Night fell deeper and deeper.
In their small room at the Pokémon Center, only Ash and Pikachu remained awake.
A notebook lay open on the desk, covered in messy diagrams of the battlefield and scribbled arrows.
"Partner, tomorrow's tough fight… it's all on you."
Ash gently rubbed Pikachu's forehead.
"Lt. Surge's Raichu has overwhelming power and voltage.
If we go blow-for-blow, we lose every time."
Even with Joy's intel that "this Raichu isn't one of Surge's true aces and isn't that fast,"
the level gap was still very real.
Even if that Raichu wasn't his main one, it was still way over standard for new challengers.
"Pika…"
Pikachu nodded seriously, little paws clenching into fists.
Tiny sparks flared on its cheeks.
"We have to play to our strengths," Ash said.
"Your edge is your movement—
body control and speed far beyond Raichu's."
His pen tapped on a battlefield diagram showing Pikachu weaving across the arena using Quick Attack.
If nothing unexpected happened, they could win.
But to actually do it, they'd have to control the tempo perfectly—
and not lose their heads.
War doesn't shy from trickery.
The key to victory here was one word:
Deception.
"More important than anything…
is your Lightning Rod ability."
Ash circled the ability name several times.
This was the core of the plan.
"It's our biggest trump card.
It lets you dump electric attacks into the ground—
but only if…"
He looked down at Pikachu's lightning-bolt tail.
"…only if your tail is constantly touching the floor."
"It has to act as the 'lightning rod' that drags Raichu's electricity into the earth."
"You also have to hide why you're doing it.
Only if we disguise the purpose will our final counterattack catch him completely off guard."
"It's going to be hard. You might get hurt.
But it's the only way to wear him down and win in the end."
They didn't have many cards to play.
Using them in the best possible combination…
that was their only real chance.
The equation for victory was already in Ash's hands.
Pikachu's eyes didn't waver.
It jumped off the desk, planted the tip of its tail firmly on the floor, lifted its head and called out:
"Pika–Pikachu!"
(Leave it to me!)
Ash had already laid out the entire battle plan—
every step, every feint.
Pikachu was confident.
With a pure kiting strategy… it couldn't even imagine how it would lose.
"Then I'm counting on you, partner."
Ash stroked its head, then glanced up at the system interface.
[Partner Pikachu]
Nickname: Partner
Level: 26
Nature: Bashful
Ability: Lightning Rod
Moves:
• Volt Tackle Lv.1
• Charge Lv.2
• Thunder Shock Lv.4
• Growl Lv.1
• Tail Whip Lv.1
• Thunder Wave Lv.2
• Quick Attack Lv.2
• Double Team Lv.2
• Double Kick Lv.2
• Electro Ball Lv.1
• Feint Attack Lv.1
• Protect Lv.2
• Swift Lv.2
• Dig Lv.1
Held Item: [Light Ball] Lv.30
(Doubles Attack and Special Attack below level 30)
Against Raichu, the most useful moves were Quick Attack, Dig, Double Team and Swift.
Since Raichu wasn't fast, they could use speed to keep distance and bombard it with Swift from afar.
Double Kick probably wouldn't be needed.
If they fought in close quarters, that'd give Raichu more chances to land hits.
Strategically, they needed to avoid close-range brawls.
Raichu definitely couldn't match Pikachu's speed.
So its only real way to hit Pikachu would be with ranged Electric moves.
And as long as Pikachu kept its tail touching the ground, Lightning Rod would pull those attacks harmlessly away.
That would turn the battle into a one-sided beating:
Only I get to hit you. You don't get to hit me.
The only real unknown was whether this Raichu had any non-Electric options similar to Swift.
There were many moves in the world.
Different Pokémon specialised in different sets depending on their Trainers.
Joy's confirmation that "this Raichu definitely isn't Lt. Surge's main partner" was crucial.
If it were his ace, there wouldn't be something as glaring as a speed deficit.
And he'd absolutely never let it end up as:
"If Electricity doesn't work, I have no ranged moves."
No veteran Gym Leader would leave a weakness like that open.
"Electricity… electricity… magnetic fields?"
"I think I understand how Lt. Surge covers his weaknesses," Ash murmured.
"Pika?"
Pikachu tilted its head, puzzled.
"We'll train that later. It's a bit early for you now."
Ash grinned.
"Maybe 'speed' isn't actually Surge's weakness at all.
He might be very good at speed-based tactics, too~~"
…
The next morning, Ash, Brock, Misty—and Ming, who insisted on coming—stood before Vermilion Gym.
The building was massive, more like an industrial plant than a sports facility.
High concrete walls loomed around them, painted with huge yellow lightning bolts.
The whole place radiated heavy, mechanical power.
Compared to Vermilion's clear industrial nature, Cerulean felt like a tourist city.
Pewter, of course, was a mining town—plenty of natural stone and ore.
They walked into a broad, empty hall.
The receptionist clearly had been told to expect them.
When she saw Ash, her eyes flickered with something like… pity.
"Lt. Surge is already waiting for you in the main arena," she said.
Her tone was neutral, but for some reason it sounded a lot like:
Good luck. You're going to need it.
Following her directions, they pushed open a massive metal gate.
The scene beyond made them all pause for a moment.
The battlefield was standard—wide, marked, rugged—but the stands around it were dotted with Trainers.
They watched Ash enter with complicated expressions: curiosity, scrutiny… and a lot of sympathy.
"These must be the Trainers waiting to challenge… or the ones who are still deciding whether to try," Brock murmured.
Misty scowled. "So he wants to show off in front of a crowd?"
"…I heard—no idea where the rumor started—that Lt. Surge plans to use this match to decide how he'll treat challengers from now on," Ming added quietly.
That was the gossip going around among Trainers.
The source was unknown.
Ash didn't respond.
Given how many people had seen what happened at Professor Sakuragi's lab, it wasn't exactly a secret.
His focus slid past the spectators and locked straight onto the tall figure at the far end of the field.
Lt. Surge stood with arms crossed in the Trainer's box, that familiar wild grin on his face.
Today his camouflage vest seemed even tighter, muscles bulging even more than usual.
"Boy! You finally made it!"
His voice cracked like thunder through the Gym.
"I thought you'd chicken out and run!"
"At least you've got more guts than those other softies!"
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the attention of every spectator.
"Perfect!"
"Let everyone see what real power looks like!
What kind of strength deserves the Thunder Badge!"
Lt. Surge might be "testing" Ash…
but in truth, he fully expected Ash to win.
If he collapsed here, how could he possibly be worthy of Giovanni's attention?
There was no way someone Giovanni noticed would be this weak.
The spotlights converged on the center of the arena.
The air went tight.
Ash took a deep breath and walked forward under all those watching eyes, step by steady step, to his side of the field.
Pikachu leapt from his shoulder and landed lightly on the ground.
Its tail tip rested, almost casually, against the floor.
The battle was about to begin.
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