The sound soft breathing filled in the silence of the recovery room.

Gina listened to it quietly as she stood next to a railed bed that Eevee laid on top of. The Evolution Pokémon was resting in a medically induced slumber, her expression fixed into a peaceful smile. It was a strong contrast to how contorted in agony it was mere hours ago as she struggled just to breathe.

Just as the Gym Leader had said, Nurse Joy had recognized the nature of the injury and administered treatment. But Eevee wouldn't be fighting again for at least a few days. The paralysis had been caused by an electric attack and fighting against it had put an enormous strain on her muscles—which included her heart. She needed time to build back up her strength, lest it caused more lasting problems in the future.

"I'm sorry, Eevee." Gina reached down and brushed the white ring of fur that collared the Evolution Pokémon's neck. "The only reason things turned out this way was because I underestimated him in the end."

She expected that he would take advantage of paralysis if it was induced as part of an electric attack. That was why she had planned two steps to get around it. The first was to use Geodude, as he would be immune to the electrical discharge because of his stony exterior. The second was to avoid getting hit at all, striking fast and hard while using evasive techniques like Double Team.

Her confidence was boosted further when she saw his battle against Ash. That Raichu was the perfect example of his philosophy of using brute force. She was so sure of herself that she would crush him like she'd done the Cerulean Sisters and gain his badge with little trouble.

But, despite her boasting when he revealed Sonic Boom, she hadn't expected that he would specifically teach his pokémon an indirect approach like Thunder Wave. Pure offense seemed more of his speed, whereas something like that required the proper timing to make good use of it. It was a reminder that despite how he acted, Lt. Surge was a Gym Leader and he was experienced when it came to battling.

"I didn't plan far enough ahead, and you paid the price for that," Gina continued. She'd only planned two steps ahead to get her third badge, when she should have thought ahead by maybe three or more steps. Improvisation wasn't her strong suit, so it had been up to Eevee to secure their victory at a cost. It was a mistake she couldn't let happen again. "Rest for now, and we'll play as much as you want later, okay?"

There was no answer, leaving her dejected as she threaded the soft fur between her fingers before she left the room. She needed some fresh air and some time to gather her thoughts on what to do next. There were still five other badges she needed to claim, and she couldn't be sloppy enough to let this happen again.

Moving towards the rear exit of the center, Gina turned a corner when she spotted a familiar pair in front of a vending machine. Ash was standing on the wall opposite of Brock, hat off his head and deep in thought. He was staring down at a Thunder Stone that he'd somehow managed to get his hands on.

Gina approached the pair hastily, drawing their attention to her. "You're not planning on using that on Pikachu to win, are you?"

Ash quickly shook his head. "I wasn't. Pikachu already said he didn't want to evolve, and Brock was starting to explain to me how it probably wouldn't have worked anyway."

"Pikachu evolving would give him a large power increase," Brock admitted. "But, at the same time, he'd need time to adapt to his new strength. Meanwhile, Surge's Raichu has had a longer time to adapt to its higher voltage capacity and has trained to move its larger body better. It really wouldn't have been the best decision."

Gina nodded in approval at his explanation. There was no meaning in trying to match a newly-evolved pokémon against an opponent with the same pokémon, since it was obvious that one would be more experienced than the other. If anything, it'd just make the defeat more crushing because there'd be no way to walk that back. No one would be happy.

"He's right, Ash," she began. "Evolution is a big deal, and pokémon that evolve using evolutionary stones like Pikachu and Eevee have to be especially careful. Because unlike most other pokémon it can actively hinder their growth since evolving in that manner makes it very hard for them to adapt. After all, those are their perfected forms bolstered by the elemental power within the stones, so there's no need for them to adapt any further."

"Which is why I was thinking about how he might be able to take advantage of that for the rematch," Brock finished. "Speaking of which, how did your match go?"

"I won, but it wasn't as clean as I'd like," she admitted. "His Voltorb was trained to deal with pokémon like Geodude, and his Jolteon did a number on Eevee. She had to push herself to take it down, so she won't be fighting for a few days. But what was the idea you had about taking advantage of the evolution?"

