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After Steven stepped out of the Team Leader's office, he spotted Akira coming out of the research lab, holding his head with both hands.
"Akira?" Steven called out, noticing right away that something was wrong.
"Ah, Brother Steven, you're back."
Akira shook his head and let out a small laugh as she walked over.
"What happened to you?" Steven asked, spotting a few scorch marks on Akira's clothes.
"Professor Laventon had three Pokémon come in from other regions, and I went to help out."
"I ended up getting hit by a Thunder Shock from one of the Pikachu and got knocked flat. All three Pokémon ran off after that," Akira admitted, looking a little sheepish.
Steven looked him over. Akira seemed a bit rumpled, but otherwise fine.
Knocked out cold, and already back on his feet? Getting hit by a Thunder Shock you saw coming and one you didn't were two very different things.
"Professor Laventon already has someone looking into it," Steven said with a light laugh. "Come with me for a bit."
Akira followed as Steven turned and headed for the door. "Where are we going?"
"Didn't I promise to teach you something?" Steven glanced back with a small smile.
Akira's eyes lit up, and she hurried to catch up. "Yes!"
Out on the training grounds beyond Jubilife Village, Steven's own Pokémon were each working through their own training. Steven, meanwhile, turned his attention to Akira and her Pikachu.
"Before you train a Pokémon, you need to understand what makes it who it is," he said. "Start with what it's naturally good at."
As if on cue, Akari's Pikachu dropped into a crouch, its cheek pouches crackling with static.
"Akari, your Pikachu's holding a Light Ball, isn't it?" Steven asked, recalling that Volo had mentioned the item to him earlier.
"Yep!" Akari said, already jotting notes in a small notebook.
"Let's use your Pikachu as an example." Steven crouched down and gave it a pat on the head.
Soft. Nicer to touch than he expected.
"With a Pikachu, speed is the way to go. It's naturally quick, with strong Agility, so you can use that to keep opponents off balance and open up chances to strike."
Hearing this, Pikachu struck a series of exaggerated poses, all loose-limbed and flashy, like it was showing off some kind of dance move.
Steven poked it in the belly. It flopped over, rolled a couple of times, and let out a garbled little squeak.
Steven chuckled and kept going. "Build up its stamina too — that matters once you're in an actual battle. Have it practice Quick Attack; it's a solid, practical move. Agility and Discharge also work well together, so train those side by side. Just know that moves like these, pushed too far, burn through a Pokémon's energy faster."
"There's also move mastery to think about," Steven continued. "Take Thunderbolt — you can focus it into a single point, or spread it over a wider area. Spreading it thin costs some power, but it can catch an opponent off guard in ways a focused shot can't."
Akari nodded along, her pen racing across the notebook.
"Pika!" Pikachu flashed a confident grin, its whole body sparking with electricity.
Akari flinched back on instinct — she'd already been on the receiving end of one Thunder Shock that day.
Steven simply reached out, and the current around Pikachu died down at once, letting him rest a hand on it.
"And here's the most important part, more important than anything else — Pokémon feel things just as deeply as we do. When you and your Pokémon are truly in sync during a battle, you can pull out strength neither of you knew you had. They're your friends, your partners, your family. Treat them that way, and the trust between you grows on its own."
Steven stood, running back through the moves Pikachu already knew.
Sometimes, he explained, letting a Pokémon get a feel for how electricity behaves can speed up how quickly it picks up a new move. Keep strengthening Thunder Shock long enough, and a Pikachu will naturally grasp Thunderbolt. Learn to gather and compress the current into a tight ball, and it'll pick up Discharge sooner too.
Akari's Pikachu had already gotten remarkably good at compressing its Thunder Shock — which meant it had already picked up Thunderbolt on its own. Most people in this era had no idea Pokémon could learn moves this way; they simply waited and hoped their Pokémon would figure it out eventually.
"If you want to speed up that growth, items with the right attributes help a lot," Steven added. "Something like an Electric Gem, for instance, replaces the energy a Pokémon burns through while training a new move, so it can practice more efficiently. Good food helps the same way — it strengthens a Pokémon's body, same as it would for a person."
"But training too much without a break just wears a Pokémon down. Balance the training with real rest. And playing together — just spending time with your Pokémon — helps shake off that fatigue and boredom, while building the bond between you at the same time."
Pikachu nodded along, apparently in full agreement. Then it turned and pointed at Akari, mouthing something at her with no sound coming out at all. Steven had to hold back a laugh at the little display.
"None of this is just for Pikachu, by the way," Steven said. "These are the basics for training any Pokémon. Once you understand this much, you'll be able to raise whatever Pokémon comes your way."
While you're learning your Pokémon, he added, your Pokémon is learning you right back. It's never a one-sided thing — a Trainer and their Pokémon only grow together when both sides put in the effort.
"I get it," Akari said, nodding.
She crouched back down in front of Pikachu. "Pikachu, let's really get to know each other from here on out, okay?"
"Pika!" Pikachu straightened up and gave a firm nod, then let out a satisfied little huff, as if to say, finally.
The truth was, Pikachu had shocked Akari earlier precisely because Akari hadn't understood what it was trying to tell him — and the frustration of not being understood had built up until Pikachu let off another Thunder Shock in a burst of irritation.
Akari staggered, stars circling her head, and yet somehow she was still fixated on the wrong thing entirely — why did Pikachu's back look like it was smoking?
That only made the little mouse angrier.
"Next, let's go over a few of Pikachu's moves," Steven said, glancing between Pikachu and Akari with a light laugh. "Discharge, Thunder, and Iron Tail. Fair warning — Iron Tail is going to be the tough one."
Iron Tail meant hardening the tail itself, and that kind of conditioning didn't come easily. The simplest approach was to have it strike solid objects with its tail, then supply it with items rich in Steel-type energy until it picked up the move on its own.
"That's fine — Pikachu and I can handle it together!" Akari said, tucking his notebook away after finishing his notes, pumping one fist to hype himself and Pikachu up.
Pikachu glanced sideways at him, its expression completely unreadable.
...You want to go smash rocks with me too, huh?