Ash's Pikachu/History/Advanced Generation series/Hoenn

In Get the Show on the Road!, Ash was willing to get Pikachu some help regarding taking care of the illness. He met up with Professor Birch, who took Pikachu to his lab. Even though they were able to strap him to the machine to drain out the overload electricity he received, the machine exploded as the electricity levels were too high. Pikachu then ran off, with Ash and Professor Birch chasing after him. Eventually, Ash managed to find Pikachu, but in his confused state, Pikachu attacked him, and fled towards the end of a cliff. As Pikachu fell off the cliff, Ash fearlessly jumped after him, and managed to catch him, and grab a branch. Pikachu tried resisting, but Ash was able to get through, and calm him down. When Ash and Pikachu were pulled up to safety, Team Rocket arrived. Their mecha accidentally cured Pikachu of his illness, and he was able to blast them off, destroying 's bike in the process.

In There's no Place like Hoenn, Ash used Pikachu in an unofficial 1-on-1 battle against Norman, since Ash only had one Pokémon at the time instead of the three required. Norman's proved to be a tough opponent, dodging Pikachu's attacks with ease, and hitting him hard with multiple  attacks. Pikachu managed to successfully hit Vigoroth with Quick Attack, but Vigoroth hit him again, and defeated him with one final Scratch. After their match, Team Rocket tried to steal Pikachu and Vigoroth, but accidentally stole. Later Pikachu was used alongside Norman's Vigoroth to battle Team Rocket, and blasted them off in addition to rescuing Torchic.

In All Things Bright and Beautifly!, Ash began teaching Pikachu Iron Tail in preparation for his Rustboro Gym battle, a Gym, and got help from a  named  and his. Despite their effort and training, Pikachu was still unable to fully master Iron Tail.

In The Winner by a Nosepass, Pikachu was Ash's last Pokémon used in his Gym battle against Roxanne, where he was sent out against her. Pikachu started off using Thunder to flatten the rocky battlefield. Geodude countered with, which Pikachu managed to dodge using Quick Attack, only to end up right in front of Geodude. This gave Geodude the chance to hit him hard with a Mega Punch. As Geodude used Rollout to finish Pikachu off, it got stuck and couldn’t execute its attack because of the flattened battlefield. Pikachu used this opportunity to get close using Quick Attack, and hit Geodude with a powerful Thunder, defeating it. Pikachu then faced Roxanne's Nosepass. Pikachu started off using Iron Tail, which managed to successfully hit Nosepass. After dodging Nosepass’s attack, Pikachu went for a second Iron Tail, but failed this time. Nosepass then used to trap Pikachu, but he managed to break free using Thunder. Nosepass then countered with, deteriorating Pikachu’s sight. However, Nosepass was able to sense Pikachu using its electromagnetic nose, and managed to slam its body into him. Nosepass then tried to stomp on Pikachu, but he managed to avoid it by using Quick Attack. After using Quick Attack again to dodge Nosepass’s Rock Tomb, Pikachu used Quick Attack to run around Nosepass in order to confuse it. He was able to get behind Nosepass, and used Iron Tail, only to fail once again. Nosepass then went for Thunder Wave, which Pikachu barely avoided. Ash then had Pikachu charge towards Nosepass and let him take its, causing Pikachu to absorb the electricity. Pikachu then tackled Nosepass, releasing the electricity at Nosepass, causing it to become. Pikachu defeated Nosepass with one final Iron Tail, finally mastering the move in the process, as well as earning Ash the.

In Watt's with Wattson?, Ash and his friends arrived at Mauville City and immediately proceeded to the Mauville Gym. Inside the group encountered a robot. Thinking it would attack, Ash ordered Pikachu to attack the robot with Iron Tail, causing an explosion. This destroyed the robot, but also overcharged Pikachu with electricity, unbeknownst to the rest, however. Later, Pikachu was Ash's first Pokémon used in his Gym Battle against Wattson. Pikachu first faced Wattson's Magnemite. Due to being overcharged, Pikachu defeated Magnemite with a single Thunderbolt after dodging a attack. Next, Pikachu battled Wattson's and also managed to easily defeat it with another Thunderbolt. Getting agitated, Wattson sent out his Magneton and ordered it to use Zap Cannon. Pikachu easily managed to overpower this attack with Thunder, which also knocked Magneton out, earning Ash the.

