In the Pewter City Pokémon Center, Ash sat dejectedly, his crestfallen expression a stark contrast to his high spirits ten minutes earlier.

“Ash, are you okay?”

Misty and Brock walked over, and seeing this scene, they somewhat guessed what had transpired. Clearly, the newbie had been thoroughly beaten by society. Pikachu's proud Thunder Shock was completely ineffective against the Pokémon called Onix, and then it was subjected to a binding play by the latter, squeezing Pikachu to the point of near suffocation, and it was unable to battle shortly after.

This first official Gym battle, ending in a Waterloo, was a huge blow to him.

“I was too arrogant…” Ash murmured.

Defeating the Bug Catcher and Team Rocket consecutively had made him a bit overconfident. But the key now was how to defeat the man named Brock; Ash would not give up on this.

Red, deep within his soul, was also synchronously perceiving his emotions, feeling the latter's self-reproach and frustration, but more so, the rekindled fighting spirit, which made him smile with relief. It's a good thing for novices to be trampled in the early stages; it makes their will more resilient. Just like when he had his first defeat, it laid a solid foundation for him to become the strongest later on.

By the way, who did I lose to in my first defeat…?

Red pondered for a long time before finally realizing.

“Oh, right, I don’t think I’ve ever lost.”

Hehe.

However, this doesn't mean he couldn't understand Ash's predicament. Now, in this half-dead state, he was parasitic on the latter. Red planned to have a good talk with Ash one day; he couldn't just keep lingering in his mind like this, could he? A year or two might be fine, but if Ash got married and had children ten years later, would he still have to watch the live broadcast with him?

...

In reality, Misty, who was beside him, couldn't help but suggest, “Do you want me to lend you a Water-type Pokémon? That should easily handle it.”

“No, I want to use my own strength!” Ash immediately refused her.

He believed in Pikachu's power. Even if it couldn't defeat Onix now, as long as it continued to train persistently, it would eventually be able to overcome it. Borrowing a Pokémon from an outsider wouldn't that mean he was admitting defeat to Pikachu?

However, how to defeat Brock was a big problem. Just as he was lost in thought, the Pokédex hanging at his waist suddenly emitted a mechanical sound.

“Beep beep. Skills Pikachu can learn: Iron Tail.”

“Iron Tail?” Ash rubbed his head, clearly unfamiliar with this skill.

However, Uncle Brock, who was beside him, was well-informed. After all, he had been a Trainer traveling in various regions for twenty years. Apart from not having won a Champion title, he was impeccable in other aspects.

“Iron Tail is a Steel-type skill, and it's a new type that has only appeared in recent years. It can indeed cause very high damage to Onix.”

Upon hearing this, Ash stood up abruptly, battle intent rekindled in his eyes: “Then it's decided! Pikachu will learn Iron Tail!”

“Ahem, but how are you going to make Pikachu learn Iron Tail?”

“Doesn’t Pikachu just learn it by using it?”

Brock, Misty: “...”

“Learning new skills isn't that simple! Especially Iron Tail, which is a very strong skill. The learning difficulty isn't small, young man.” Uncle Brock explained with a dark face:

“Generally speaking, there are three ways to learn new skills. The first is through a skill learning machine, but these are expensive and only sold in department stores in big cities. The second is through direct instruction from other Pokémon. And the third is to rely on enough talent to comprehend it yourself…”

Ash didn't even think, interjecting, “Then it's the third one. My Pikachu has amazing bones and extremely high talent.”

Brock suddenly felt a headache. Was this Trainer lacking common sense!? He rubbed his temples and slowly offered a suggestion.

“In short, Iron Tail cannot be mastered in a short time. However, I do have a way to quickly increase Pikachu's combat power.”

“Then let's do that!”

Ash no longer hesitated. The three waited for more than ten minutes until Pikachu recovered and was discharged, then they rushed towards the outskirts of Pewter City. The latter's body was like it had been injected with hormones; it was now at full strength.

Coincidentally, Ash saw a giant Rock on the road and suddenly had a mischievous idea, immediately ordering:

“Pikachu, use Iron Tail on that Rock!”

“Pikachu...?”

Pikachu twisted its head 180 degrees like a Rowlet, striking a 0-0? pose.

You’re making things difficult for me, Pikachu.

“Just believe in yourself, you can do it!” he cheered wildly.

Misty, Brock: “...”

