“Are you ready, Uncle Flint, Ash?” After a while, Tianlin finished organizing the instruments.
“Alright, everything’s set.
Ash, you’ll be in charge of pedaling the waterwheel to generate electricity.
I’ll monitor the instruments outside.
Tianlin, you keep an eye on Pikachu—if anything goes wrong, call out and we’ll stop immediately,” Flint replied.
With their roles clearly assigned, Tianlin and Ash nodded.
Flint connected the power device to the storage pack on Pikachu’s face.
“Let’s go!” Ash shouted, beginning to pedal the waterwheel with all his strength.
The massive force started generating electricity, which was channeled into Pikachu’s body.
This process was extremely painful—Pikachu’s small body had to endure electricity far beyond its limits.
Only a Pokémon with limitless potential like Pikachu could manage it.
“Pika…” Pikachu frowned, crying out in pain.
“Hang in there, Pikachu!
If it’s you, you can definitely endure this.
As long as you hold on, your strength will increase tremendously!” Tianlin encouraged from the side.
“Pikachu is working hard—I can’t give up!” Pedaling such a huge waterwheel was exhausting, but seeing Pikachu persist, Ash, as its Trainer, wanted to give it the greatest support.
“I say, you three—why use such an extreme method?
Tianlin, why are you going along with Ash’s recklessness?” At that moment, Misty arrived, clearly displeased by the scene.
“This is Pikachu’s own choice.
We have to support it,” Tianlin replied.
“Even without this dangerous shortcut, I could lend my Water-type Pokémon to Ash so he could win easily!” Misty said, unable to bear seeing Pikachu in such pain.
“Misty, this is a battle that belongs to Ash alone.
Neither he nor Pikachu would want to win by relying on someone else’s power.
You have to understand—this is Ash’s pride as a Pokémon Trainer.
If he compromises now and wins using your Pokémon, then his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master would become nothing more than a joke,” Tianlin said seriously.
Watching Pikachu endure the pain and Ash drenched in sweat, Misty seemed to understand something.
“Fine, do whatever you want!” she said, turning away arrogantly—but silently cheering for them in her heart.
After a while, the massive current had been successfully absorbed into Pikachu’s body.
Tianlin realized it was about to release the energy and quickly stepped outside.
Sure enough, with Pikachu unleashing a powerful Thunderbolt, the entire house exploded, leaving behind only an open space—and a Pikachu surrounded by crackling electricity. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
Pikachu (Male)
Ability: Static
Strength: Mid-to-high Elite level
Potential: King level, limitless
Moves mastered: Thunder Shock, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Thunder
Remarks: After surviving the extremely painful conduction process, Pikachu’s electrical capacity has expanded far beyond others of its level, allowing it to challenge opponents above its tier.
Seeing the system’s evaluation, Tianlin knew the experiment was a complete success.
Pikachu’s strength had advanced from ordinary to Elite level—enough to challenge the Pewter Gym.
A day later, a confident Ash and a fully recovered Pikachu were ready to set out again.
This time, they were determined to win the Badge.
“Wait!” Tianlin called out.
“What is it, Tianlin?
You just killed my momentum!” Ash complained.
“Ash, haven’t you learned from last time?
Even though Pikachu is now as strong as Brock’s Onix, the type disadvantage still remains.
That hasn’t changed.
Your chances of winning are still low.
And Gym battles are 2-on-2—are you planning to have Pikachu fight both opponents alone?” Tianlin said.
In the original scenario, Pikachu had won by accidentally hitting a sprinkler system—but luck like that couldn’t be relied on.
“You’re right… I can’t rush in recklessly this time.
Tianlin, what should I do?” Ash asked, finally willing to listen.
“I’ve thought about your lineup.
To defeat Brock’s Rock-type Pokémon, the key still lies with Pikachu and Pidgeotto,” Tianlin said thoughtfully.
“Ash, do you know which types are strong against Rock?”
“Water and Grass types,” Ash replied after a moment.
“Correct—but not only those.
Fighting, Ground, and Steel types are also effective.
This time, the key is teaching Pikachu and Pidgeotto Steel-type moves—Iron Tail and Steel Wing respectively,” Tianlin explained.
“Come out, Beldum!
Ash, this is the Beldum I just hatched.
I’ll have it demonstrate Steel-type techniques for your Pokémon.
Watch carefully—Beldum, use Iron Head on that rock!”
“That’s amazing!” Ash exclaimed.
“The principle behind Iron Tail and Steel Wing is similar to Iron Head—concentrating Steel-type energy onto the tail or wings, making them as hard as iron,” Tianlin explained.
Half a day later…
“Ash, Pikachu and Pidgeotto should now understand the theory behind Iron Tail and Steel Wing.
But theory alone isn’t enough.
To truly master them, they need practice.
I suggest you stay two more days and train before challenging the Gym,” Tianlin advised.
“Got it.
Thank you so much, Tianlin.”
“Alright, I’ll be heading off now.
I’m going to Mt.
Moon first.
Train hard—next, it’s all up to you, Ash.”
After saying goodbye to Ash and Misty, Tianlin set off alone toward Mt.
Moon.
Once he crossed it, he would reach Cerulean City.
Compared to Brock, the Cerulean Gym Leaders—the three sisters—were weaker, and his Grovyle had a type advantage, so he wasn’t too concerned.
However, Tianlin knew he needed to rethink his own Pokémon training strategy.
Grovyle would continue as before.
Scyther had begun practicing the powerful physical move X-Scissor.
Beldum, unable to learn new moves before evolving, would have to focus on leveling up through battle.
Then there was Feebas—it couldn’t learn useful moves on its own and currently didn’t even know a single Water-type move.
To strengthen it, Tianlin had two options: evolve it quickly using a Prism Scale or rely on move tutoring.
But he wanted Feebas to evolve naturally when its Beauty reached the maximum, ensuring greater confidence.
So, Tianlin hoped to obtain methods for teaching Water-type moves—like Scald or Surf—which Feebas could learn through training.
That was one advantage it had over Magikarp.
That’s why Tianlin was eager to reach Cerulean Gym via Mt.
Moon.
Even if the Gym wasn’t particularly strong, it specialized in Water types—so it would surely have valuable training methods for Water-type moves.