In Going, Going, Yawn, Ash used Pikachu as his third Pokémon in his Lavaridge Gym battle. He was sent out against Flannery's, after it had , and put  to. After using Quick Attack to dodge Flamethrower, he finally broke 's Reflect that was affecting previous battles. Then, Slugma used to cover itself. Pikachu, however, was able to sense it, and used Iron Tail. Slugma managed to dodge, and hit him with a Flamethrower. Pikachu then used Thunderbolt and although it looked like it initially missed, it electrified the Smog, harming Slugma. Flannery called for, but Ash unwilling for that to happen, had Pikachu use Quick Attack, hitting it before Yawn could be executed, and then finished Slugma off with Thunder. Ash kept Pikachu in when Flannery used her last Pokémon,. Pikachu used Thunderbolt, but it was blocked by. Then, Pikachu dodged a Flamethrower and used Iron Tail, but it was blocked by Iron Defense as well. Torkoal then used, which hit Pikachu. Pikachu tried attacking with Thunder, but his attack was blocked by Iron Defense once again. Torkoal then used to defeat Pikachu.

In Balance of Power, Ash used Pikachu as his first Pokémon in his Petalburg Gym battle against Norman. He went up against. Pikachu used Quick Attack on Slakoth, which was avoided. After dodging a, Pikachu used Iron Tail, only to be dodged as well, dazing Pikachu. Slakoth then used, which Pikachu tried to destroy the attack with Thunderbolt, but failed and was hit by the circling Hidden Power. Pikachu tried hitting Slakoth with Thunder, but this was dodged as well. Slakoth then countered with, disabling Pikachu to move. Being unable to move, Pikachu was recalled. Later, Pikachu was sent out against Norman's Vigoroth. Pikachu used Thunderbolt, but Vigoroth swiftly dodged the attack, and launched a Scratch attack. However, Pikachu successfully blocked the attack with Iron Tail, but Vigoroth quickly recovered, and launched a Flamethrower, dealing much damage. Pikachu's electricity gave Ash an idea. He got Pikachu to use Quick Attack to dodge Vigoroth's Flamethrower. When Vigoroth launched another Scratch, Ash told Pikachu to stop where he was, and let him get hit. This activated Pikachu's Ability, paralyzing Vigoroth. This allowed Pikachu to defeat Vigoroth with Iron Tail. However, all this battling took its toll, as Pikachu fainted as well, ending the battle in a draw.

In Sky High Gym Battle!, Pikachu was Ash's second Pokémon used in his Fortree Gym battle against Winona. Pikachu battled against Winona's, and despite the major type-advantage, Pelipper proved to be a formidable opponent, being able to use as a lightning rod to conduct Pikachu's Electric-type attacks to the ground, thus preventing damage. After Pikachu got hit by a Quick Attack, Ash decided Pikachu should fight at close-range, and told him to use Quick Attack to get closer. However, this gave Pelipper the opportunity to hit Pikachu hard with a Hydro Pump. However, Pikachu stood his ground, and when Pelipper lifted its wing from the ground for a moment, Ash had Pikachu use Thunder on Pelipper. With both Pokémon being hit by powerful attacks, Pikachu and Pelipper both fainted.

In A Scare to Remember!, Pikachu developed amnesia after an attack by Team Rocket and their machine. Team Rocket took advantage of this, and tricked Pikachu into joining them. He was then ordered to attack the group. Trying to get Pikachu back, Ash fearlessly jumped on their balloon. Team Rocket ordered Pikachu to hit Ash with Thunderbolt, causing them to get blasted off and causing Ash and Pikachu to fall down in a river. With Ash protecting Pikachu, Pikachu managed to regain his memory, and got rid of Team Rocket once again.

In Gaining Groudon, Ash and the group got on a submarine owned by Team Magma, where they met Team Magma's leader, Maxie. An explosion caused by, caused the Blue Orb to fly off Maxie's desk. Pikachu managed to catch the orb before Team Magma could regain it. However, the orb soon started to glow, and melted into Pikachu's body, greatly increasing his power, but also making him lose control over himself. In the next episode, Pikachu awakened, and aided it in its battle with. Due to everyone's teamwork, was able to defeat Kyogre, causing the Blue Orb to emerge from Pikachu's body. Pikachu was then saved from drowning by Kyogre, and later bade it and Groudon farewell.

In Solid as a Solrock, Ash used Pikachu and in the Double Battle against Tate and Liza with their respective  and. Solrock and Lunatone both started off using Tackle which both scored a direct hit on Pikachu and Swellow. Pikachu and Swellow then tried hitting their opponents with Quick Attack and, but their attack was dodged, causing them to crash into planets hanging from the ceiling, and caused them to fall on top of each as they hit the ground. This gave Solrock and Lunatone the opportunity to launch a and. As the attacks were about to hit their marks, the two beams accidentally collided, canceling each other out, causing the twins to quarrel. Ash used this chance to recover, and had Pikachu and Swellow strike the opposing Pokémon with a respective Iron Tail and. Both Meteorite Pokémon then charged towards Pikachu using Tackle, but Swellow was able to save him in time, causing Solrock and Lunatone to crash into each other. The battle then got interrupted by Team Rocket, who destroyed the gym using their machine, and stole Solrock and Lunatone.

