Chapter 31: Iron Tail Practice
(Third update!! New book, please collect, please vote for flowers!!)
“Okay! Let's try using your tail to attack! Focus all your strength in your tail, and swing it with all your might!”
Ignoring everything else for now, Pokémon all have a natural potential within them, as long as it's a move they can learn.
As long as you don't make Charizard learn Water Gun, their natural talent and potential will naturally help them master the move. Right now, don't worry about accuracy and power, just focus on strengthening your tail's power.
“Pika!” Hearing Ash's words, Pikachu began to follow his instructions, focusing all its strength in its tail.
The lightning-shaped tail instantly stiffened, trembling slightly. You could tell that it was using a lot of strength, which was why the tail was trembling.
“Now, keep that state and aim at that tree, and pour all your strength into it!” Ash pointed to a tree on the side as their target, and Pikachu nodded.
“Pi~~ka!!!” Pikachu rushed forward, then leaped high, performed a flip in the air, and swung its tail out, striking the tree in front of it.
It gathered its strength and released it in one go. But when its body landed, the power of its tail impacting the tree trunk seemed to vanish completely.
The tail’s hardness was still no match for the thick tree trunk. When the tail made contact, its force was cancelled out. The lightning-shaped tail was flattened like a spring, then the whole body was bounced away.
“Pikachu!” Ash quickly rushed forward to catch the falling Pikachu.
“Are you okay?”
“Pika-pi!!” Pikachu responded a little dejectedly, but it wasn’t injured, it was just a little disappointed because it had failed.
“It's okay, don't worry, it's like that at first, try it again!” Ash smiled and reassured it, then placed Pikachu back on the ground.
“Pika!!” Pikachu also regained its spirits and prepared to try again.
“Alright, get ready! Don't worry, no matter how many times you try, I'll catch you.” After getting ready, Ash said seriously to ensure Pikachu had no worries.
“Pi~~ka!!!” Pikachu once again poured all its power into its tail and attempted to use Iron Tail again. But this time, it didn’t get much better, it was about the same as before.
The tail still cancelled out the force when it made contact with the tree trunk. After all, it was just the beginning, the tail wasn't as flexible as its limbs, and it couldn't yet exert the hardness of Iron Tail.
Ash caught the falling Pikachu again, and they tried again, repeatedly trying, unknowingly, over an hour passed, and there were already people starting to appear on the path.
It was unclear how many times they had tried, but Iron Tail still hadn’t appeared, but it was clear that Pikachu’s tail strength had improved significantly. To be more precise, its control over strength was stronger.
Previously, when its tail made contact with the tree trunk, it would often be bounced back. It was the same this time, after all, force is reciprocal, unless your power is much stronger.
But when it made contact with the tree trunk, you could hear a clear sound. By the end, you could see clear marks on the bark, like those left by a blade.
Although it still didn’t look smooth, it seemed a bit crude, but it had already improved a lot. Just having this much progress in one morning was something to be satisfied with.
“It’s getting late, let’s stop here for today! We should go back, Misty probably woke up.” Ash glanced at the time, then said to the panting Pikachu.
“Pika-pi!” Pikachu nodded, then jumped onto Ash’s shoulder.
“Hmm??” As they were about to leave, Ash suddenly felt something strange, like something was watching them. He subconsciously looked around.
“Pika???” Seeing Ash’s reaction, Pikachu tilted its head, as if asking him a question.
“Nothing, I must have been mistaken, let’s go!” Hearing Pikachu's voice, Ash looked around again and found only some passers-by, nothing unusual. He shook his head slightly.
He left the park with Pikachu and returned to the Pokémon Center, where there were already more people.
Many people were still talking about what had happened the previous night. There were still some officers outside. It seemed like they hadn’t caught the person, the Rocket Team was truly the luckiest villains.
He entered the Pokémon Center and returned to his room, where he ran into Misty. Misty had already washed up and was waiting for him to return. After greeting each other, Ash returned to his room, took a shower and changed clothes.
He handed Pikachu and Goldeen to Nurse Joy to regain their strength and get fed, then went to the dining room to meet Misty. They ate breakfast together. Misty seemed a bit absent-minded.
Unknowingly, they finished breakfast, and Ash went to the front desk to find Nurse Joy.
“Alright! Pikachu and Goldeen are both doing well.” Nurse Joy placed Pikachu and Goldeen's Poké Balls on the counter.
“Thank you, Nurse Joy!” Ash said as he took the Poké Balls, and Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder.
“You’re welcome, I should be thanking you.” Nurse Joy replied warmly.
Last night, it was thanks to Ash that they drove away the Rocket Team. It would be more accurate to say that she should be thanking him.
“It was nothing, just a small favor. Thanks for your care, we’ll be leaving now.” Ash responded, then left with Misty. He walked out of the Pokémon Center.
“Misty, what’s wrong? You've been acting strange since earlier.” As they walked out, Ash looked at Misty behind him. She hadn’t said a word and looked lost in thought. He couldn’t help but ask.
“Ah!” Misty was startled by Ash’s question. She hadn’t realized that Ash had noticed.
“That… Ash, what are your plans next?”
“Me? To challenge the Indigo League, I need to collect enough badges. The closest one from here is in Viridian City. I’m planning on challenging the Viridian Gym!” Ash said his next goal.
“Is that so? Then… can I go with you, Ash?” After hearing this, Misty hesitated for a long time before finally mustering up her courage to look up and ask.