The dirt road to Pewter City shimmered under the blazing sun, heat waves rippling up from the ground. The few shrubs along the roadside drooped lifelessly in the dry air.
Misty wiped the sweat from her forehead. Even her orange ponytail had started to clump, and her eyes brimmed with exhaustion and a kind of numbed resignation.
"Ash…" she said weakly, "are you sure you want to let that thing out for some fresh air again?"
"Why not?" Ash already had the Poké Ball in his hand.
He didn't even finish the sentence.
"ROOOOAR——!!!"
Thunder on a clear day.
The instant the golden Gyarados emerged, the scarlet in its eyes was once again ignited by berserk fury without the slightest warning.
Its massive head swung toward a flock of Pidgey that had just taken off in alarm by the roadside, as if their very existence were a grave provocation.
An oppressive wave of killing intent crashed outward like a physical hammer. Even the air seemed to go still.
Intimidate.
Again?!
Misty shut her eyes for a moment.
Fine. She knew very well that raising a Gyarados in its early stages was notoriously hard.
The violent restructuring of its body made it very difficult for a newly evolved Gyarados to control itself.
"Pika!" On Ash's shoulder, Pikachu snapped into battle mode in an instant. Its little body tensed, and golden sparks raced under its fur.
Even without Ash's command, it was already a coiled bolt of lightning.
Ash sighed. There was no surprise on his face—only a helplessness that had long since settled into muscle memory.
There was no other way.
If he wanted Gyarados to be controllable, he had to keep letting it out and repeatedly guide it through these rage episodes.
Locking it away forever would never teach it how to function in that state.
The upside was… Gyarados was growing.
And Pikachu's level had skyrocketed as well.
By this point, Pikachu had already reached Level 15.
All from pounding on this giant training dummy of a Gyarados.
He could let Pikachu go wild—it wasn't going to die.
Unlike when they fought Beedrill or Raticate; he actually had to worry about accidentally frying those.
So, results weren't bad at all.
Ash tipped his cap down to hide the sharp light that flashed through his eyes. His voice was steady, almost calm:
"Eye in the Sky, up high! Patrol outside the danger zone!"
"Partner, same as always! Quick Attack to harass, Thunder Shock to suppress!"
"And listen up—this time it might go after that Pidgey flock. Don't let it hurt them!"
Very clear orders.
"PIKAAA——CHU!!!"
Pikachu's silhouette vanished.
Only a shimmer in the air and a faint burnt smell showed where it had been a heartbeat before.
With all their training, Pikachu had been getting used to reinforcing its body with electricity.
Any time it ignited its full power, its movement speed spiked.
A Pokémon's strength wasn't just numbers on a stat sheet. The stronger they were, the more "surprises" they had.
Some Pokémon didn't have great defenses on paper… but their abilities let them block or evade attacks that should have crushed them.
The next instant—
Pikachu was already in Gyarados's blind spot, high near the neck where the heavy golden scales joined.
Its speed had outstripped Gyarados's perception. In the serpent's eyes, it might as well have just teleported.
Zzzzzap——!!!
Several bowl-thick golden bolts erupted out of nowhere like chains of lightning and lashed down onto the thinner-scaled joint at Gyarados's neck!
"RRAAAAAAH——!!!"
Gyarados howled, its furious bellow laced with rage… and a kind of indescribable misery.
Constantly raging and constantly getting zapped for it—it was learning.
It just couldn't help itself.
Gyarados was suffering too.
It thrashed its enormous head wildly, trying to fling off the annoying electric rodent. Its titanic tail swept out in a reflexive blow capable of splitting boulders.
BOOOOOM!!!
A rock half as tall as a person disintegrated like tofu, stone shards exploding in every direction.
"Quick Attack!" Ash called—already anticipating it.
Pikachu blurred just as the tail would have smashed it. It skimmed past the destructive golden tail swipe, the gust alone making its fur stand straight up.
It didn't stop.
Its paws tapped lightly across the flying dust and rubble for footing, and in an instant it had swung around to the other side of Gyarados's neck, right where it had exposed itself by twisting its head.
"Thunder Shock! Maximum power!"
"PIKAAAA——!!!"
The next volley of lightning was thicker, wilder—
and it slammed straight into the already-charred patch on Gyarados's neck.
Hitting the same spot hurt more.
Another difference from the games. If you had to compare, this was closer to guaranteed crits.
"ROOAAAAR!!!" Gyarados's huge body convulsed, smoke seeping from between its golden scales.
The scarlet in its eyes washed away, replaced by dazed confusion and… was that actual hurt feelings?
—But those Pidgey looked delicious…
—Why am I getting zapped again?!
Its massive body, numb and wracked by pain, lost the last of its balance and crashed down into the sun-baked dirt with a ground-shaking thud.
A shallow crater bloomed beneath it, dust billowing up to swallow half its length.
"Pika…" Pikachu padded back to Ash's feet, breathing a little harder. Thin arcs still danced across its fur as it kept its eyes locked on the dust cloud and the giant shape inside.
Ash walked forward and stepped through the thinning haze.
Golden Gyarados was sprawled in the crater, fresh black scorch marks added to its neck. Some scales were peeling back; blood mingled with dirt as it seeped down.
Its huge head lay limp on the ground. The scarlet eyes were only half-open now, with no trace of its earlier drive to destroy.
Only bone-deep exhaustion, pain—
And a thick, childlike sense of being terribly, terribly wronged.
T^T
It hurt inside.
"Rr…" The sound it made was low and shaky, almost a whimper.
Very carefully, almost apologetically, it extended a whisker and nudged at the dusty leg of Ash's pants.
The movement was clumsy and huge, but somehow still pitiful.
It was like it was saying:
Boss, I didn't mean it… I don't even know how it happened…
Ash looked into those giant eyes that practically screamed, "I'm so upset but I won't complain," and the corner of his mouth twitched.
He sighed, defeated, and rummaged in his backpack for the last two special Pokéblocks.
For Gyarados, they were a couple of sesame seeds thrown into the sea.
But it was the thought that counted.
"Open up."
His voice was flat.
Gyarados instantly opened its massive jaws. The two tiny blue Pokéblocks arced in and disappeared.
It chewed them with exaggerated care, a deep rumble vibrating in its throat. The tip of its huge tail even swayed once in a tiny, hopeful wag, kicking up a puff of dust.
It just wanted Ash's attention.
As for being beaten up…
Don't underestimate a body that size.
A few steps away, Misty had watched the whole thing—the lightning-quick suppression, and then the weary appeasement.
She stared at the giant golden serpent slumped in the dirt, sulking like a giant scolded dog.
Then at Ash, who dug out Pokéblocks like a man used to this nonsense.
Finally at Pikachu, breathing lightly but still sharp-eyed.
She raised a hand and rubbed at the throbbing vein at her temple.
Then she let out a long, long sigh, her voice full of resigned despair.
"I'm just gonna ask…"
"Do you two…"
"…think we can actually reach Pewter City and have dinner before today's over?"
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