HUH???

…to the point where a Pokémon that reads aura mistakes him for a long dead aura guardian based on vibes alone. Note that Ash is ten years old and has had no prior training.

Assuming that aura can change with time and effort, just like every other human trait, this means that some random ass child is just as strong as a legendary aura guardian despite barely even knowing what aura is outside of the Pokémon move Aura Sphere.

And that's not even the extent of it. In the rare moments that Ash remembers he's a fucking energybender, he has done the following:

Transferred his power to help Sir Aaron's Lucario heal a dying Mew's symbiotic rock tree. (And by extension, Mew itself.)

Astral project and see through the eyes of Pokémon. (This has happened several times. Just check the Aura page on Bulbapedia.)

Use a keystone to locate its matching mega stone. It's never fully explained why this works outside of "stupid magic bullshit".

See and interact with a dead boy* without even knowing he's dead, to the point where he can fucking project his own senses onto the kid's soul so that he can vicariously pet the fluffy mouse creature. The same thing actually happened in XY.

Telepathically communicate with his Lucario during a battle and discuss what move it should use next.

There's also this fan theory that the strange ripples that sometimes appear around Ash in Pokémon Journeys are aura waves being generated by his excitement, but it's not confirmed and it might just be a stylistic choice.

This isn't even the extent of what aura can do in the anime. It's just the stuff that Ash instinctively knows how to do without training. Please, I implore you, check out the Bulbapedia page on aura right now. This shit's crazy.

It's also shown that the bond phenomenon is linked to aura, but aura isn't outright confirmed to be the catalyst.

If he did decide to get some proper training, he could become the strongest aura user ever. And he’s just fucking around on a Pokémon journey.

*Of course, the whole "speak with the dead" thing could be explained by the fact that Ash has been a ghost possessing his own corpse since Episode 23 of Indigo League, but it's explained in-universe as Ash using aura to help Sunny pet Pikachu, so interpret that how you will.

TLDR: Pokémon lore is batshit insane and Ash Ketchum is a magical zombie Jedi that can see ghosts and he canonically doesn't give a fuck. I love you, Pokémon. Never change.

most of the essay but. I

can’t fucking find it.

bonus: the more we change the more we stay the same