Man, getting the 200 lightning bolt in a row thing is pretty tough when you'll get shocked instantly coming out of battles sometimes. Would've liked to have gotten it out of the way, but there's just no way I'm gonna waste time on it right now if I'll just get cheaped out of it.
By the way (completely unrelated), one of the more obvious benefits I've noticed early on from the international version additions is all the extract abilities, most notable ability extract. I had no idea US versions (of the original) were missing these. I can remember running out of ability spheres early on in the game countless times in the past, especially if you're not grinding too much in the right areas. Then you'd have to stay where you were at on the grid for a looooong time if you didn't want to waste levels later on to go back and grab that ability. Extract makes early grid building much, much smoother.