"Well, since he mentioned evolving his Raichu as soon as he caught it, I figured that it might not have learned a lot of the techniques it would have as a Pikachu," Brock explained. "Since he primarily focused on teaching it to use its larger body and electric attacks, he would probably opted not to go out of his way to try and teach it the techniques it would have learned as a smaller and more vulnerable pokémon, such as its speed-based techniques like Quick Attack."

Gina paused in thought as she recalled the match in question. Then she pulled out her Pokédex and began looking through the database. "… You're right. Smaller and younger pokémon tend to learn techniques like that as a survival mechanism and carry them over when they evolve. But if he evolved his right when he got it, chances are his Raichu never learned them."

There was little doubt that Gym Leader would have gone out of his way to use Technical Machines to shore up evolving it as soon as he caught it because of that. Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Thunder Wave, and Thunder Bolt could all be taught using Technical Machines in the end. There would be no need for any of the moves it would learn as a Pikachu with those, as they could decisively end a match against weaker pokémon.

"Which means that if Pikachu can master that technique, he can hit it hard and run away before it can hit him again with those punches and kicks," Ash finished for them. "So that's what we're going to do to win."

"It might work," Gina conceded. "But normally pokémon tend to develop their techniques as they get stronger over time, or as a result of adapting to it. That's part of why pokémon who go through lots of battles evolve quicker than those that don't. Still, expecting to suddenly teach him that and squeeze out a win is a bit risky."

"Normally, I'd agree," Brock said. "It'd take time for us to teach Pikachu or for him to learn it on his own. But, if a pokémon that was a similar build to Pikachu was able to tutor him in learning, then it'd be possible for him to pick up on it much quicker since the foundation is already there."

It clicked in her head. "Oh, I see. You want my Rattata to act as a Move Tutor for Pikachu."

She was also a Mouse Pokémon like Pikachu, even if she wasn't the exact same species and lacked the electrical abilities he had. Since they were roughly the same size as well, she'd know how to better instruct Pikachu on using the techniques than if any of their other pokémon tried. Under the right circumstances it would be entirely possible for him to learn quicker by that method.

"…I'm not against the idea," Gina said. In the first place she wanted to help Ash get closer to the League, so he'd be real competition for her when they competed for the title of Champion. "But I can't guarantee even with that Pikachu would learn anything, since he never used it before. It might be better if you just used another pokémon instead—like Bulbasaur or Charmander."

"There's no meaning in getting the badge if it's not with Pikachu," Ash insisted. "It's a matter of pride for him. Besides, I'm confident he can learn it and win the next time they battle."

He was relying only on his gut feeling rather than facts, which was a recipe for disaster as far as Gina was concerned. Even if Pikachu managed to learn Quick Attack in a short time, it wouldn't really change the fact that Surge's Raichu was simply more experienced. Plus, after being beaten by her, she wouldn't put it past him to plan for a trainer using Quick Attack from now on either.

Still, Gina didn't dislike that part of Ash either. That passion and the way it lit a fire in his eyes was appealing in a way that got her heart pounding a bit. "Well, if you're sure then I can go reserve the training field and we'll see how it goes... but learn it or not, you'll owe me dinner tomorrow night. Deal?"

He gave her an enthusiastic nod. "Deal!"

[-oOo-]

A little later, Gina was left crouched down on her side of the training field in the back of the Pokémon Center.

It was smaller than the one in Viridian. Likely because of how cramped the port-city was, with all the space needed for the different hotels and businesses that wanted to capitalize on the seafaring tourists and trade opportunities it presented. But considering that the pokémon they were planning to use were neither large nor excessively destructive, it wouldn't be a problem.

Rattata in particular sat in front of Gina, reared up on her hind legs and munching on a pellet as a snack while waiting for Ash to arrive. She had gotten a little bigger since they'd been grouped up, likely because she was getting fed regularly rather than scavenging. But considering how often they trained it was more muscle than fat.

