Pewter City Pokémon Center.
Ash sat slumped on a bench, head lowered.
His dejected expression was worlds apart from the high spirits he'd had just ten minutes earlier.
"Ash… are you okay?" Misty asked softly as she walked over with Uncle Flint.
From the look of things, both of them could already guess what had happened in the "omitted" part of the story.
The rookie had been thoroughly educated by reality.
Pikachu's proud Thunder Shock had done absolutely nothing to Brock's Onix.
Then Onix wrapped Pikachu up in a brutal Rock-type bind, squeezing it until it could barely breathe.
Not long after, Pikachu was completely knocked out.
Losing his very first official Gym Battle was a heavy blow for Ash.
"I got carried away…" Ash muttered.
After beating Bug Catchers and Team Rocket back-to-back, he'd inevitably become a little arrogant.
But what mattered now was how to defeat that man named Brock.
And that was something Ash refused to give up on.
Deep within his soul, Red felt Ash's emotions in sync—
the frustration, the self-blame…
But more than that, the rekindled fighting spirit.
Red couldn't help but smile.
"..."
Getting crushed early on was a good thing for rookies.
It tempered their will and laid a solid foundation.
Just like Red himself—
Back then, his first defeat had paved the way for him to become the strongest.
"…Wait," Red suddenly thought.
"Who did I lose to the first time again?"
He pondered for a long while.
"Oh. Right. I don't think I ever lost."
Heh.
Still, that didn't mean he couldn't empathize with Ash.
Living in this half-alive, half-dead state inside Ash's body, Red figured he should eventually talk things out properly.
Staying in Ash's head for a year or two was fine.
But if, twenty years later, Ash got married and started a family—
Was he supposed to watch everything live?
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Back in reality, Misty offered a suggestion.
"Want to borrow one of my Water-type Pokémon? That should make things easy."
"No," Ash said immediately.
"I want to win with my own strength."
He believed in Pikachu.
Even if it couldn't beat Onix right now, as long as they kept training, there would come a day when they'd break through.
Borrowing someone else's Pokémon would mean admitting defeat.
And that meant admitting defeat to Pikachu.
But how to beat Brock—that was the real problem.
Just as Ash sank into thought, the Pokédex at his waist suddenly spoke up.
"Beep. Pikachu can learn the move: Iron Tail."
"Iron Tail?" Ash scratched his head.
He'd never heard of it.
Uncle Flint, however, was clearly knowledgeable.
After all, he'd traveled across regions for twenty years.
Aside from never winning a Championship, he had plenty of experience.
"Iron Tail is a Steel-type move," Flint explained.
"It's a relatively new type that appeared recently in the Johto region.
It's very effective against Onix."
Ash shot to his feet, fire reigniting in his eyes.
"Then it's settled! Pikachu will learn Iron Tail!"
"…Cough," Flint said.
"But how exactly do you plan to teach Pikachu Iron Tail?"
"Isn't it just a matter of shouting the move name and it learning it?"
Flint, Misty: "..."
"Learning a new move isn't that simple!" Flint said darkly.
"Especially a powerful one like Iron Tail—it's very hard to master."
He rubbed his temples and began explaining.
"Generally, there are three ways to learn a new move.
"First: TM machines. But those are expensive and only sold in big-city department stores.
"Second: learning through direct instruction from another Pokémon.
"Third: relying on enough talent to figure it out on your own."
Ash didn't hesitate for even a second.
"Then the third one. My Pikachu is incredibly gifted."
Flint's head started to hurt.
Is this kid missing a screw?!
He took a deep breath and gave another suggestion.
"Iron Tail can't be mastered quickly.
But I do have a way to temporarily boost Pikachu's combat power."
"Perfect. Let's do it."
After waiting for Pikachu to fully recover, the three hurried out toward the outskirts of Pewter City.
Pikachu was back at full health.
On the way, Ash spotted a massive rock and suddenly got a bright idea.
"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail on that rock!"
"Pika…?"
