As Starmie crashed into the pool and lay still, the referee's verdict was clear, Ash had won.
Even though Misty had every advantage, a water field, a stronger Pokémon, and more experienc, she still lost to Ash.
She stood frozen, her pupils unfocused, unable to process what had just happened.
Normally, that kind of gap was absolute. A Superior-class trained Pokémon like Starmie should've been able to sweep Pikachu without breaking a sweat. The gulf between them wasn't small, it was an entire stage, from a Gym level all the way to starter level.
And yet… Ash's Pikachu had brought her Starmie down without even fainting once.
Even after Pikachu struck twice with that strange move Ash called Electric Acceleration, Misty still believed she could turn the tide. If she had managed to pin Pikachu with Psychic and then knock it out with Water Gun, the rest of Ash's team wouldn't have stood a chance.
But the cruel truth was that she hadn't accounted for the field itself. Pikachu's Thunderbolt didn't just blaze through the air, it spread across the water on the floor, using the conductivity of the pool to deliver a finishing shock.
That last surge left her Starmie fainted, the red core gem dimming until it went dark.
Misty didn't know how long she stood there before her eyes refocused. When she came back to her senses, Ash and Pikachu were already celebrating, hugging each other and spinning in circles.
At their feet, Ralts twirled happily too, mimicking Ash without really knowing why. If Ash was happy, then she was happy, it was that simple.
With a small sigh, Misty recalled Starmie, then stepped into the drained pool and walked over to Ash.
"Congratulations, Ash. You defeated Cerulean Gym. I underestimated you… I never imagined you had moves like that hidden away."
Ash rubbed his nose sheepishly and chuckled. "Hehe, it was a move Pikachu and I stumbled on by accident. It surprised us too."
"Pika~" Pikachu agreed, nodding proudly as he returned Ash's cap to him.
That first time had shocked even Pikachu. He hadn't known he could use such a move.
It happened at Mt. Moon. While Misty and Brock slept in, Ash and Pikachu were up at dawn, training together. Ash had removed his sweat-soaked cap during exercises, and Pikachu, curious, plopped it on his head.
The instant he did, he felt an incredible surge of power course through him.
Startled, Pikachu told Ash, and Ash used his Insight Eye to check his partner's condition. What he saw left him dumbfounded. Pikachu, who had been an Advanced Mid-Level, had jumped straight to Advanced High-Level just by wearing the cap.
And his stats… instead of being stretched thin by the sudden leap, they actually climbed a tier across the board.
C-to-B ranges became B-to-A. D-to-B became C-to-A.
All of that, from simply putting on a hat.
Even stranger, Pikachu felt a new move awaken inside him. When Ash asked him to demonstrate, that was when Pikachu first unleashed the blazing speed and power of Electric Acceleration.
Later, Ash rushed to the group chat to ask about it, but for once, the seniors had no answers. None of them had ever seen anything like it.
Some admitted that their Pikachu could perform certain exclusive moves when wearing a cap, but the technique Ash described was completely different. None of their Pikachu showed stat increases or sudden jumps in level just by donning a Trainer's hat.
In the end, the group agreed on one conclusion: this was an exclusive transformation that belonged only to Ash's Pikachu in this time and space.
The idea of changing forms simply by wearing a hat was bizarre, even to the veteran Trainers in the group chat. Still, they gave it a name, Partner Form.
As for the move itself, Pikachu had come up with the name Electric Acceleration on his own. When using it, his whole body felt charged with electricity, every muscle propelled by lightning. The burst of speed was a full tier faster than Quick Attack, so much so that the descriptive name stuck immediately.
That was the complete origin of Electric Acceleration.
It was this move, combined with the mysterious power of the cap and Ash's Aura fusion, that created the triple boost behind his strategy. By draining the battlefield of water, then unleashing Pikachu's enhanced speed and strength, Ash could fight Starmie head-on.
And the results spoke for themselves. With all three buffs stacked, Pikachu's speed rivaled that of an Elite-level Pokémon. When he dashed forward with Electric Acceleration, his movement priority even exceeded Quick Attack, Starmie simply couldn't keep up.
That's how Ash secured a clean victory and earned the Cascade Badge fair and square.
Ash held the gleaming blue badge high and struck his signature pose. "I got the Cascade Badge!"
"Pika-Pika-chu!" Pikachu echoed proudly.
"La~lu~la~lu!" Ralts, who hadn't even battled, cheered along as well. She stretched her little hand to mimic Ash's pose, and Misty, despite her lingering gloom over losing, couldn't help but smile. The tiny Psychic-type's innocence was impossible to resist.
Brock approached, clapping warmly. "Congratulations, Ash, your second badge! That was an incredible battle. Your style is so wild and imaginative… I doubt most Gym Leaders would ever expect tactics like that. Hard to believe you're just a rookie."
At first, he'd been more distracted by Misty's older sisters, but by the end, his eyes had been glued entirely to the battle.
Ash's approach, in Brock's mind, was reckless yet brilliantly creative, moves so unorthodox that no ordinary Trainer would ever dare attempt them. Yet Ash not only thought them up, he executed them perfectly.
If not for Ash's frequent blunders and his lack of textbook knowledge, Brock would almost suspect that Ash had been training for battles since early childhood, just like the heirs of Gym families.
Even so, one thought burned in Brock's chest: If Ash can keep building his knowledge to match his instincts, he really could be Champion someday.
...
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