"Remember, we're just teaching them," Gina said while gently brushing Rattata's head once she spotted the door leading into the rear of the Pokémon Center opening. "They still need to be able to fight the Gym Leader afterwards, so just give Pikachu a few 'love taps' when you go on offense… unless he breaks the rules. Helping them is one thing, but no sense in getting hurt yourself, got it?"

"Rrr...ttta…" Rattata made a small, muffled squeak in confirmation as she finished off the pellet. "Rattata."

"Okay, we're all set," Ash said as he came to the stop on the opposite side of the field, leaving both trainers facing one another. Brock opted to stand outside of the field along with Misty, serving as observers for the time being. "We're going to learn Quick Attack and then we're going to beat that Gym Leader."

"Then try and land a hit on Rattata without using any electric attacks," Gina said, putting her hands on her hips. "I'll tell you right now, the only shot Pikachu will have is to use Quick Attack because she's far quicker than he is. She won't make it easy on him."

"We'll see about that," Ash said, before addressing his Starter Pokémon. "Just try your best and it'll come to you, Pikachu."

"Pikapika." The Electric Mouse Pokémon bobbed his head before getting down on all fours as he faced down Rattata, who was doing the same. "Piii."

"Alright then," Brock said, raising his hand and then lowering it in a swift motion. "Begin!"

"Pika!" Pikachu took off in a burst of speed, four legs bounding across the ground at a frantic gait towards Rattata with the intention of pouncing, only for him to feel a rush of wind as a white streak passed over his head and between his ears. He came to a hasty stop and then turned around on his hind legs to see that Rattata had gotten behind him.

"Too slow," Gina said. "You'll have to do better to catch her."

The gentle prod was enough to shake off the momentary shock, leaving Pikachu to rush towards her again as fast as he could and then lunge to Tackle her. Rattata avoided him a second time by bouncing off her hindlegs into a backflip, leaving the yellow mouse to land in front of her new position. She then promptly spun on her forepaws and brought her tail around, smacking him on the cheek with the curled end for a Tail Whip that caught him off-guard, leaving him unharmed but frowning.

From there things went about the same, with Rattata nimbly avoiding Pikachu's attempts to grab her. She'd simply bound out of the way narrowly and retaliate with a lash of her tail, leaving him unharmed but bothered. And the few times he'd actually manage to seem to be on the brink of catching her, pale-light would wreath her legs and she'd vacate the spot in a burst of speed before coming to a spinning stop on a single paw and facing him once more.

"He really can't touch her," Misty commented. "Pikachu doesn't seem all that much slower than her outside of Quick Attack at a glance, but she's a lot more agile."

"Unlike Pikachu, a Rattata doesn't have a natural defense against birds of prey other than being evasive," Brock said. "For a small pokémon getting caught can mean the difference between life and death in the wild, so they usually have good instincts and are skittish by nature. I suspect it was that aspect Gina focused on training consider even the way she positions herself always makes it so that she has at least one avenue to get away."

How the body was positioned was an important factor in close-range battles. Even a half-step could leave them exposed and opened to a decisive hit. Keeping herself in a position that allowed her to escape and her higher speed made her a hard target to hit for Pikachu, who had the luxury of attacking at range.

Absent of that luxury, Pikachu was left panting and frustrated while collapsed on the ground and covered in dirt from missing so many times. In contrast, she was sitting on her hindlegs after their thirtieth attempt failed utterly, simply brushing her whiskers as though she were bored. It was clear that she didn't see him as being any sort of threat, no different than how easily the Raichu had brushed him off, and it stung his wounded pride.. "Pikaaa…"

Ash noticed the shift in his expression as tendrils of electricity began sparking out of his cheeks. He was going to shock her. "Pikachu, don't—"

Before the warning could even get out, running light crossed the field. Rattata slammed into Pikachu before the discharge of electricity could happen and the impact sent his tiny, yellow body skirting back along the ground. It left a lingering cloud of dust hovering in the air as he came to a stop in front of Ash.

He crouched down and asked, "Pikachu, are you okay!?"

"Piii…" The Electric Mouse Pokémon got back up on all fours, shaking his head to clear it before glaring at Rattata with her posture low and tail raised. In contrast to her laxed posture before, she stood battle-ready while wisps of energy faded from around her paws. "Pikapika!"