Pikachu turned its head a full 180 degrees, wearing a deadpan, Rowlet-like expression.
You're really asking a lot of me, buddy.
"Believe in yourself!" Ash encouraged loudly.
"Imagine your tail turning into steel—you can do it!"
Misty, Flint: "..."
Pikachu's eyes sharpened.
It leaped up, kicked off the ground, and swung its tail with a shout.
SMACK!
A loud, whip-like crack echoed through the air.
A stark white mark appeared across the rock's surface.
"Beep. Pikachu has learned a new move: Tail Whip."
The Pokédex announced.
Misty, Flint: "???"
Is that how new moves are learned now?!
They shook their heads.
Iron Tail was supposed to coat the tail in metallic sheen and possess the power to shatter steel.
This… wasn't nearly enough to beat Onix.
Still, learning a new move was a pleasant surprise.
Outskirts of Pewter City
They arrived at a crude wooden hut beside a small waterfall-fed stream.
"Ahem," Flint said, pulling out two cables.
"This is a hydroelectric generator. The waterfall turns the wheel, which generates electricity through electromagnetic induction."
He continued:
"Attach these charging cables to Pikachu's cheek pouches, and we can funnel electricity directly into it.
Its electric attacks will increase dramatically in the short term."
"I don't understand a word of that," Ash said.
"But it sounds convincing."
He turned to Pikachu.
"Want to give it a try?"
"Pika!"
Pikachu clenched its tiny fists, sparks flying.
Losing to Onix had been deeply humiliating.
After all, it idolized Red's round-faced Pikachu—and even dreamed of surpassing it one day.
And yet it lost right at the start.
How infuriating!
"…This waterfall feels kind of weak," Misty muttered after checking behind the hut.
The flow was pitiful.
Even the worst Magikarp alive could probably jump over it with Splash.
Flint laughed awkwardly.
"It's the dry season. But judging by the strong bond between you two, we can just… generate power with love."
"Alright! Pikachu! We'll power it with love!" Ash roared.
"Tonight we charge to the max—tomorrow, we get revenge!"
Ash leapt onto the water wheel, gripping the handles.
With a shout, he planted his feet and strained with his legs and waist.
Rumble—rumble!
The massive wheel actually began turning.
Flint stared in shock.
"This kid's physical strength… is terrifying."
He'd been joking about "love-powered electricity."
He meant getting paid and having his Machamp help turn the wheel.
He didn't expect Ash to brute-force it.
Flint quickly attached the cables to Pikachu's cheeks, securing them with insulating tape.
Bzzzz—
As the wheel spun, electricity flowed through the cables and into Pikachu's cheek pouches, where it was fully absorbed.
Who said only Pokémon with Static could store electricity?
"The harder you work—the luckier you get!" Ash shouted.
He pushed harder.
The wheel spun faster.
"Pika…"
Energy surged into Pikachu's small body, its power climbing higher and higher.
Red sensed everything.
"…Too rushed," he sighed.
Learning new moves took time.
And this method—forcefully charging via a generator—was basically pulling seedlings to help them grow.
For Pokémon without strong foundations, this would outright damage their potential.
Perhaps because he was merely a fragment of code from a digital world, Red realized he could subtly influence the Pokédex—
nudging it to guide Ash in the right direction.
Train properly.
Master Iron Tail.
Win through clean type advantage.
That was what a qualified Trainer should do.
This reckless "love-powered charging" only caused Pikachu pain.
BOOOOOM—!!
A thunderous explosion interrupted Red's thoughts.
A blinding golden pillar of lightning shot into the sky, as if piercing the heavens.
The outskirts of Pewter City were illuminated like daylight.
"Pika!"
Pikachu stood there, electricity surging wildly from its cheeks.
Its eyes were sharp, its movements powerful—
It was clearly at its peak.
"Beep. Pikachu has learned a new move: Thunderbolt."
The Pokédex announced.
Even Red couldn't help widening his eyes in shock.
"…Oh."
"So he understands Pokémon better than I do?"
"…Alright then."