The electricity that gives Boltund its famous speed and endurance does not only run through that species of pokemon. Electricity runs through the cells of all living things, and Boltund obediently apply jolts to whatever homologous structure their trainers command, inducing largely the same effect in its targets. A hunter eager to impress the king with his physical prowess, a soldier fleeing a lost battle, a pokemon looking for that extra edge in the Galar League; Boltund jolts have often been described as the oldest stimulant known to medicine. But they can come at a heavy cost.
Boltund produce and control their own electricity, and as a species have evolved in parallel with their remarkably conductive legs, but this is not the case for their trainers and teammates. Boltund shocks do push legs beyond their normal limitations, but it is not a matter of reaching one's true potential – for once the shock wears off, the leg's owner often finds those limits existed for a reason.
Some escape with no wounds at all, but young and hotheaded, they conclude the warnings were myths; more common are muscle strains or broken bones. In the worst scenarios, when a Boltund misjudges the amount of electricity to apply or its beneficiary tries to push too far beyond even its new limits, the leg itself is rendered useless. It is not unheard of for apparently healthy Boltund trainers to suddenly drop dead of exhaustion, and the high rate of serious injuries to their teammates have led to calls for banning Boltund, despite its average performance, as a "living PED".
Yet we should not forget that modern ways to boost living things, such as vitamins, choice items, and even many human medicines, rely on physiological data collected from those Boltund beneficiaries who avoided orthopedic harm.
