Chapter 9: He Knows More About Pokémon Than I Do

Pewter City Pokémon Center.

Ash sat there, dejected. His gloomy expression was a stark contrast to the high spirits he had shown just ten minutes ago.

"Ash, are you okay?"

Misty and Flint walked over. Seeing the scene, they could more or less guess the plot that the author had skipped over in the previous segment.

Clearly, the newbie had been thoroughly beaten by the harsh reality of society.

Pikachu’s pride-and-joy electric attacks had been completely useless against that Pokémon called Onix. Then, the latter had used its Rock Bind move, squeezing Pikachu until it was nearly suffocated, rendering it unable to battle shortly after.

Hitting a Waterloo in his first official Gym battle was a huge blow to Ash.

"I was too arrogant."

Ash whispered.

Having defeated the Bug Catcher and Team Rocket in succession, he couldn't help but feel a bit cocky.

But the key now was how to defeat that man named Brock. On this point, Ash would not give up.

Deep within his soul, Red was sensing his emotions in sync, feeling the boy's self-reproach and frustration.

But more than that, there was a rekindled fighting spirit, which made him smile with relief.

"..."

It was a good thing for a novice to be pressed into the dirt early on; it would make their will even tougher.

Just like when he suffered his first defeat, it had laid a solid foundation for him to eventually become the strongest.

"Wait, who did I lose to the first time?"

Red pondered secretly for a long time before finally realizing.

"Right, I don't think I've ever lost?"

Hehe.

However, that didn't mean he couldn't understand Ash's situation.

Now that he was in this neither-dead-nor-alive state, parasitic on the boy, Red planned to find a day to have a good talk with Ash. He couldn't just keep hanging around in his mind forever, right?

A year or two would be fine.

But if twenty years passed and Ash got married and had kids, would he still have to watch the live broadcast?

That was something Red absolutely could not accept.

In reality, Misty couldn't help but suggest

"Why don't I lend you a Water-type Pokémon? That should make it easy to handle."

"No, I want to use my own power!"

Ash immediately rejected her proposal.

He believed in Pikachu's strength. Even if it couldn't defeat that Onix now, as long as they kept training, one day they would be able to flip it over.

Borrowing a Pokémon from an outsider—wouldn't that mean he and Pikachu were admitting defeat?

But how to defeat Brock was a big problem.

Just as he was lost in thought, the Pokédex hanging at his waist suddenly emitted a mechanical sound.

"Beep. Move Pikachu can learn: Iron Tail."

"Iron Tail?"

Ash rubbed his head, clearly unfamiliar with this move.

However, Flint, standing to the side, was quite knowledgeable.

After all, he had been a trainer traveling through various regions for twenty years. Aside from never having won a championship, he was quite impressive in other respects.

"Iron Tail is a Steel-type move. It's a new type that only appeared in the neighboring Johto region in recent years. It can indeed deal high damage to Onix."

Hearing this, Ash stood up abruptly, the inextinguishable flames of war reigniting in his eyes.

"Then it's decided! Let Pikachu learn Iron Tail!"

"Cough, cough. But how are you going to make Pikachu learn Iron Tail?"

"Can't you just shout, and Pikachu will learn it after moving a bit?"

Flint, Misty: "..."

"Learning a new move isn't that simple! Especially since Iron Tail is a very strong move; the difficulty of learning it is not small at all, kid!"

Flint said with a dark face, offering some popular science

"Generally, there are three ways to learn a new move. The first is through a TM, but those are expensive and only sold in department stores in big cities."

"The second is through the personal instruction of other Pokémon."

"And the third is by relying on enough talent to comprehend it yourself..."

Ash didn't even think before taking over: "Then the third way it is. My Pikachu has amazing bones and extremely high talent."

Flint suddenly felt a headache, secretly thinking, *Is this trainer an idiot!?*

He rubbed his temples and slowly offered a suggestion.

"In short, Iron Tail isn't something that can be mastered in a short time. However, I do have a way to increase Pikachu's combat power in a short period."

"Then let's do it!"

Ash stopped overthinking. The three of them waited on the spot for a dozen minutes, and once Pikachu had recovered and was discharged, they hurried toward the outskirts of Pewter City.

Pikachu's body was like it had been injected with hormones; it was now at full capacity.

Coincidentally, Ash saw a giant rock on the road. A mischievous thought suddenly popped into his head, and he immediately ordered

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on that rock!"

"Pika...?"

Pikachu turned its head 180 degrees like a Rowlet, putting on a 0-0 expression.

*You're making things difficult for me, Pikachu.*

"Just believe in yourself! Imagine your tail is made of steel in your heart, you can definitely do it!"

He cheered it on frantically.

Misty, Flint: "..."

Hearing this, Pikachu's gaze sank, and it didn't hesitate anymore.

Its short legs kicked hard as it leaped high. With a low shout, it swept its tail directly across the rock.

"Smack!"

