[Tactics Master Ash: All I can say is, Champion and Godly Domain aren't even in the same league. Against a Champion, my strategies still make a huge difference. Even if I only had six Elite Four-tier Pokémon against six Champions, I'd still have a thirty percent chance to win. But if you gave me six Champion-tier Pokémon against just one Godly Tier Pokémon… my chances would drop below twenty percent.]
Even Champion Ash respected Tactics Master Ash's battle strategies. Six Elite Four Pokémon against six Champions and he could still win thirty percent of the time—that was already incredible.
But six Champions against a single Godly Domain-tier Pokémon, and his odds fell below twenty percent. That showed just how staggering the gap between Champion and Godly Domain Tier really was.
[Champion Ash: In fact, there's another name for Godly Domain-tier Pokémon—First-tier Legendary Pokémon! Not every Godly Domain Pokémon is a First-tier Legendary, but every First-tier Legendary can definitely reach the Godly Domain. Ho-Oh is one of the finest among them. That's why just one of its feathers carries such tremendous effects.]
First-tier Legendary… Ash etched the term into his memory. After asking a few more questions in the Chat Group about Ho-Oh's feats, he logged off.
Back in the real world, Ash handed the speed stat cap he'd drawn to Pikachu. Earlier, he'd been too caught up with the Eye of Insight and completely forgot about this other reward.
If not for someone in the group reminding him, he probably wouldn't have remembered.
The speed stat cap, as the name suggested, raised a Pokémon's potential limit in speed. If Ash had drawn an S-rank one, Pikachu's speed stat would instantly rise to S.
Even an A-rank would mean Pikachu's limit could climb a tier higher. But if it was only C-rank, the effect would be there, but not dramatic.
According to the group's veterans, if a Pokémon had A-rank stat and you kept feeding it C-rank caps, it might take over a hundred to push it from A to S.
But since Pikachu was Ash's only Pokémon right now, it didn't matter. He'd give it anyway. A little here, a little there—someday Pikachu's every stat limit would reach S.
After feeding Pikachu the speed cap, Pikachu didn't feel much different. But Ash saw that Pikachu's speed range shifted from D—B+ to C—B+.
He hadn't expected it would also raise Pikachu's lower limit.
Back in the Chat Group, Ash had asked about Pikachu's strange fluctuating stats. Everyone told him it was normal.
Up until the Champion level, Pikachu's stats would keep fluctuating. Apparently, it was something unique to Pikachu in every world.
As for what caused the fluctuations, it seemed tied to Pikachu's mood, battles it experienced, the surrounding environment—factors that were hard to control.
This fluctuation meant Pikachu's performance in battle swung wildly. For both a Trainer's commands and Pikachu himself, it was a huge challenge.
After all, what kind of Pokémon could fight at Gym-tier one battle, then suddenly drop to Elite-tier the next?
From damage calculations to endurance, it made battles painfully difficult—especially for Tactics Master Ash, who prided himself on strategies. Pikachu nearly drove him insane in the beginning.
Sometimes Pikachu was the ace that secured victory. Other times, he was completely unreliable. Only after reaching Champion level did his stats stabilize for good.
But now, the stat cap Ash had drawn seemed to help stabilize Pikachu's fluctuating stats. An unexpected bonus.
"Click." The door opened. Misty stepped out in pajamas, towel-drying her hair, and said casually, "I'm done. You go shower."
Anyone seeing the scene would've thought they were a married couple.
"Me? I don't need to shower. I'll do it tomorrow—it's the same thing~"
"No way! You're filthy! Look at all the dirt on you—dust from battling that Spearow flock, mud from the rain, grime from leaning against that stone wall… Just go shower already!"
Ash rolled his eyes, sighing helplessly. "Alright, alright… geez, you sound just like my mom…"
"What was that?!"
"N-nothing, you heard wrong!" Ash yelped, grabbing Pikachu and bolting straight into the bathroom. A few seconds later, he ran back out, dug a change of clothes out of his Backpack, then darted right back in.
The whole scene left Misty frozen for a moment before she finally burst out laughing.
"Looks like this trip's gonna be pretty fun~" she murmured softly, pulling out a hair dryer and drying her smooth, flowing hair.
…
After Ash finished his shower, the two of them collapsed straight into bed. For Ash, today's experiences had been more thrilling, exciting, and exhausting than his entire fifteen years combined.
Even with his superhuman Newbie physique, fatigue still crept in. Both of them slept soundly until morning.
At dawn, after washing up, the two headed to the Pokémon Center front desk. Misty began explaining the Kanto League's grand tournament—the Indigo Plateau Conference.