After Team Rocket was defeated, they all agreed to resume their battle outdoors. This time, however, the twins managed to put their differences aside and worked together as a team. Ash first had Pikachu use Thunderbolt on Solrock, but his attack was sent back by Lunatone's, sending Pikachu flying into a wall. As Swellow tried to attack with Aerial Ace, Solrock used Sandstorm, sending Swellow flying as well. Pikachu then jumped on Swellow's back, and used Thunderbolt again, only to be deflected back by Light Screen again, hitting Pikachu and Swellow hard. Swellow then used Double Team, but Solrock and Lunatone countered using Solar Beam and Ice Beam to wipe out the copies. However, to Tate and Liza's surprise, Pikachu and Swellow got away unscathed. Swellow then dove down from the sky along with Pikachu to attack, but Solrock and Lunatone quickly responded, and hit them with Solar Beam and Ice Beam. Ash thought about how to negate the dual attacks, and then had Pikachu use Thunder on the clouds. Lightning then struck Pikachu and Swellow, which the two managed to endure. Once clear, Pikachu and Swellow were coated in a "Thunder Armor". Using this technique, Pikachu and Swellow managed to pierce through Solrock's Solar Beam and Lunatone's Light Screen, and managed to defeat them using Iron Tail and Aerial Ace, earning Ash the.

In Vanity Affair, Ash used Pikachu against Hoenn Elite Four member Drake. Pikachu battled against his. Pikachu used Thunderbolt and scored a direct hit. As Pikachu went for a second Thunderbolt, Shelgon used Double-Edge and managed to dodge the attack. Due to Shelgon's low, Pikachu easily dodged the attack with Quick Attack. When Pikachu was about to finish Shelgon off with Iron Tail, Shelgon had Pikachu come close, and then hit him hard with Dragon Breath. Shelgon then followed up with, knocking Pikachu out.

In The Great Eight Fate!, Ash chose Pikachu, along with his as his first two Pokémon in a Double Battle in the first round of his Sootopolis Gym battle. They went up against Juan's and Seaking. Pikachu used his Thunderbolt on Sealeo, but Seaking used to reflect it to Snorunt. Pikachu used Thunder, but Seaking once again used Horn Drill to reflect the attack to Snorunt again. However, this time, Pikachu protected Snorunt, taking most of the damage. Sealeo used Blizzard on the two, dealing much damage to Pikachu. Then, Ash had Snorunt use its Icy Wind to freeze the Blizzard, creating an ice pillar, which blocked Juan's view. Sealeo and Seaking destroyed the pillar with their Aurora Beam and Hyper Beam respectively. This created ice shards, which Ash had Snorunt and Pikachu jump on. Snorunt then used, while Pikachu used Iron Tail. Seaking and Sealeo responded using Hyper Beam and Aurora Beam. While Pikachu was able to dodge Aurora Beam, Snorunt wasn't able to avoid the Hyper Beam and was knocked out.

Ash then sent out his Corphish. After dodging Corphish's Bubble Beam, both of Juan's Pokémon attacked from below with Sealeo using Aurora Beam on Pikachu's platform, which he was able to dodge. Seaking attacked Corphish with, but Corphish was able to grab its horn. However, Seaking used Horn Drill, sending Corphish flying. Ash then had Pikachu use Iron Tail on Seaking. Despite Sealeo trying to stop Pikachu using Aurora Beam, Pikachu was able to defeat Seaking, as well as avoid the attack in time. Pikachu then rode on Corphish's back, heading towards Sealeo. Sealeo tried stopping them using, which got stronger with each attack. While Pikachu and Corphish managed to destroy the first three Ice Balls, the fourth one managed to hit them both. Sealeo then launched a fifth Ice Ball at them both. Pikachu launched a Thunder at the Ice Ball, and after increasing its power, he was able to break it. While the falling ice shards were hurting Sealeo, Corphish was able to defeat it with its, knocking it out, and ending the first round of the Sootopolis Gym battle in Ash's favor. Both Pokémon were then recalled.