A strong, loud whipping sound rang out. Like a long lash, it left a vigorous white mark on the surface of the rock.

"Beep. Pikachu has mastered a new move: Slam."

The Pokédex explained automatically.

Misty, Flint: "???"

Is that how new moves are learned nowadays?!

Everyone shook their heads. Iron Tail could coat the tail in a metallic luster, and its power could even cut through gold and stone.

This current Slam wasn't powerful enough; it was unrealistic to use it to defeat Onix.

However, learning a new move was still a pleasant surprise.

Pewter outskirts.

The three arrived in front of a crude wooden cabin. Behind the cabin was a river with a small waterfall.

"Cough, cough. Let me explain. This is a hydroelectric power plant. The force brought by the waterfall turns the waterwheel. According to the right-hand rule, it cuts magnetic induction lines to achieve the purpose of power generation."

Flint pulled two wires from the cabin.

"Next, just stick these two charging cables onto Pikachu's electric sacs, and you can guide the current onto them. By maxing out the electrical energy, Pikachu's electric attack power can also skyrocket in a short time."

"Although I don't understand it, it sounds very reasonable."

Ash looked at Pikachu.

"How about it? Want to try?"

"Pika!"

Pikachu clenched its two little fists, full of drive, sparks flying from its cheeks.

It felt extremely humiliated by the fact that it had been defeated by that Onix.

You have to know that it regarded Red's round-faced Pikachu as an object of worship, and even harbored the ambitious goal of flipping it over one day in the future.

And now, it had lost at the very start.

It really made the mouse angry!

"Wait... why is this waterfall so pathetic?"

Misty walked around to the back. It was called a waterfall, but the water flow was extremely low.

Even the trashiest Magikarp among the trashiest could probably jump over it with a single Splash.

Flint chuckled and explained

"It's the dry season now, so the waterfall isn't really up to par. But observing the strong bond between the boy and Pikachu, you can totally generate electricity with love."

"Okay, Pikachu! We'll generate electricity with love, and strive to get fully charged in one night. We'll go for revenge tomorrow!"

Ash was fired up. He took a big stride and jumped onto the waterwheel.

Grabbing the handle above with his arms, he let out a roar, stepped on the pulley, and exerted force with his thighs and lower back.

*Grrr, grrr!!*

The massive waterwheel actually began to turn slowly and heavily.

"This boy's physical strength... it's terrifying..."

Seeing this, Flint couldn't help but be secretly shocked.

How could a 10-year-old boy have such absurd strength?

What he meant by "generating electricity with love" was actually "paying for a meal."

He only needed to be hired with money, and he would send out his female Machamp to help pull the waterwheel to generate electricity.

He didn't expect Ash to be so reckless!

Flint hurriedly pressed the two wires onto Pikachu's cheeks, and incidentally took two pieces of insulating tape to stick them down so the current wouldn't run wild.

"Zzzzz..."

As the waterwheel turned, the current began to flow along the wires into Pikachu's cheeks, and was then completely absorbed by the latter's electric sacs.

Who said you couldn't store electricity if you didn't have the Static ability?

"The harder you work, the luckier you get!"

Ash shouted repeatedly to cheer himself on.

Then he took a deep breath and went wild on the waterwheel, and the rotation speed of the waterwheel began to accelerate crazily!

"Pika..."

A continuous stream of current was poured into Pikachu through the wires, and the energy hidden within its petite body was also constantly rising...!

"Too impatient..."

Red sensed everything around him and finally sighed.

Learning a new move was not a short-term matter.

Coupled with this external method of charging with a generator, it was undoubtedly no different from pulling up seedlings to help them grow. For a Pokémon with a poor foundation, it was just overdrawing its potential. In a matter of minutes, it would be too weak to handle the supplement and be completely drained.

Perhaps because he was also just a fragment of code from the electronic world, Red discovered that he could actually communicate with Ash's Pokédex.

Only then, just now, did he slightly hint at the direction forward.

Training properly, mastering Iron Tail before challenging the Gym, and defeating the opponent through perfect type-advantage—that was what a qualified trainer should do.

This kind of "generating electricity with love" behavior, besides making Pikachu suffer in vain, had no benefit at all.

*Boom!!!*

The next moment, a terrifying sound of thunderous explosion interrupted Red's thoughts.

Following Ash's line of sight, he saw a beam of incomparably brilliant golden light shoot into the sky, as if it had pierced through the heavens.

The terrifying electric current exploded, illuminating the entire outskirts of Pewter City.

"Pika!"

At this moment, Pikachu's cheeks were bursting with countless powerful currents. Its eyes were sharp, its movements were powerful, and it was clearly in a peak state.

"Beep. Pikachu has learned a new move: Thunderbolt."

The Pokédex broadcasted automatically.

Even the usually silent Red couldn't help but widen his eyes, looking at this scene in shock.

Oh.

So he understands Pokémon better than I do?

Never mind then—

(End of chapter)