Hearing this, Pikachu no longer hesitated. It pushed off its small legs, leaped high, and with a soft cry, swept its tail directly across the Rock.

“Smack!”

A strong, loud smacking sound came, and a white mark appeared on the Rock.

“Beep beep. Pikachu has learned a new skill: Knock Off.”

The Pokédex automatically explained.

Misty, Brock: “???”

Is this how new skills are learned now?!

Everyone shook their heads. Iron Tail makes the tail coated with a metallic luster, and its power can cut through metal and break Rocks. This Knock Off's power is still not enough; at least, it's not realistic to defeat Onix with it. However, learning a new skill was still a pleasant surprise.

...

The three arrived in front of a simple wooden house. Behind the wooden house was a river with a small waterfall.

“Ahem, let me explain. This is a hydroelectric generator. The force from the waterfall makes the waterwheel turn, thereby cutting magnetic field lines to generate electricity.”

Brock pulled out two wires from inside the house.

“Then, just attach these two charging cables to Pikachu's electric sac, and the current can be guided onto it, fully charging its electric energy, and Pikachu's Thunder Shock power will skyrocket.”

“Although I don't understand, it seems to make a lot of sense.” Ash looked at Pikachu.

“How about it, want to try?”

“Pikachu!”

Pikachu clenched its two small fists, full of motivation. It felt utterly humiliated by being defeated by Onix. It knew that it looked up to Red's old Pikachu as an idol, and even harbored the ambition to one day defeat it as well, but now it had lost at the very beginning.

Damn.

“By the way... why does this waterfall seem a bit weak?”

Misty walked around to the back. It was called a waterfall, but the water flow was extremely low. Even the weakest Magikarp, the absolute worst among them, could easily jump over it with a single Splash.

Uncle Brock chuckled, explaining:

“It's the dry season now, so the waterfall isn't great. But observing the bond between the young man and Pikachu, they can completely generate electricity with love.”

“Okay, Pikachu! We'll generate electricity with love, strive to Charge up fully tonight, and we'll go for revenge tomorrow!”

Ash immediately became passionate, flipping onto the waterwheel, gripping the handle with his arms. With a fierce shout, his thighs and lower back exerted force together, and the large waterwheel actually began to turn slowly and heavily.

“This child's physical strength is truly terrifying…”

Seeing this, Brock couldn't help but be secretly surprised. How could this 10-year-old boy's strength be so outrageous? What he meant by 'generating electricity with love' was actually a way to make money; he just needed to be hired with money, and he would use his Machamp to drag the waterwheel. He hadn't expected Ash to be so reckless!

Brock quickly pressed the two wires against Pikachu's cheeks and then taped them down with two pieces of adhesive tape.

“Sizzle…”

As the waterwheel turned, electric current began to flow through the wires into Pikachu's cheeks, and then was completely absorbed by its electric sac.

Who said you can't store electricity if you don't have the Charge Ability?

“Charge!”

Ash took a deep breath and frantically rampaged on the waterwheel, and the waterwheel's rotation speed also rapidly increased!

“Pikachu…”

An endless stream of electric current was poured into Pikachu through the wires, and the energy contained within its small body was constantly increasing…

Red perceived everything around him and finally sighed.

“Too hasty…”

Learning new skills isn't a short-term thing, and this external act of charging with a generator is undoubtedly like pulling up seedlings to help them grow, which for a Pokémon with a poor foundation would be considered overdrawing its potential, draining it in minutes.

Perhaps because he was just a code fragment from a machine world, Red found that he could actually communicate with Ash's Pokédex, and thus subtly hinted at the direction forward just now. To train well, master Iron Tail, and then challenge the Gym, defeating the opponent through perfect type advantage, that is what a qualified Trainer should do.

This act of generating electricity with love, apart from causing Pikachu unnecessary pain, had no benefit whatsoever.

“Rumble!!!”

A terrifying explosion interrupted Red's thoughts. Following Ash's gaze, he saw an incredibly dazzling golden light shoot into the sky, and terrifying electric currents roared, illuminating the entire outskirts of Pewter City.

“Pikachu!”

At this moment, countless electric currents burst from Pikachu's cheeks. Its eyes were bright, and its movements were powerful, clearly in a peak state.

“Beep beep. Pikachu has learned a new skill: Thunderbolt.”

Red's eyes widened, looking at all this in shock.

Oh, so he knows Pokémon better than I do.