>>27876086>>27876227>>27877270>>27877413the light ball item itself was originally inspired by the idea that Ash's Pikachu was "special" for being more powerful without evolving
it was first made available by transferring the Yellow version Pikachu to Gen 2, and Yellow version was specifically made to play off the peak of the anime's popularity (the Jessie and James cameo)
the Light Ball doesn't exist in the anime, but we're basically supposed to consider that Ash's Pikachu naturally has its effects
also Pikachu literally slapped the thunderstone out of Ash's hand
if Ash tried to force it on him, he'd probably refuse to fight for him again
