The next day.
Four o'clock in the morning.
Silas had already set foot in Viridian Forest.
As for why he set out so early, it was because he wanted to avoid the sadness of farewells.
Looking at the pitch-black Viridian Forest ahead, Silas took out two Poké Balls, one in each hand, and pressed the release switches.
With a soft "pop!" and a flash of red light, two Pokémon of wildly different sizes appeared in front of Silas.
One was a Charizard nearly four meters tall, its skin a deep, blood-red shade. The massive tail burned with black flames, and its sharp golden eyes swept cautiously around. Finding no enemies, it looked over at Silas, as though curiously inquiring: Why have you called me out?
The other Pokémon was especially small, less than 0.5 meters in height. Its entire fur was yellow, with a pair of long, pointed ears tipped in black. It had two round red electric sacs on its cheeks. At that moment, it looked at Silas with large, round black eyes, as if wondering who this person was.
Of course, this Pokémon was Pikachu—the very same Pikachu known as the "Pikachu the God" in the original story!
Although this Pikachu was originally meant to be with Ash, the protagonist of this world, Silas always felt, whenever he watched the anime, that Pikachu deserved better. Despite possessing outstanding talent and limitless potential, it was always held back by Ash's lackluster abilities, often struggling just to keep up with Pokémon that, to Silas, seemed nothing special. Thus, he had resolved to train this Pikachu himself, to let it shine in his own hands as it always should have!
Of course, having taken the Pikachu that rightfully belonged to Ash, Silas also asked his own Grandpa, Professor Oak, to help Ash find a Charmander with top-tier talent. In a sense, this was Silas's way of making amends to Ash.
Ignoring Charizard's curious gaze, Silas turned his attention to the equally curious Pikachu and introduced himself gently: "Hello, my name is Silas Oak."
"Pikachu~"
Pikachu raised its paw in greeting.
Although it truly disliked humans and was tempted to blast Silas with a Thunderbolt, as a fellow Pokémon it could sense just how terrifying Charizard's abilities were. That's why it didn't act rashly.
Seeing that Pikachu didn't immediately shock him, Silas's smile grew even brighter. He beamed as he asked, "Do you want to get stronger? To become as powerful as Charizard?"
"Pikachu~"
Pikachu nodded instinctively, then quickly shook its head.
Silas didn't mind Pikachu's reaction at all, simply smiling even wider as he continued, "So you don't want to?"
"Pikachu~" Pikachu nodded.
"That's really too bad," Silas said, looking disappointed after hearing the answer. "Looks like I'll just have to send you back to my Grandpa, so you can return to your former life. But that's not so bad, either. The outside world is exciting, but you often get hurt. If you stay with my Grandpa, you'll just help him with his research every day, and then, once you're of no use, you'll simply be kept at the lab. That doesn't sound so terrible."
Silas's words made Pikachu's expression change instantly. As a Pokémon who loved freedom, the prospect of such a life felt worse than anything. In that moment, Pikachu's attitude flipped completely!
Crackle—
"Pika~ Pika Pika~"
Sparks of electricity crackled from the red sacs on Pikachu's cheeks. Its previously lazy eyes ignited with fighting spirit as it cried out desperately at Silas, waving its tiny paws as if trying to say: I want to get stronger!
Success!
Silas was thrilled as he saw Pikachu's determination. He knew he had made the right gamble.
He'd been betting that this Pikachu, known as the "Pikachu the God," really was as clever as in the original story and could understand human speech. If it hadn't, then his threat just now would have been worthless—if he really wanted to catch Pikachu, he'd have had to rely on Charizard to battle and capture it.
Looking at the Pikachu still clamoring at his feet, Silas pretended confusion and asked, "Did you change your mind? You want to come with me?"
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu nodded firmly, showing that it was willing to go with Silas.
"Good." Silas pointed at Charizard and said to Pikachu, "This is Charizard, and from now on, Charizard will also be your teacher. I'm Silas—Silas Oak, your Trainer. Let's work together from now on."
"Charizard~"
Although unsure why his Trainer would catch such a weak Pikachu, Charizard nevertheless snorted out two streams of flame from its nose as a greeting.
"Pikachu~"
To Charizard's greeting, Pikachu could only respond weakly.
There was just no comparison—from level to abilities, Charizard felt like an unfathomable abyss to Pikachu.
"All right." Silas smiled at the timid Pikachu, then took out Charizard's Master Ball. "Charizard, you probably want to get some rest. Sorry for calling you out so early."
"Charizard~" Charizard responded softly, shaking its massive head. Then it reached out with its paw and tapped the Master Ball in Silas's hand, returning to rest willingly.
Once Charizard was back inside the Master Ball, Pikachu's face immediately looked much better. But that relief didn't even last ten seconds—his happy look was quickly replaced by misery as Silas took a small, makeshift backpack from his bag and strapped it directly onto Pikachu's back. The weight made Pikachu's whole body droop.
Seeing that his carefully prepared backpack was finally put to use, Silas smiled with satisfaction. Gently patting the suffering Pikachu's head, he said, "If you want to get stronger, you need to train. Training starts with the basics. Only then will you become powerful, understand?"
"Pikachu~" Pikachu let out a miserable cry.
"In that case…" Watching Pikachu's crushed expression, Silas grinned. "If you can make it with me to Viridian City today, I'll give you a special reward."
A special reward!
Pikachu's eyes lit up in an instant.
Sometimes Pokémon really are that simple—give them a little motivation, and they'll find their drive. Pikachu immediately straightened up and marched determinedly in the direction of Viridian City.