Pikachu was the bane of bicycles

The theoretical appraisal exam did not test battling, but whether candidates could spot problems at each stage-for example, whether they knew the characteristics of a certain kind of Pokémon or how its moves worked.

Recalling what he knew about Slowbro, Xin Mu came up with a rather bizarre answer.

"Because this Slowbro was particularly slow on the uptake. It took a long time to realize it had been hit."

According to unofficial Pokémon accounts, a Slowbro had once been charmed, only to realize it several years later and go berserk in the Wild Area.

Even before evolving, Slowpoke would feel no pain if its tail was eaten, and it would soon grow a new one. That was what Xin Mu knew about this kind of Pokémon.

Other than being excessively slow on the uptake, he really could not think of another reason. After all, leaves did not deal ongoing damage, and Slowpoke had lost the ability to battle after that single attack.

The examiner did not reply, merely nodding silently before gesturing for Xin Mu to leave the examination room and make room for the others.

All that remained was to wait. In theory, the results would be out before long. Barring any surprises, he only needed to wait to collect his certification.

"Come on, Meownei. Let's get something to eat. We still need to return the Pokémon we borrowed."

"Meow~"

The borrowed Weavile had never been needed; Meownei had speedrun the exam all on her own. What Xin Mu did not know, however, was that the candidates after him were in for a rough time.

Haunter could not afford to mess with the overpowered Meowscarada, but showed no mercy to the other students.

BOOM!

Before he had even left the activity center, a sudden thunderclap rang out outside the building. Dazzling lightning lit up the corridor windows, shattering quite a few of them in the process, before everything fell silent.

The school, however, seemed even quicker to respond. An announcement soon explained the situation over the speakers.

"Stay calm! All proctors, maintain order in your examination rooms! An Electric-type Pokémon has lost control! There has only been some property damage. It's nothing serious! Continue the exams!"

"An Electric-type lost control... Sounds like nobody got hurt. I wonder whose Pokémon it was."

The school did not even consider it a major incident, let alone suspend the exams, which was enough to show that the damage was limited to property. It also gave Xin Mu a very direct sense of how destructive Electric-types could be in reality.

"Meownei, what do you think about me catching an Electric-type Pokémon and giving it special training in charging?"

"Meow?"

"That way, we could save on electricity bills and earn a little money for other things."

As he spoke, Xin Mu took out his phone and checked his electricity payment history. The familiar rate was still there, seemingly unchanged.

"I remember that a single Electivire can supply enough electricity for every building in a major city for an entire year. If you exclude industrial use, that should save quite a bit... Never mind. I should visit a power plant if I get the chance."

Xin Mu thought it over carefully. Given Pokémon's abilities, discharging electricity was easy. As long as they were not newborns, Electric-type Pokémon all had their own ways of releasing electricity. The key was converting that energy into electricity people could actually use.

At first, Xin Mu had not paid much attention to the accident. It was just a Pokémon losing control, an electric shock, and some damage to school property-until he stepped through the activity center's doors and saw the bicycle, black as charcoal.

"Meownei, when I got here, there was only one bicycle there, right?"

"Meow."

"So... that's my bike..."

"Meow."

Meownei nodded, then patted Xin Mu on the back, conveying a sense of "my condolences."

The paint on the bicycle frame had already turned pitch-black. The rubber tires had melted under the heat of the electric shock, giving off waves of a foul, burnt smell.

Near the bicycle, he could also see staff handling the aftermath, along with those involved.

A red-and-white cap, spiky hair, a blue-and-white athletic shirt, and a "yellow mouse" at his side.

Xin Mu was no stranger to this pair. They were none other than Ash and Pikachu-the boy who was only ten years old, yet had already traveled for twenty-five years across eight regions, and his Pokémon.

Beside him stood a dark-skinned boy with narrow eyes and a girl with orange-red hair: Brock and Misty.

Judging by his cap and his traveling companions, this was still the Ash of the Original Series.

But that was not the point. The point was that Pikachu seemed to be the only Electric-type Pokémon within several hundred meters.

Someone would have to pay for this bicycle that had "died before its time."

When Xin Mu approached, the three of them were bowing and apologizing to the staff handling the aftermath.

Hmm, no language barrier. It looks like every region speaks the same language. Though I have no idea why English still exists when that's the case.

The staff did not give Ash and the others a hard time. Since the school allowed Pokémon on campus, it naturally had policies to handle incidents involving them, along with ample insurance coverage. As long as nobody was injured and no classroom building was blown flat, it was a minor matter.

After lecturing the three of them and having them sign some documents, the staff left.

"How's Pikachu doing?"

"Looks fine now. Probably released all that built-up electricity in one go."

"I see... Then, Ash, shouldn't you reflect on how all of this happened?"

Seeing that Pikachu had recovered, Misty stopped holding back and grabbed Ash by the ear.

They had been supposed to head to the Johto Region for the Silver Conference, but Ash had overslept, causing them to miss their ship to Johto. The sailing they rebooked had then turned back because of unexplained weather conditions and ultimately docked in Donghuang.

Now that they were in Donghuang, Ash had simply changed his plans on the spot and decided to travel around the region. Supposedly, it was very different from the other regions, and it had also secured the right to host the next Pokémon World Championships.

In other regions, it was common for children to receive Pokémon at ten years old and set off on journeys, but Donghuang was different.

Most people born in this region were still at school at ten, receiving theoretical instruction and learning all sorts of knowledge from books. Traveling was something they only considered after graduating from high school, which also meant Donghuang had the greatest number of Pokémon schools of all kinds.

That was also why their group had chosen to visit this place.

"Excuse me, you three. You can sort out your issues later. How about paying for my bicycle first?"

Apart from school property, Xin Mu's bicycle was the only "casualty." He did not even know what to make of that luck.

Following the direction of Xin Mu's finger, Misty and Ash also saw the bicycle that had been reduced to charcoal. For a moment, memories surfaced in Misty's mind.

"A bicycle... a bike... Ash, don't you think there's something I've forgotten?"