The scene on the light screen shifted.
One moment ago, it had been the tear-jerking evolution beneath the moonlight.
The very next second, the tone flipped completely.
On the screen was still that newly evolved, slightly immature Pikachu.
But now, it was standing squarely on the chest of a black-haired teenage boy wearing pajamas, whose face was frozen in a vacant expression.
"PIKA—CHUUU!!!"
Golden lightning erupted like a raging dragon, instantly engulfing the boy.
Freeze frame.
The boy lay sprawled on the ground, charred black, smoke puffing from his mouth.
Meanwhile, Pikachu stood triumphantly on his chest, hands on its hips, tail swaying smugly from side to side, looking utterly satisfied—as if a great vengeance had finally been achieved.
In reality—
Ash, who had just been electrocuted into charcoal and was still in his "playing dead" state: "..."
Pikachu, who had been moved just moments ago: "..."
Brock and Misty turned their heads away in perfect sync, pretending to admire the scenery, for fear that the awkwardness might somehow spread to them.
[Professor Oak (Pallet Town): Ahem… This Pikachu's determination to evolve on its own is indeed admirable. But is there some deeper meaning to showing footage of it electrocuting its Trainer? Could it be suggesting that… godslaying requires sacrificing the Trainer first?]
[Goodshow (League Chairman): Professor Oak, let's not jump to conclusions. Since this Pikachu was chosen as the focus of the ranking, even shocking its Trainer may hold some deeper implication. Let's keep watching.]
As if responding to everyone's thoughts, the light screen shifted again. Subtitles appeared:
[Every legend begins with an encounter that is far from beautiful.]
Time rewound—to the day Ash turned ten.
On the screen, Ash, late because he'd overslept, burst into Professor Oak's lab still wearing his pajamas.
The three starters—Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle—had all been taken.
The only one left was this Pikachu, which Professor Oak described as "problematic."
"It's got a bit of a personality," Professor Oak said awkwardly in the footage.
Sure enough, the moment Ash reached out—before he could even express his affection—
ZAP!
A Thunderbolt roasted him inside and out.
At this point, the chatroom exploded.
[Gary (Pallet Town): PHAHAHAHA! I knew it! Ash really is hopeless—even picking a Pokémon is a disaster! I set off in a sports car with a whole cheer squad of beauties!]
[Lance (Kanto Champion): Th-this Pikachu is extremely rebellious. For a rookie Trainer, a disobedient Pokémon like this is the hardest to handle. If things go badly, the Trainer might get electrocuted and quit before even leaving Pallet Town.]
[Diantha (Kalos Champion): Oh my, so this is the so-called "problem child"? A kid with this much personality—if not guided properly—could become a catastrophe.]
[Wallace (Hoenn Gym Leader): Such an inelegant first meeting. A Trainer being electrocuted like that would definitely lose points in a Contest.]
In reality, Ash watched his foolish younger self on the screen and, instead of feeling embarrassed, broke into a goofy grin. Ignoring the char marks still on his body, he wrapped an arm around Pikachu and rubbed his cheek against Pikachu's.
"Hehe, Pikachu, looks like we really were a perfect match! Yeah, it hurt like crazy back then—but now that I think about it, it's kind of a nice memory!"
"Pika pika~"
Pikachu didn't resist. It squinted its eyes, faint sparks crackling in its red cheek pouches, and nuzzled back affectionately.
"I can't stand these two…" Misty shuddered, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms. "They were fighting just a moment ago, and now they're showing off their bond."
Unfortunately, the light screen had no intention of sparing Ash's dark history.
The footage continued.
On the path leading out of Pallet Town—
Because Pikachu absolutely refused to enter a Poké Ball, Ash came up with a "brilliant" bad idea:
He tied a clothesline around Pikachu and dragged it along like a dog on a leash.
"Pika!"
On the screen, Pikachu looked utterly disgusted, all four paws digging into the dirt and leaving four long furrows behind.
Ash then untied the rope and tried to win Pikachu over with words.
Pikachu responded by hopping up onto a tree branch, turning its back to him, covering its mouth with a paw, and yawning—treating its Trainer like thin air.
Then came Ash's Pokémon-catching show.
When they encountered Pidgey, Ash wanted to catch it—Pikachu watched from the tree.
Ash tried to net it using his pajamas, fell flat on his face—Pikachu clutched its belly and laughed.
When they met Rattata, Pikachu still didn't move an inch, leisurely munching on an apple instead.
[Alder (Unova Champion): Hahahaha! Is this really a Trainer? He looks more like a monkey being toyed with by his Pokémon! It's a miracle this pair even survived this long!]
[Cynthia (Sinnoh Champion): Mm… this kind of bonding process is certainly… unconventional. Typically, trust between a Trainer and Pokémon is built through battle. But these two… seem to have built it through comedy.]
[Gary (Pallet Town): Everyone, don't misunderstand! This is not the average level of Pallet Town rookies! This is a special case! A special case! I catch Pokémon cleanly and efficiently, thank you very much!]
Gary frantically defended himself in the chatroom, terrified that Ash would single-handedly ruin Pallet Town's reputation down to its underwear.
On the screen—
Mocked beyond endurance by Pikachu, Ash finally lost his temper.
"Fine! If you won't help me, I'll catch one myself and show you!"
Ash picked up a stone, aimed at a dark shape in the grass, and hurled it with all his strength.
"Take this!"
Thud!
A direct hit.
But what burst out of the grass wasn't a gentle Pidgey.
It was a Spearow—with fierce eyes and a red crest atop its head.
"SPREE!!!"
The Spearow shrieked sharply, its eyes blazing with offended fury. It locked onto Ash—and then let out a piercing cry to summon its kin.
The next second, the forest shook.
Countless Spearow surged up from the treetops, blotting out the sky like a black cloud, carrying suffocating pressure as they dove straight toward the clueless human boy—and the Electric mouse watching the show from the tree!
The screen cut off abruptly, leaving behind a massive cliffhanger.
But it was more than enough to make everyone's heart clench.
[Giovanni (Team Rocket Boss): Foolish. Attacking a flocking Pokémon in the wild is suicidal. Is this where the story of this so-called "godslayer" ends—right at the beginning?]
Only Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance.
They knew it well.
That seemingly hopeless crisis—
Was exactly what truly marked the beginning of their legend.