This little guy had only just joined the team for two days and had not undergone any proper training yet, so his strength had not been fully developed or refined.
Theo figured he might as well accompany Ash for another two or three rounds before conceding. It would satisfy Ash's desire for a battle, and once they got off the ship and could fight seriously without restrictions, he could properly have a real match with him then.
Suddenly, Theo noticed something on Pikachu's status panel, and his pupils shrank sharply. The words "Ability: Fifty-Fifty" on Pikachu's panel were faintly flickering, as if some kind of energy was flowing through them.
"What is this…"
Before Theo could fully react, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed. Larvitar used Rock Throw again, hurling stones toward Pikachu. Strangely, Pikachu, who had just been dodging the attack with ease, now seemed to stumble slightly, its movements slowing by half a beat. With a dull thud, several stones struck its back, causing it to cry out "Pika!" in pain as it staggered back a couple of steps.
At that moment, Theo suddenly understood.
So this was how the Fifty-Fifty ability worked. It was incredibly overbearing.
After that, Larvitar and Pikachu exchanged several more rounds. The glow of the Fifty-Fifty ability on Pikachu's panel never faded, as if it forcibly adjusted Pikachu's overall combat strength to be completely equal to Larvitar's level.
The Iron Tail that had previously been powerful now struck Larvitar with greatly reduced force, barely posing any threat. Larvitar was able to withstand it with ease.
The battle continued in a "fierce" manner. This time, Larvitar was thoroughly enjoying itself, chasing after Pikachu's tail with determination, biting at it again and again with relentless enthusiasm.
After several exchanges, quite a bit of fur had been knocked off Pikachu's tail. The tip even looked a little bald, drooping weakly. Pikachu stared at its tail, cheeks puffed up in anger, while Larvitar stood there with its hands on its hips, wagging its short tail proudly, its face full of smug satisfaction.
Theo kept his focus on the battlefield. He noticed that the glow of the Fifty-Fifty ability on Pikachu's panel was gradually weakening, clearly indicating that this ability could not be maintained indefinitely.
Seeing that Pikachu was starting to get genuinely irritated, Theo quickly called out to Larvitar, who was about to pounce forward for another aggressive attack.
"Alright, Larvitar, stop!"
"Ash, let's end the battle here. How about we call it a draw?"
Although Larvitar still wanted to keep fighting, it obediently retreated. Its little head was covered in a bit of dust, and it was panting slightly, but its face was full of excitement.
"Why? We haven't decided a winner yet, and Larvitar and Pikachu are clearly having fun!" Ash asked in confusion.
They had been having fun earlier, but now that Pikachu's Fifty-Fifty ability had ended, Larvitar was about to get completely beaten down.
Looking at the angry expression on Pikachu's face, Theo could already imagine Larvitar being grabbed and spanked in the next moment. That was definitely not something he wanted to see.
"Look," Theo said, pointing at the two Pokémon. "They're both a bit injured. If we keep going, it'll go too far. And besides, strong moves aren't allowed on this ship, so we can't show our real strength anyway. It's not very meaningful. Let's just call this one a draw. After we get off the ship and find a proper battlefield, we can have a real match. What do you think?"
Ash looked at Pikachu, then at Larvitar, scratched his head, and found Theo's reasoning made sense.
"Alright! Then it's a draw this time! But once we get off the ship, I won't hold back!"
"Deal," Theo nodded.
"Oh right, Theo!" Ash suddenly seemed to remember something. His eyes lit up as he leaned closer, speaking excitedly.
"My Charizard can Mega Evolve too! When that happens, how about it battles your Mega shiny Metagross?"
Ash grinned with excitement.
"I met Mr. Steven before, but I never got the chance to battle his shiny Metagross. I've always felt it was a pity. Now that I've met you, I'm really happy. When the time comes, let's have our Mega Pokémon battle it out and see which one is stronger. How about it?"
Looking at Ash's eager expression, Theo could not help but feel a bit suspicious.
Is this guy pretending, or is he serious?
When it came to overcoming type disadvantages, that was supposed to be Ash's specialty. Why was he suddenly targeting his Metagross and proposing a battle between Charizard and it?
Something did not feel right.
Logically speaking, shouldn't Ash be excitedly suggesting using Charizard to challenge his Milotic or Tyrantrum? Why pick Metagross instead? And even bring up Steven as an excuse. That was just too strange.
Theo calmly stared at Ash. Sure enough, Ash's gaze began to drift, and he subconsciously scratched the back of his head, looking incredibly guilty, as if the words "I'm scheming something" were written all over his face.
Theo immediately understood. This guy really was good at playing dumb.
"Oh," Theo deliberately dragged out the word, letting it curve in a teasing tone. "So that's how it is."
Ash grew even more uncomfortable under his gaze and laughed awkwardly.
"W-What's wrong? Is that not okay?"
Brock, who had already seen through everything, quietly leaned toward May and whispered in a low voice,
"Ash has actually gotten smarter. That battle just now, using Pikachu against Larvitar, was all a setup for what he's saying now, wasn't it?"
May froze for a moment before quickly realizing the truth, and she could not help but laugh.
"You mean… he wants Charizard to battle Metagross because Fire-type has an advantage over Steel-type?"
"Exactly," Brock nodded.
"Metagross is Steel and Psychic type. Charizard's Fire-type moves are super effective against Steel. He's trying to gain a type advantage. I really did not expect that after not seeing him for a while, Ash would change like this."
Max also leaned in, tiptoeing as he whispered,
"Ash is being so sneaky! He's actually using tactics like this!"
"What do you mean sneaky! This is called strategy! Strategy, you hear me?" Ash's ears were sharp, and he immediately retorted, his neck stiffening, though his face had already turned noticeably red.
"Battling is all about finding opportunities! This is a new tactic I just learned. What's wrong with that!"
"Alright, alright, strategy, strategy," Theo waved his hand with a smile, not exposing him.
"Sure. After we get off the ship, if you want to battle, we'll give it a try."
In truth, Theo did not take it too seriously. The strength of his Metagross was not something that could be shaken by type advantage alone.
In terms of talent, it was a direct descendant of Champion Steven's shiny Metagross. In terms of training, the defense and special defense enhancement potions provided by the system had never been wasted.
Since that was the case, he might as well take this opportunity to seize Ash's title as the master of fighting against unfavorable type matchups.
(End of Chapter)