Learning Iron Tail to broaden Pikachu's damage coverage.
Learning Electroweb to patch the lack of strong crowd-control.
Learning Rain Dance and Surf to counter and suppress Ground-type opponents.
Learning Light Screen and Reflect to compensate for defensive shortcomings…
This was Ash's complete blueprint for Pikachu's next stage of training.
Having lived two lives, Ash understood one truth very clearly:
Pokémon training is best approached with "amplifying strengths and fixing weaknesses" early on, while the mid-to-late stages are better suited for "amplifying strengths and avoiding weaknesses."
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Frogadier (Speed / Physical Attack / Special Attack)
Frogadier followed a dual-attacker path, meaning physical and special attack would grow side by side.
As a ninja-type Pokémon, speed was equally critical.
At present, Frogadier's Speed IV had already reached 97.
This was only its second evolutionary stage, yet its speed was already this high—even before evolving into its final form. Ash was more than satisfied.
However, when it came to the standard speed-skill trio—
Quick Attack, Agility, and Double Team—
Frogadier had a major limitation: it could not learn Agility, the Psychic-type move that provided constant speed amplification.
Of the remaining two, it had only mastered Quick Attack so far; Double Team was still unlearned.
Therefore, Double Team became a top priority.
Looking ahead, advanced training would also require Frogadier to master a full suite of burst-assassination acceleration moves, including:
Substitute, Sucker Punch, Night Slash, Shadow Sneak, Feint Attack, Pursuit, and Throat Chop.
…
Physical vs. Special Balance
Frogadier's special attack output was already respectable.
But on the physical side, it currently relied on just Quick Attack and Pound.
That wasn't enough.
Fortunately, there was perfect overlap:
All the high-speed assassination moves required for advanced training—
Sucker Punch, Night Slash, Shadow Sneak, Feint Attack, Pursuit, Throat Chop—
were exactly the physical-attack tools Frogadier desperately needed.
Still, training had to be done step by step.
Trying to juggle too many things at once would only result in accomplishing nothing.
For now, Ash's plan for Frogadier was simple and clear:
Learn as many off-type moves as possible to fully activate the hidden ability "Protean."
…
Frogadier's Current Attribute Coverage
Among the 18 Pokémon types, Frogadier could not learn moves of only four types:
Fire, Electric, Steel, and Dragon
For the remaining 14 types, thanks to the Skill Copy module of the Ascension Trainer System, Frogadier could learn at least one move from each.
Water: unrestricted
Grass: Grass Knot
Bug: U-turn
Poison: Toxic, Toxic Spikes, Gunk Shot
Ice: Haze, Ice Punch, Blizzard, Icy Wind, Ice Beam
Fighting: Power-Up Punch, Low Kick, Mat Block
Psychic: Role Play, Rest, Extrasensory
Ghost: Lick, Spite, Shadow Sneak
Flying: Bounce, Aerial Ace, Acrobatics
Rock: Smack Down, Rock Tomb, Rock Slide
Ground: Mud-Slap, Spikes
Normal: unrestricted
Dark: unrestricted (after final evolution)
Once Frogadier evolved into Greninja and gained the Dark type, Dark-type moves would also be fully accessible.
Ash's strategy for off-type learning was precise:
First, learn one basic move from every available type.
In battle, this would allow Frogadier to constantly change its typing, minimizing incoming damage.
After that foundation was laid, only then would Ash begin teaching high-damage advanced moves.
For a ninja whose creed was one strike, one kill, defense was never about tanking hits.
Frogadier would evade with Substitute, Smoke Screen, and speed—
And when hit was unavoidable, changing its type would be its shield.
This wasn't just suitable for Frogadier.
It was the best defense it could ever have.
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Pidgeotto (Speed / Special Attack)
Like Pikachu, Pidgeotto followed a high-speed, special-attack damage role.
Flying-types were even faster than Electric-types in raw speed, but their burst damage was slightly weaker.
Electric-type Pokémon excelled at explosive power, while Flying-types thrived on mobility, harassment, and battlefield control.
Pikachu was a thunderous executioner.
Pidgeotto was a lightning-fast raider, skirmisher, and aerial assassin.
Even so, Ash had always treated Pidgeotto as a core ace.
He would never repeat the mistake of the original timeline—
where regional birds were reduced to mere utility tools.
Flying-types were fast, deadly, and absolutely worth investing in.
At present, Pidgeotto already possessed solid offensive moves such as Air Slash and Razor Wind.
In speed, it had mastered Quick Attack and Agility, while Double Team had entered training earlier that very morning.
Among all Pokémon on Ash's team, Pidgeotto currently required the least attention.
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Spearow (Speed / Physical Attack)
Spearow had officially joined the team this morning.
Although its level had reached LV.20, in Ash's eyes it was no different from Magikarp or Feebas—a blank slate.
Its role was clear: Speed + Physical Attack.
That meant the full speed trio—Quick Attack, Agility, Double Team—was mandatory.
On the physical side, its move progression would be carefully structured:
Peck → Pluck
Pursuit → Throat Chop
Flying-type Drill Peck
Ground-type Drill Run
Every piece would be placed deliberately, forming a complete and lethal skill framework.
At the same time, speed and physical attack would receive heavy emphasis during foundational conditioning.
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Magikarp (Physical Attack / Physical Defense / HP)
Magikarp's training direction was based entirely on its final evolution: Gyarados.
Physical attack was the core.
Unlike Spearow or Fearow—Pokémon that danced on the blade's edge—
Gyarados was a straightforward physical powerhouse.
Strong. Brutal. Relentless.
Not extreme.
Not fragile.
Just overwhelming.
…
Ash closed his notebook, exhaling slowly.
Each Pokémon had a path.
Each path had a purpose.
And every step forward was bringing him closer—
to the summit of Trainers,
to the title of the world's strongest Pokémon Master.
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T/N:
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