085: The Mystery of "Forbidden Power"
In the current Pokémon world, the most common and widely recognized form of Psychic ability is simply known as "psychic power." Among the general populace, the term "Psychic" is almost automatically equated with telekinetic abilities such as moving objects with the mind or communicating mentally.
However, according to historical records and research within the Pokémon world, Psychic encompasses far more than just telekinesis. Beyond the well-documented psychic power, there are rare and mysterious forces such as the Power of Aura (Waveguide), the Power of Viridian (Tokiwa no Chikara), the Power of the Spirit (Periphery), and the Power of Overcoming (possibly referring to resilience-based energies seen in exceptional Trainers).
Despite their great potential, these rarer psychic powers, particularly the Power of Bird (an archaic name for Psychic abilities tied to Flying-types) and Tokiwa's Power, are seldom known or discussed.
While immensely powerful, their rarity means that even specialized groups like the Psychic Association, formed by elite psychics across regions like Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, possess only fragmented records about them.
This scarcity leads to another problem: even if someone is fortunate enough to awaken one of these rare abilities, they often have no clear, systematic methods for cultivating or refining their power.
Standard psychic power ties directly to the soul's strength and the mind's mental fortitude. Thus, methods like "Calm Mind" meditation, similar to techniques taught to Psychic-type Pokémon like Alakazam, are used to strengthen the mind and thereby improve psychic abilities.
However, powers such as the Waveguide (Aura) and Viridian (Tokiwa Power) are fundamentally different.
They are not simply extensions of spiritual strength; instead, they are innate energies that independently exist within the body of a Psychic individual, akin to how Riolu and Lucario naturally channel Aura without necessarily relying on mental force.
As such, improving them demands unique, specialized training separate from mental meditation.
After Ash's unexpected awakening of both the Power of Waveguide and Viridian Power, he searched extensively online through the Indigo League's archives and private forums maintained by researchers under Professor Oak's network.
Yet, even after days of scouring the information web, the only mention of the Power of Waveguide and Tokiwa's Power consisted of vague anecdotes. There were no comprehensive guides or established training regimens for either.
During this time, Ash came across references suggesting that mental training via Calm Mind and physical training could generally enhance one's latent psychic potential, offering at least a partial pathway forward.
Later, by sheer luck, Ash found an obscure article hidden deep within a Psychic community forum discussing an ancient meditation technique called "All Things Listening" (Banbutsu no Chōmon).
Taking a bold risk, Ash decided to attempt this technique for the first time without any formal supervision.
Unexpectedly, after his first Calm Mind session using "All Things Listening," his entire mental reservoir was exhausted to the brink of collapse. He entered a near-death state, unknowingly standing at the edge of the boundary between life and death.
Yet this reckless act forged a miracle: his natural psychic potential skyrocketed, and simultaneously, he succeeded in fully activating both his Waveguide and Periphery powers.
Over the past two days, Ash carefully observed the results.
He realized that while the "All Things Listening" Calm Mind technique significantly strengthened his control over the Waveguide, it had absolutely no effect on the Power of Viridian.
Waveguide and Viridian were far too rare so much so that even in the collective knowledge stored by the Pokémon League, there was almost nothing recorded.
For Ash to awaken both powers simultaneously at such a young age was nothing short of unprecedented, almost miraculous.
Thus, finding even a method to train one of them the Waveguide already made him ecstatic.
Unlike many who might fall into greed and impatience, Ash understood an important truth early on: dissatisfaction and endless craving would only lead to mental imbalance.
True strength came from steady, contented progress. Because of this, Ash maintained a remarkably stable and peaceful mindset.
Even if the "All Things Listening" method could only improve his Waveguide and left Viridian untouched, it was still an immense blessing.
As for the Power of Viridian, Ash reasoned that physical training would be enough to lay a foundation. After all, Viridian energy like that exhibited by Green in the Pokémon Adventures manga was closely tied to vitality and connection to nature, rather than mere mental prowess.
Moreover, building a strong, resilient body was a necessary requirement for any future Pokémon Trainer who would embark on arduous journeys through mountains, forests, and caves.
With that realization, Ash dropped his concerns over cultivating the Power of Viridian and focused on improving himself holistically.