"I said no electric attacks," Gina reminded them both. "Rattata is only giving Pikachu light taps to motivate him, but the moment he breaks the rules she's got permission to take things seriously."

"She didn't have to hit him that hard!" Ash pointed out. "Pikachu is trying his best, but so far all she's done is dodge his attacks and hasn't taught him anything. It's only natural he'd get a little frustrated, but he wouldn't have hurt her."

"Rattata is first and foremost a scrapper," Gina said. "She didn't hesitate to fight back against Squirtle whereas others of her kind ran, and that part of her nature hasn't changed at all. She won't hesitate to attack a threat rather than retreat the moment she feels she's in danger."

"You both make valid points," Brock interceded before they continued into an argument. "Ash, Pikachu was getting ready to use an electric attack and break the rules that were set. But Gina, so far you really haven't been actively teaching as you said you would. Would you at least mind explaining what the plan is?"

"…The biggest issue with him learning Quick Attack is because he's an electric-type," she began. "He's naturally inclined to prefer it, but his electric attacks aren't going to do much against his opponent. That's why we're intentionally trying to coerce Pikachu into relying on his body while cutting off his access to his electricity."

"And you couldn't explain that earlier?" Ash asked.

"I thought it was obvious," Gina said. "And whether or not I did, Pikachu still broke the rules first when he tried to shock Rattata."

Ash opened his mouth to retort but stopped when he noticed Pikachu moving forward towards Rattata and lowering his head towards her. It was an apology, as far as Gina could guess from their body language. "Chhuu…"

Rattata regarded him for a moment silently. Then she made a stern noise as she slammed her forepaws onto the ground, causing Pikachu's ears to shoot up before his head rose. "Ra. Rattata. Ta."

"Pika?" Pikachu quirked his head before fixing his dark eyes onto her hindlegs as she turned around. Then he noticed as light began to slowly creep up from the underside of her feet until it swaddled them entirely.

She pushed off the ground and left behind a trail of light until she was on the other side of the field. Then, with her forepaws being used to turn around, she launched forward and then came to a stop about a meter away from him. "Ta?"

Pikachu nodded and took a similar stance for a moment before pushing off the ground. It didn't work, needless to say. Pikachu only ran forward at a slower pace that she easily avoided, leaving his legs to fall under him. "Pi…"

She stamped on the ground again. "Rata."

Pikachu rose to try again once more, only to fall over in his second attempt. The Mouse Pokémon let out an assertive sound once more. The Electric Mouse rose up slowly and took a stance to try yet again.

"Maybe we should let Pikachu take a break first?" Misty suggested. "He's probably tired by now."

"That's the point," Gina said as she watched Pikachu's next attempt fail as well. "Quick Attack draws from energy deeper inside of them and uses it in a single burst. Because Pikachu has exhausted his physical strength enough that he simply can't try to brute force it, his body will instead draw from that wellspring of energy in order to use Quick Attack if it can."

She was sure it would be the most effective method given the time constraints. If he had the ability to use the technique, he would manage it eventually. But since it wasn't something Pikachu could consciously control yet, there was no telling when it'd happen.

So all they could do was watch as he just kept going. And going. And going. One failure. Then another failure. Then another one. A cycle that left his legs shaking and covered in dirt, panting as sweat left dust clinging to the yellow fur.

It would have been easier to quit. To just give up and find another way. But the fire inside of Pikachu was burning fiercely, the lit flame keeping him going to prove to both himself and his trainer that he could do what he set out to do—and so he kept going.

"Pii-pii…ka…" Pikachu, trembling to stay upright as he took on a running posture, gritted his teeth as Rattata stood off further ahead. Unlike before she didn't dismiss his effort with a laxed posture, but instead watched attentively. But even so it felt like there was a gap in their ability that seemed almost a world apart.

He wanted to close that gap. He wanted to shrink the world between them. So focused on that as he tried to coil all the remaining strength he could into throwing himself forward, he didn't notice beneath the gnawing pain in his muscles as a pale energy lathed them internally, seeping out of the pores of his hindlegs as thin wisps of light.

