Chapter 7: Electroweb Mastered!
At the foothills of Mt. Hideaway, a simple inflatable tent was set up at the entrance of a rocky cavern. Outside the tent lay the remains of a campfire, now burnt down to embers, and a travel-sized hanging pot for cooking.
"Aah…" Ash yawned, his messy fringe bouncing as he crawled out of the tent along with Pikachu, both stretching and yawning widely.
Then came Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Pidgeotto—yes, now they were all still "cute little ones," packed together sleeping in one tent, and somehow it felt okay.
Looking at the tent leaning askew, Ash sighed: "I let my guard down… from now on, it's better if everyone sleeps inside their Poké Balls first."
"Bulba-saur~" Bulbasaur nodded obediently.
"Squirtle~" Squirtle hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly agreed too.
Pidgeotto didn't need words—it had already perched neatly atop the tent's ridge, dignified and calm.
"All right, everyone stretch your bodies a little, get ready for breakfast." Ash opened his portable speaker and started the morning exercise music: "Set 4 – Elementary School Radio Gymnastics. One, two, three, four…"
It didn't matter if it was Bulbasaur or Pidgeotto—they all took the exercise seriously. Bulbasaur tried standing up for a stretch (a little awkward), Pidgeotto flapped its wings in a stretch (equally odd), but by the time the routine ended, everyone was warmed up.
Not far from camp was a little stream, so Ash and Pikachu went to fetch water. Meanwhile, Ash assigned tasks: "Squirtle—wash the dishes and the pot. Pidgeotto—go collect some tree fruit. Bulbasaur—gather firewood."
Even though they had emergency charcoal with them, when you're out in the wild, it's better to make use of local materials if you can.
As Ash scooped water, he thought aloud: "That's why, taking care of everyone's meals and daily life really is quite a big deal."
"Pika pika~" Pikachu nodded in agreement, and also made it known he wanted tomato-ketchup sandwiches for breakfast.
"All right, got it. I'll give you a special treat—two thick rings of ketchup." Ash smiled.
When he calmed his mind, he could accurately hear the thoughts of his Pokémon—Ash attributed this to his Aura power. He hadn't had formal training, but the ability felt innate—a sixth sense borne in his body; whenever he focused, it generally came through.
Worth noting: the natural ecology of Mt. Hideaway was amazing. While fetching water, Ash even saw a group of Magikarp swim past him.
"Pika–chū!!" Pikachu leapt and a bolt of electricity sprayed out.
Gurgle gurgle… A few Magikarp flipped onto their backs, bubbles popping, floating helplessly.
"Pikachu, maybe you're too enthusiastic." Ash laughed wryly.
"Pika pika~" Pikachu gave a cheeky grin. In his mind: Even a small bug is dinner, right?
Because defeating wild Pokémon means gaining experience. Someday he wanted everyone to be wowed.
In this world, both Trainers and Pokémon did have "levels," though there was no precise gauge for them. You might say, "Wow, this Pikachu must be high-level," but that was just a feeling. Researchers might look at six stat values and draw bar charts or pie charts—but how to really accumulate experience and reach higher tiers? Ash had been thinking about that.
After his brain crashed on the subject countless times, Ash had a realization: why overthink it? Just do it.
Just do your best, and leave the rest to fate... and luck...
Effort + fate and a lil bit of luck.
Even if Pikachu never evolves, it can still walk to the summit with him.
In Pokémon battles, levels and stat-suppression aren't the only path to victory. Pikachu has lost to beginners before, right?
"Pika?" Pikachu tilted his head at Ash's weird grin.
"Nah… we're heading back," Ash stood up, picked up the water-can: "Pikachu, promise me: whenever the time comes, you'll give it everything. No acting, okay?"
"Pika~" Pikachu nodded, a little puzzled.
Back at camp, three Pokémon sat in a neat row, eagerly awaiting breakfast.
"All right, hang on a minute." Ash retrieved milk from his pack, chopped up the tree fruits Pidgeotto had gathered, added oats, and made a sweet-and-sour milk porridge. Then he spread ham and cheese on bread slices with salad-dressing and ketchup—and for Pikachu's sandwich: double ketchup.
"Done~" He patted his hands. He dished out the porridge into bowls, added special Pokémon feed to balance nutrition and taste.
"Speaking of which, I learned nutrition from Brock, and berry flavoring from Cilan. This half-hearted seasoning… (.-~-) …hmm! I must've inherited that from Clemont," Ash muttered as he stirred his spoon and put it in his mouth.
Squirtle's big innocent eyes widened: (／_＼) "Boss… that was my food… with my special feed…"
"Oh! Cough cough… sorry. I just tried it first for taste." Ash awkwardly put down his spoon, and picked up his own lunchbox aside. "Everyone, dig in!"
"Pika!" Pikachu raised his paw valiantly.
"Bulba!"
"Biyuu~"
They all began eating with gusto—and even simple camp cooking tasted delicious.
It was expexted as when everyone works hard together, even simple dishes become delicious!
After breakfast, Ash cleaned the dishes while the rest began training. Squirtle and Bulbasaur teamed up, with Pidgeotto as their spotter. They searched every rocky nook and cranny in the vicinity. Whether it was Onix, Geodude, Sandshrew or Diglett—once they found them, they would chase after them and give them a good beating.
Over the week, the rock-type and ground-type Pokémon around the mountain had begun to consider relocating—because these three showed up every day to fight them as if clocking in for work. Who could stand that?
Most importantly: Ash had changed. He'd told his three Pokémon: If you can win, fight hard. If you can't, get Pidgeotto to hit one Sand Attack, run away, mark the spot, train up, and come back later.
It was a matter of advancing when the enemy retreats, harassing when the enemy camps, attacking when the enemy is exhausted, and provoking when the enemy pursues...
Through this shameless, blatant training method, Bulbasaur and Squirtle have made rapid progress, improved by leaps and bounds!
Now when they saw an Onix, their first reaction wasn't "Ah, run away!" but: How do we strike first?
As for Pikachu, during this period he did a targeted "visualization" training.
That's right—besides daily run drills for speed, Pikachu's daily task was to practice cat's cradle…but using electric current.
"Pikachu, your offensive methods still rely on Electric-type moves. But whether it's Thunderbolt or Thunder, they all require a large reserve of electricity. I'll figure out a way to charge you later. For now, you need to find a way to diversify your skill set." Ash pondered for a long time, then decided to go straight to the point.
He let Pikachu try the Electroweb move!
As a late-stage standard move for Pikachu, it can lower the opponent's speed and its power is fairly considerable.
As for how to train this move, Ash was confident—he had this one figured out!
It definitely had to be the cat's cradle training method!
They had been practicing cat's cradle for a whole week, and now it was time to see the results.
Spotting a wild Weedle emerging beside the tent, Ash grinned mischievously: "Well well, you sneaked into our camp—time for punishment."
"Pika pika~" Pikachu's cheeks flashed with electricity. He stepped beside Ash.
Tipping his cap, Ash waved his hand confidently: "Pikachu, Electroweb!"
"Chu~Pikachu!" A dazzling ball of electricity shot from Pikachu's tail, expanded midair into a shimmering net of sparks and captured the Weedle like a spider's web.
Shzzzt! The electric net crackled; the Weedle flipped over with its eyes rolling back, prematurely unconscious.
Clap! Pikachu vaulted up, high-fived with Ash with his tail.
"Haha! We did it! Electroweb mastered." Ash looked toward the distant city outline, and exclaimed: "Time to go!"
To be continued…