Chapter 46 Xia Mu: Should I Catch a Pikachu to Train and
Defeat Vileplume? The red Gyarados didn't gain as many levels as Lucario, only increasing by one level to reach level 42.
Xia Mu didn't remove it from the battle but kept it fighting.
Xiao Tian still had three unknown Pokémon in this battle.
Although she didn't know if these three were the same three she had in the original story, Xia Mu was fairly certain that even if Xiao Tian's remaining three weren't Jigglypuff, Ponyta, or Dewgong, their levels would definitely be between 40 and 50.
Blastoise was her ace, and her only Pokémon above level 50.
Her second strongest was Ninetales, but Ninetales couldn't possibly be a match for Gyarados, so she would definitely bring out something else.
Under the expectant gazes of Xia Mu and everyone else, Xiao Tian brought out her fourth Pokémon:
Raichu, at level 45, the same as Vileplume.
The evolved form of Pikachu, this Raichu was clearly very strong.
Seeing Raichu, Xia Mu couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for Xiao Tian.
As a trainer, Xia Mu admired that several of the Pokémon Xiao Tian had trained were niche types.
For example, Ninetales needs a Fire Stone to evolve, Vileplume needs a Leaf Stone, and Jigglypuff needs a Moon Stone.
Now, there's Raichu, which needs a Thunder Stone to evolve.
"If you said you were broke, no one would believe you. The evolution stones for Ninetales, Vileplume, and Raichu alone are quite valuable," Xia Mu said with a hint of teasing.
Evolution stones aren't cheap; even with connections, they'd cost at least tens of thousands of League Coins.
For example, Xia Mu sold his evolution stones to the Friendly Shop, and the buyback price was as high as 15,000 League Coins.
"It's because you've spent so much money training them that you ended up so poor that you have to rely on battling and part-time jobs to earn money," Xiao Tian said, half-laughing and half-crying.
It was thanks to her good family background and her own talent in battle that she had come this far.
"I understand," Xia Mu said only two words and then said nothing more.
At first, when he didn't have money, Xia Mu also had a headache about it.
Now, because he had sold a certain amount of comet fragments, he had enough money to carry out various training programs.
Otherwise, he would have to be very careful with his money, instead of being able to get whatever he wanted.
Xia Mu stopped talking about this, and the battle quickly began. This time, Xiao Tian didn't ask Xia Mu if he wanted to change his Pokémon, but directly commanded Raichu to attack.
Unlike Vileplume, Raichu was clearly bolder. Even though its attack was reduced by one stage due to Gyarados's intimidation, it still performed very strongly.
As a Pokémon with a a base Attack stat of 90, Raichu was a balanced between physical and special attacks.
However, it was somewhat weak in HP and defense, so Raichu was generally not used by many people; it was too fragile and didn't have any particularly outstanding features.
Based on Raichu's situation, most people would choose a special attack/speed build, since Raichu has a speed stat of 110, which is faster than Ninetales.
Xiao Tian's Raichu is clearly also going for a special attack/speed build.
The original anime says that Pikachu doesn't evolve into Raichu partly because the Raichu's body becomes bulky, causing slower movement speed, but that's not entirely accurate.
According to Xia Mu's understanding, speed involves three aspects:
movement speed, move execution speed, and attack speed.
In other words, Raichu is definitely faster than Pikachu at the same level, without a doubt.
Of course, if Pikachu has a level advantage, EV advantage, and IV advantage, thus suppressing Raichu, that would be understandable.
Returning to his thoughts,
Xia Mu was utterly overwhelmed.
He didn't want the red Gyarados to battle Raichu, but the red Gyarados didn't want to go back into its Poké Ball.
It was clearly overconfident and didn't want to be eliminated so quickly.
It hadn't had enough of a fight last night; Lucario, Growlithe, and Beedrill had stolen the spotlight.
Xia Mu was helpless and could only try to command the red Gyarados to battle Raichu in his own way.
Even if it lost, it might be a good thing for the red Gyarados, because it was indeed a bit too arrogant.
He didn't know how its slow-moving personality had changed so drastically.
It had to be said that this battle put Xia Mu under immense pressure; he had never felt so overwhelmed.
Not only was its level lower, but The Water- and Flying-type combination had a fourfold weakness to Electric.
The final result, naturally, was that the red Gyarados lost.
Flamethrower was impressive, but even with Xia Mu's excellent command, it still couldn't win this battle.
If Xiao Tian weren't an aggressive trainer, Xia Mu might still have had a chance to win. She immediately commanded Raichu to sweep the field with Thunderbolt.
Even though Gyarados could dodge with its flight ability, it was immediately met with Raichu's relentless attacks.
Raichu easily dodged Gyarados's counterattacks, further boosted by its Double Team ability – a veritable cheat code.
Although facing Raichu, Xia Mu suddenly felt like he was facing Pikachu.
In the game, this seemingly insignificant little guy, easily defeated, was actually a formidable opponent in the real world.
It even made Xia Mu want to catch a Pikachu and raise it to be Raichu.
The red Gyarados refused to be defeated, and Xia Mu hoped it would learn its lesson through this battle.
Next, he sent out Beedrill to fight.
Although the red Gyarados lost decisively, it did drain a lot of Raichu's stamina and, while unable to battle, also inflicted some damage on Raichu.
Beedrill is only level 42, lower than Raichu, but Raichu's fighting style is precisely what Beedrill counters.
Although a regular Beedrill isn't particularly fast, with 252 EVs maxed out and the best Speed IV, even if it's still slower than Raichu, it can hold its own against a Raichu that's expending a lot of HP.
Raichu's burst speed and attack speed are truly terrifying; if there's a type advantage, like with Gyarados, a single Thunderbolt attack has a high probability of KOing it.
Of course, the red Gyarados withstood two Thunderbolts, which is the uncertainty of the real world—unlike in games where there are situations where a Pokémon can truly withstand an attack through sheer willpower.
Actually, there's a mechanism in games where Pokémon will withstand a critical hit to avoid worrying their players.
But let's leave that aside.
For Raichu, this burst power is both an advantage and a disadvantage.
After the burst, Raichu is in a short period of stalemate.
Xia Mu seized this opportunity, having Beedrill use Ground-type Drill Rush to KO Raichu in one hit.
Drill Rush is a move that easily hits critical hits, and in this situation, Beedrill is aiming for a critical hit.
Furthermore, its Sniper ability greatly amplifies the damage when it hits a critical hit.
Raichu is strong, but Xia Mu has also seen how fragile it is.
Even at full health, it would probably be knocked down after taking one Drill Rush.
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(End of Chapter)