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POV: Kanto League Broadcast Control
The Pewter Gym feed had been archived for two days before anyone at the League really watched it in full.
Now, in a small, dim office in Indigo Plateau, the replay ran on the main holoscreen.
On-screen, Pikachu blurred across the arena — golden light hugging his fur, every movement too sharp for standard cameras.
The analysts had frozen the feed multiple times, rewinding and playing frame-by-frame.
"That is not Agility," one tech muttered.
"It's not Quick Attack either. There's… lightning conduction across the dermal layer," another said, zooming in until they could see faint sparks clinging to Pikachu's outline.
And then came Charmander — charging headlong at a forty-foot Onix like it was his idea, claws wreathed in molten white steel, fire channeled up his arms like a furnace.
The crowd mic picked up Brock's tone as the Gym Leader called "Rock Tomb," and the Charmander dodged with fighting-type footwork, sliding under the boulders and countering in one seamless burst.
Onix went down. The badge was handed over. And the room at Indigo Plateau was silent.
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League Official Rena Torin — Head of Trainer Development — leaned forward.
"That isn't beginner-level battle flow. That's Elite-tier synergy. Who is this?"
Professor Oak, present in person, cleared his throat. "That would be Ash Ketchum. From Pallet Town."
A few eyebrows rose.
"And the Pikachu?" Rena asked.
Oak adjusted his glasses. "Not one of mine. He… caught it wild."
No one said it, but the footage was still looping in their heads:
A Pikachu faster than any official stat sheet said was possible.
A Charmander fighting like a trained martial-type with elemental enhancement.
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POV: Delia Ketchum
At home in Pallet, Delia sat at the kitchen table with her morning tea, watching the same broadcast on the public trainer channel.
Her son looked nothing like the boy who left home. He moved like a trainer who knew the fight before it happened. His voice was calm, commands crisp, the timing perfect.
When the badge was handed over, she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
She also knew — with the precision only a mother has — that Oak was already trying to figure out what Ash was hiding.
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Main POV — Mt. Moon
The road from Pewter to Cerulean cut straight through Mt. Moon, and the rumors weren't exactly reassuring: thieves, strange lights at night, and Clefairy sightings.
It smelled like a Team Rocket job before we even set foot inside.
I wasn't wrong.
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Training in Transit
Charmander's Metal Claw now gleamed brighter and struck cleaner than most third-badge Pokémon could manage.
Pikachu's Lightning Armor wasn't at full power yet — maybe 60% — but the reaction time boost was already paying off in practice bouts.
Nidoran was putting on muscle, his horn jabs striking hard enough to splinter the training logs I'd set up. His kicks were still raw, but his balance was improving.
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Rocket Ambush
We were halfway through a wide cavern when the shadows moved.
Jessie and James stepped out, this time without a sing-song motto. Meowth crouched low, claws flexed.
"brat, you've been making a name for yourself," Jessie said. "Pikachu's worth more than ever now. Hand him over."
I didn't bother answering.
"Pikachu, Lightning Burst to flank — Nidoran, straight-line charge, tail whip on the pivot. Charmander, burn wall."
The cavern lit up in three layers of chaos:
Pikachu vanished in a flicker, the gold arc of his Lightning Armor outlining his path as he zipped behind Ekans.
Nidoran's charge smashed into Koffing, the follow-up tail whip spinning him around to hit again with his horn.
Charmander raked his claws across the cavern wall, sending a sheet of molten rock spraying as cover.
Ekans went down with a sharp yelp; Koffing dropped after one horn-to-the-eye hit.
Team Rocket retreated before the smoke cleared.
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The Moon Stone Cavern
Deeper inside, we found the Clefairy. They weren't scared — they were guarding something.
At the center of the chamber sat a Moon Stone the size of a boulder, glowing faintly blue.
Wild Zubat chittered overhead, but none attacked. The Clefairy simply looked at me, then at my team.
They knew we weren't here to take it.
I knelt, nodding once. "We'll leave it in your care. Just keep it safe from Rocket."
One of the Clefairy stepped forward, offering me a smaller shard — a fragment of the great stone.
I accepted. Not for immediate use. But someday, maybe for a Nidoqueen partner to the king I was building.
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Leaving the Mountain
As dawn broke outside Mt. Moon, my team walked ahead of me:
Pikachu's tail sparking faintly with every step.
Charmander's claws idly scraping the rock walls, testing sharpness.
Nidoran holding his head higher, steps heavier with confidence.
Somewhere, I knew the League and Oak were still replaying that Pewter footage, trying to fit me into their neat boxes.
They were going to find out that I didn't fit.
Cerulean Gym was next. And Misty's water types?
They wouldn't even see the hit coming.
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