In the next episode, Pikachu was used as Ash's last Pokémon in the second round of the Sootopolis Gym battle, going up against Juan's last and strongest Pokémon, his. Ash had Pikachu use Thunder, and although it dealt a lot of damage, Milotic nullified the damage by using Recover. Both Pokémon then used Iron Tail, in which Milotic's overpowered Pikachu's. Milotic quickly followed up with Twister, which was powered up by the water. Much to Juan's surprise, Pikachu was able to break through with Thunder, and followed up with a powerful Quick Attack. Milotic then used Hydro Pump, which Pikachu dodged, and used a super-effective Thunderbolt. However, Milotic shook the attack off, and used Recover, healing itself once again. Milotic then went underwater, making both Ash and Pikachu unable to see it. Milotic then tried hitting Pikachu with Iron Tail, but he dodged it and climbed onto Milotic's body. Milotic tried stopping him using Hydro Pump, but he dodged the attack. Pikachu then grabbed onto its eyebrows and flipped the Tender Pokémon into the water. While underwater, Pikachu used Thunder, dealing major damage to Milotic, as water was an excellent conductor of electricity. This knocked out Milotic, winning Ash the battle and earning him the.

In Less is Morrison, Ash used Pikachu in a 1-on-1 battle against his new rival Morrison. He faced Morrison's Beldum. At first, Pikachu had the upper hand as the only move Beldum knew was Take Down, which he easily dodged before retaliating with Quick Attack and Thunderbolt. Pikachu then dodged another Take Down, but this time Beldum reversed, and finally managed to hit Pikachu with its attack. After getting hit by a second Take Down, Pikachu used Iron Tail to counter another one, causing a big explosion which knocked both Pokémon out.

In Saved by the Beldum, Ash used Pikachu for the first round in the Ever Grande Conference, he went up against and his. Hitmonlee used, but Pikachu managed to avoid the attack, and hit Hitmonlee with Iron Tail. Hitmonlee then went for, which Pikachu managed to dodge as well using Quick Attack, causing Hitmonlee to crash, and take major damage. As Pikachu charged in for one final attack, Hitmonlee hit him with Mega Kick. While heading towards the ground, Pikachu managed to escape Hitmonlee's kick, and hit him with Iron Tail, knocking it out, and causing Ash to advance to the next round of the tournament.

In Shocks and Bonds, Ash used Pikachu as his second Pokémon in his Full Battle against in the Victory Tournament, part of the Ever Grande Conference. He went up against Katie's, and was sent out due to the type advantage he had. However, Katie immediately switched to her, who had a type-advantage of its own. Pikachu used Quick Attack, but Dugtrio used Dig to dodge the attack. Then, Dugtrio used, creating a huge patch of quicksand. Pikachu tried to escape, but couldn't and got pulled by the sand. Ash had Pikachu use Thunderbolt, which had no effect on Dugtrio since it was a Pokémon. Dugtrio used Double-Edge, and Pikachu attempted to block it with Iron Tail, but when both moves collided, Pikachu was knocked out, while Dugtrio emerged unharmed.

In Choose It or Lose It!, Ash used Pikachu as his second Pokémon in his Full Battle against Morrison in the Ever Grande Conference. He went up against his. Steelix used Dragon Breath, but Pikachu dodged it, and used Quick Attack. Steelix countered with Iron Tail, hitting Pikachu hard. Steelix then used Dig, hitting Pikachu from underneath the ground. Pikachu tried using Iron Tail, but Steelix quickly dodged that with another Dig. Pikachu managed to dodge Dig, and hit Steelix with Quick Attack. Then, both Pokémon used Iron Tail, but Steelix's managed to overpower Pikachu's, knocking him out.

In At the End of the Fray, Ash used Pikachu as his sixth and last Pokémon in his Full Battle against. He went up against Tyson's, who had already defeated Swellow and Grovyle, but had a crack in its armor as a result. Pikachu used Thunderbolt on the crack, but it didn't do much to Metagross. Metagross then used Psychic on Pikachu, but he was able to dodge it, and hit Metagross with Iron Tail. Pikachu then climbed onto Metagross, and as Metagross was unable to shake him off, Pikachu finally defeated the Iron Leg Pokémon with Thunder. After, Pikachu went up against Tyson's last Pokémon, his. Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Thunder attacks soon proved to be useless, as Meowth each time defended itself against Pikachu's Electric-type attacks with its Thunderbolt. After realizing this, Ash had Pikachu fight close-range, and ordered him to use Quick Attack. However, Meowth dodged this with Double Team, and followed up with Iron Tail. Pikachu countered with his own Iron Tail, causing the moves to collide. Pikachu and Meowth started attacking unceasing, with each time their attacks colliding. Both Pokémon then used Iron Tail, with both Pokémon taking the hit, knocking them both down. Though initially both of them got up, Pikachu fainted from exhaustion, causing Ash to end up in the Top 8 of the Ever Grande Conference.