Yet, just like an elusive item that remains hidden when desperately sought and appears only when least expected, Ash noticed something remarkable.
Even though he had stopped actively trying to stimulate his Viridian energy, the power quietly and naturally stirred within him.
His Viridian aura unexpectedly surged boiling up twice in succession perhaps responding to his relaxed and natural mindset.
Thus, with gratitude in his heart and a calm smile on his face, Ash took another steady step toward his destined future, without rushing, without fear.
Both Psychic abilities within Ash the Power of Waveguide and the Power of Viridian were awakened on the same fateful day.
Among them, the Power of Waveguide could be actively cultivated through the "All Things Listening" Calm Mind method that Ash discovered online, and theoretically, it should have become stronger than the Power of Viridian over time.
However, reality turned out to be the opposite.
At present, although Ash has been consistently practicing the Calm Mind technique to nurture the Waveguide, it is actually his Viridian Power for which he has no formal training method that has become noticeably stronger and more potent within his body.
The key to this paradox lies in the phenomenon of the "boiling growth" that his Viridian Power experienced twice.
The first instance of "power boiling" occurred back when Ash was training behind Professor Oak's Laboratory.
On that day, Ash used his system ability to copy advanced and attribute skills from Nidoking including techniques like Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Megaton Kick, and Earth Power.
Ash had felt genuine gratitude toward Nidoking, knowing that it was sharing its mastery of such complex moves with him without hesitation.
Moved by this sense of appreciation, Ash instinctively transferred a small portion of his Viridian Power the "Force of Eternal Spring" back into Nidoking as a silent act of thanks.
At that moment, a remarkable reaction occurred inside Ash's body: the Viridian Power within him suddenly surged and "boiled," causing an internal leap in his strength.
At the time, Ash speculated about the cause.
He wondered whether simply transferring Viridian energy to Pokémon might be the key to stimulating this "boiling" effect.
With this thought in mind, he subsequently attempted the same process with several other Pokémon in Professor Oak's backyard Pidgey, Oddish, Rattata but none of these instances led to any further boiling or increase in his Viridian Power.
Ash was initially puzzled.
He hypothesized that perhaps the strengthening of Viridian Power was similar to a Pokémon leveling up requiring an invisible accumulation of "experience points" until a threshold was reached, resulting in a sudden boost.
However, today, after experiencing a second instance of Viridian Power "boiling" following his interaction with Catterpie, Ash made a sudden and sharp realization.
He noticed that both previous episodes of power growth shared a critical, overlooked detail:
In both cases, Ash had been genuinely and wholeheartedly grateful toward the Pokémon from which he had copied skills.
When he received the skills from Nidoking and later from Catterpie, Ash had not viewed the act as a transaction or an exploitative use of his system.
Instead, in his heart, he saw it as a precious gift offered freely by the Pokémon.
Just like a fruit-laden tree offering its bounty to a traveler, Ash picked a single fruit and felt nothing but deep gratitude toward the tree.
Following this sincere emotion, Ash metaphorically "watered" the fruit tree returning kindness with kindness by sharing his life-giving Viridian energy.
There was no thought of mutual benefit, no calculation of gains or losses, only pure goodwill.
In this way, the exchange between Ash and the Pokémon was an interaction of mutual kindness, a bond of hearts rather than a cold transaction.
And it was precisely this pure-hearted act that triggered the hidden growth of Viridian Power within him.
Earlier today, after copying Catterpie's simple but earnest skill String Shot Ash instinctively shared a portion of his Viridian energy with it.
Even though copying skills didn't harm the Pokémon in any way, Ash still felt sincere gratitude.
And immediately following that gesture of giving, the dormant Viridian Power in his body surged once more, boiling fiercely and strengthening beyond his expectations.
"So… the reason why my Viridian Power is increasing," Ash muttered thoughtfully under his breath, "is because when I send out the Force of Eternal Spring to Pokémon, I do it with pure gratitude, without any trace of selfishness or utilitarianism?"
Ash's voice was low, yet it trembled faintly with excitement.
At last, he had uncovered a fundamental truth behind the mystery of his forbidden power the sacred, ancient power whispered in the hidden records of the Viridian Forest's legends.
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