It was only after he pushed off the ground and it felt like a coiled spring being let loose that he realized something was different. He felt the rush of air passing over his body before everything seemingly was upside down. It took him another moment to realize he was the one upside down on the ground, with the Mouse Pokémon looking down at him. "Pika?!"

She nodded. "Ratta."

"He did it!" Misty cheered. "That was Quick Attack!"

Ash joined in. "I knew you could do it!"

"It was sloppy," Gina said before they could get too happy. It was good that he managed that much, but they needed to point out the flaws first and foremost. "He didn't catch the ground with his foot, so he wound up overshooting. It wasn't nearly as fast as it could have been either, even if the range was okay. He needs to sort those out before it can be used in a proper battle."

"Maybe," Brock said. "But for now, it'd be best if Pikachu took some time to rest his legs rather than trying again while he's tired."

"…We'll start again once he's rested," Gina consented, after some thought. After reaching the starting line it was just a matter of refining it, and it was only late in the afternoon, so they had enough time for short rest. Besides, while it didn't rely on muscle-strength fully he did still need to be able to at least kick off the ground and brace the landing. "Come on, Rattata. We need to talk about what to do for the next part."

[-oOo-]

Once the break was over, Pikachu was put through his paces in order to familiarize himself with his new technique as the Mouse Pokémon watched over him.

His technique wasn't as good as Rattata's. But to expect that much wasn't practical. She had known how to use Quick Attack since they'd met and the constant flux of new opponents meant she had a lot more skill in terms of mastery.

The only reason Gina hadn't used her against Surge was because she lacked range and durability. Eevee lacked mastery of Quick Attack but had ways to compensate for it while being the same type. It proved to be the right call as that last attack that nearly knocked out Eevee would have finished her off due to how frail she was.

"Okay," Gina announced. "Pikachu's step-in and speed are good enough to where he should pack enough of a punch and not trip over himself. But his Quick Attack still has a glaring weakness that needs to be addressed."

With almost perfect timing Pikachu and Ash tilted their heads, before the latter asked, "What weakness?"

"It'll be easier to show you both first," she said, quirking her head towards Rattata. Her Pokémon took it as cue to get back into their side of the battlefield and take up a battle stance. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack on her when ready."

Pikachu blinked in uncertainty before looking back to his trainer. Ash merely shrugged and gave the go-ahead, so the Electric Mouse then fell onto all fours. "Piiii…kkkkaaa…"

Pale energy shrouded his paws and crept up the rest of his body, swaddling him in a thin layer. It was both an accelerant and a cushion, meant to protect him from the impact of his own attack. Then he shot forward while discharging the build-up at his feet, becoming running light that speared straight towards the Mouse Pokémon. "CHU!"

Pikachu had gotten a good feel for the distance. The time and the energy needed to cross it was something he had picked up quickly. By all accounts he felt assured he would come crashing right where she was, and the momentum would knock her afar…

Yet, when he reached his destination there was no impact. His paws touched down on the empty ground. Rattata was simply next to him, brushing her whiskers. "Pi?"

"That's the first weakness," Gina said. "Quick Attack is a straightforward attack, going from point A to point B in a heartbeat. But between Pikachu's base speed and how straightforward it is, any enemy who expects it can simply take a half-step and counter."

For emphasis Rattata used Tail Whip and lightly smacked Pikachu against the cheek once more, catching him off-guard again. Then she shot backwards with the same technique, though much faster. Putting the same amount of space between them as there had been before, she stood ready.

"There's three ways to get around that weakness," Gina continued. "The first is to just be plain faster than they can react, but that can vary from easy to impossible depending on the Pokémon and circumstances. As for the second method…"

Gina gestured for Rattata to continue. The shroud of energy covering her feet grew much denser than before and Pikachu tensed as he stood on all fours, no doubt wary to try dodging the hit. But the next moment she was behind him, lightly nesting a paw against his back while the tail of ephemeral light that followed the technique close to her was slightly bent, fading away as it showed a sharp turning trail.

