"Well done, Pikachu, we won!!" Ash excitedly shouted to Pikachu upon seeing Raichu fall to the ground, unable to get up for nearly ten seconds.
At this moment, Pikachu was already very exhausted. For him, using so many skills, especially attacks beyond his own level, consumed a lot of physical strength.
But being able to defeat the person who looked down on him and his Pokemon made it all worthwhile!
Pikachu made a swift dash toward Ash, then jumped into Ash's arms, sharing a happy laugh with him.
The Ralts held by Misty gently wriggled free from her embrace, then floated over to Ash, celebrating this moment of joy with him.
Lt. Surge looked at Ash and the collapsed Raichu with mixed emotions.
He really didn't expect to lose this battle today, and to lose so completely at that.
Throughout the whole battle, he couldn't even touch Pikachu, and was completely overpowered by it.
In terms of perception and quick judgment, he wasn't as decisive as Ash. Compared to his understanding of Raichu, Ash had a deeper understanding of Pikachu. They worked together flawlessly without a single mistake.
If it wasn't clear that Ash had only been traveling for a month, Lt. Surge might have thought he and Pikachu had been partners for over ten years.
Even though the levels, forms, and trainer's experience were all supposed to suppress the opponent, they were still crushed in the end. Where did the problem lie?
Thinking about it, it was all about that inexplicably fast speed from the beginning, the sudden appearance of the Surf ability, and the sheer bad luck where his Raichu inexplicably got paralyzed, halving its speed and triggering paralysis, leading to step-by-step setbacks.
Come to think of it, this luck is just ridiculous... Could it be karma from bullying the weak too much?
But all in all, these problems can be summed up in one aspect: a lack of power.
To put it bluntly, it's because raw strength wasn't as strong as the opponent's. Otherwise, regardless of the strategies, nothing can be feared in the face of overwhelming power.
Today's defeat taught Lt. Surge a lot, first and foremost being... not to judge people by their appearances!
"...You won, I take back my disrespectful words to you earlier, I'm sorry."
After a moment of mental breakdown, Lt. Surge gradually calmed down, then recalled Raichu and walked to Ash to bow sincerely to him.
This sudden gesture of respect caught Ash off guard. Although the Gym Leader's words were harsh at first, he did seem to know how to admit and correct his mistakes.
This made Ash, who was planning to taunt Lt. Surge, silently retract his thoughts. Since the opponent apologized and the battle was a complete victory for him, he decided to let it go.
Plus, this battle was also hugely rewarding for him. Pikachu successfully advanced to Elite Level. Now, even without entering a partner form, Pikachu is undoubtedly an Elite Level Pokemon!
The harder the opponent is to defeat, the greater the rewards after defeating them, as the experts in the group had told him.
Although it might seem as if he dominated the battle, it actually was quite easy… cough cough.
The main issue was that Lt. Surge's Raichu was trained too poorly.
"Uncle Lt. Surge, when you trained Raichu, did you focus solely on seeking level breakthroughs and ignore Raichu's inherent ability growth?" Ash suddenly said.
Lt. Surge was taken aback for a moment, then instinctively nodded, "Yes, in Pokemon battles, level is paramount, followed by the trainer's command and on-the-spot adaptability. As long as these two factors can suppress the opponent, the balance of victory will tip in your favor... that's what I used to think."
That's what he thought, but after today's battle with Ash, this fight refreshed Lt. Surge's entire perspective.
It turns out a newbie trainer, even lacking experience, can still overpower a seasoned trainer.
It turns out, with a lower Pokemon level and form, one can still defeat an opponent head-on...
Lt. Surge's long-standing beliefs were shattered today.
"What you said isn't wrong, but... Your Raichu's ability values are too weak compared to others at the same level. Pikachu can overpower Raichu because despite its lower level, its ability values are not low."
"By laying a solid foundation at every level and fully developing a Pokemon's ability values before advancing to the next level, a Pokemon's strength significantly increases. If you simply raise levels without addressing anything else, even a Champion Level might not defeat an Elite Level."
Ash patted Pikachu's head, relaying what Champion Ash had once told him to Lt. Surge.
In reality, many people strive to increase their Pokemon's level, but training a Pokemon isn't that simple. If one believes that raising levels equates to becoming the strongest, then this idea can only be described as naïve.
Yet, many people hold this belief, including Lt. Surge, standing in front of Ash now.