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POV: Indigo Plateau Broadcast Room
The Cerulean Gym feed was live.
League analysts had been waiting for this since Pewter — betting pools were already running in the trainer forums.
Some wondered if Ash Ketchum had gotten lucky with type matchups at Pewter. Others — those who had really studied the footage — knew they were about to see something no beginner should be capable of.
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Main POV — Training Before Cerulean
The day before the battle, my team was running combat drills along the riverbank north of Cerulean.
Pikachu's Lightning Armor was now a constant flicker at low intensity — no stamina loss for maintaining it, meaning his "default" speed was already above most third-badge Pokémon. His control exercises had progressed to shaping static arcs between his paws, almost forming a compressed "bolt" before release.
Charmander had been pushing his beam-punch combo into a flowing sequence — fire bursts at the start of a strike, claws glowing white-hot mid-swing, then a rolling follow-up with his tail as a secondary weapon.
Today, in the middle of a high-speed spar with Nidoran, it happened.
Charmander's body flared in heat, his claws lengthening fractionally as his frame grew taller and leaner. The tail flame doubled in size.
Charmeleon.
Nidoran, refusing to be outdone, slammed forward with a double-kick that shattered my target post, his muscles surging in size mid-charge. His horn gleamed sharper, longer.
Nidorino.
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Training Journal — Post-Evolution Updates
Charmeleon:
Fire-channeling more efficient — can maintain constant low-level heat for melee enhancement.
Stronger legs allow mid-air direction changes — begin aerial strike drills.
Add Flame Burst practice — focus on controlled shrapnel effect.
Nidorino:
Massively improved kick force — increase weighted sprints to build explosive start speed.
Horn charge drills to integrate quick feints before strike.
Begin Poison Jab work — inject precise toxin delivery into melee strikes.
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Cerulean Gym — Live Broadcast
Misty stood center stage, flanked by Starmie and a towering Gyarados mural behind her.
"Hope you're ready, Ash," she said. "Water isn't as easy to deal with as rock."
"Oh, I'm ready," I replied, and Pikachu padded forward, sparks dancing lightly along his fur.
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Round 1 — Pikachu vs. Staryu
"Armor — 80%," I called. Pikachu blurred forward, every step throwing up tiny sprays from the pool.
Staryu's Swift came too late — he was already behind it, Iron Tail cutting a clean arc across its central gem. One precise Thunderbolt to the core and it was over.
Round 2 — Charmeleon vs. Starmie
This was the one they expected me to lose.
"Beam dash!" Charmeleon's molten lance cut through the water's surface just as he dove in at an angle, claws glowing white from Metal Claw heat-channeling. He used the pool's wall as a launch point, spinning into a tail whip that burst steam where it connected.
A second beam-punch — straight to Starmie's gem — ended it.
Round 3 — Nidorino's Debut vs. Seaking
Seaking rushed with Aqua Tail.
"Nido — sidestep, back kick!"
The crack of impact echoed across the gym as Nidorino's double-kick launched Seaking clear out of the pool. Before it could recover, a horn jab followed, Poison Jab shimmering faintly — Seaking went limp in seconds.
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The badge was handed over, the crowd stunned.
On the broadcast, analysts were already speculating:
Where did that Pikachu learn that armor technique?
Why does Charmeleon fight like a martial-type with fire?
That Nidorino's muscle mass is above wild norms — is this some kind of specialized conditioning?
Oak sat in the Indigo Plateau lounge, sipping tea and hiding a small smile. He'd seen this before — not the techniques, but the mindset. Someone who refused to accept "normal" as a limit.
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The Leviathan Recruit
Heading east from Cerulean, we followed the river route.
That's when I saw it — a Magikarp the size of a small canoe, lazily rolling in the current. Not just big — massive.
It took a mix of Pikachu's low-voltage shocks to slow it, Charmeleon pushing it toward the bank with controlled flame bursts, and Nidorino's horn blocking escape before I landed the ball hit.
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Training Journal — Project Leviathan
Goal: Gyarados capable of sky glide and aquatic dominance — aerial strike capability combined with oceanic siege power.
Phase 1: Controlled muscle growth through resistance swimming and weighted harness in shallows.
Phase 2: Breath-control drills — long submersions for lung expansion, aerial bursts for altitude gain.
Phase 3: Bite strength conditioning with suspended targets; tail-sweep drills for shockwave creation.
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Next stop was Vermilion City — and Surge's electric gauntlet.
By the time we arrived, Pikachu's Lightning Armor would be lethal, Nidorino's kicks would be bone-breaking, and Charmeleon's claws would cut through steel.
And Magikarp?
Soon enough, the sea — and sky — would belong to it.
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