"You can use multiple Quick Attacks in succession," Gina explained as Rattata scurried back to her starting point. "Rather than going straightforward, you move out of their line of sight and then blindside them. But that requires at least two short bursts in the space of what would normally be one, and the Pokémon has to be able to corner without slowing down to avoid the enemy noticing. Pikachu isn't practiced enough to try that without hurting himself."

"That's why she uses her paws to the twist before her rear legs come down on the exiting motions, isn't it?" Brock guessed. "And that's probably why you haven't evolved her yet either? Because it'd make following up with that method more difficult?"

Gina nodded. "I guess you weren't a Gym Leader for nothing. Then again, I suppose you haven't evolved your Geodude for a similar reason?"

He only smiled. "Being able to float has more benefits to Geodude. And as a Gym Leader you do see a wide berth of strategies, so you learn to pick up on small things."

"Well, to answer both your questions, that's right." Gina looked down to her Rattata. "She's more than capable of evolving at this point but doing so would shift her body size and shorten her limbs. So, before she does, we wanted to perfect the third method, which is the one that Pikachu can probably use."

That said, she gave the Mouse Pokémon a nod. This time, Rattata's body split apart into four copies of itself that all proceeded to be wreathed in the pale light of Quick Attack. Then they shot forward at once, converging on Pikachu as the Electric Mouse Pokémon reflexively jumped to avoid the impact only to feel a hard tap on his backside.

He was sent tumbling onto the ground, confused more than hurt. "Pika?"

"Jumping then wasn't a bad call," Gina told him as Rattata landed on the ground, panting fiercely. "But what I said about Rattata being faster than you still applies. More so since you don't really have a means of being mobile in the air by yourself."

He had learned well enough to dodge when he did, no doubt realizing the same weakness she had been espousing on earlier. But, at the same time, when he had jumped up and the clones converged, the real Rattata had swung around and pivoted upwards while coming out of her landing. That let her use the momentum to bring her into contact with him.

"If I'm not mistaken, that was Double Team," Misty said. "So, you have her create illusionary copies of herself and then hide which is the real one while attacking. That ensures that she has a chance to hit even if they know she's attacking with it."

"That's the idea, but it's not perfected yet," Gina commented. "I wish she could learn it naturally like Pikachu could, but since I taught her using a TM it's taking a while for her to get it down."

A Technical Machine worked similar to a DVD player. Once you inserted the disk into the player and placed the poké ball into it while the pokémon was inside of it, the information was transferred over to them while they were in an energy state. However, while they learned whatever technique was imprinted in it, they had no formal training with it whatsoever and had to be taught more than the basics—natural talent often came into play then.

Right now, she could only hold her concentration on the illusionary copies and perform a Quick Attack if she kept the number of them down to four. That left openings that could be used to escape through like Pikachu did, though she was quick enough to rebound. Then the copies didn't have any mass or scent, so against a pokémon with sharpened senses it was pretty much useless.

Hopefully, we'll get past that weakness soon enough. Gina pushed the thought aside as she looked to Ash, who had a deep expression on his face as he considered what he saw. "Anyway, Pikachu should be able to learn Double Team naturally. Even if he can only make a single copy, if he layers it over himself he can use it to mask his attack and then strike the opponent off-guard."

Misty asked the obvious question. "Why not just use the TM if you still have it? Wouldn't it be faster?"

"Eevee got a little too excited to learn Swift and wound up breaking it back at Bill's place." Gina looked off to the side with a somewhat embarrassed expression. It was her own fault considering she didn't plan things out better and Eevee didn't mean to do it. "I was planning on getting it fixed when we reached Saffron City, at Silph Co."

"We don't need a shortcut to learn it," Ash declared proudly as he looked over to Pikachu. "Let's learn this technique too and then we'll go show that Gym Leader and his Raichu we're not babies!"

"PiPikachu!" Pikachu responded before he hunkered down and listened to Rattata as she squeaked out the basics before going at it for a while. But as the hours seemed to drag on and they were met with little success, sparks began to dance over Pikachu's frame. Then something unexpected happened.

And they had a new trump card.