In the blinding white light, Pichu's form underwent an astonishing transformation.
First was its body, gradually changing from its originally slender form to become slightly more robust, and its tail also grew longer and thicker, looking like a jagged lightning bolt.
Next was its height, which increased somewhat, though not by much.
Finally were its ears, which changed from diamond-shaped to long leaf-shaped.
When the white light dissipated, a Pokémon appeared with yellow fur all over its body, two brown stripes on its back, darker-colored electric pouches on its cheeks, and black-tipped long ears.
It was none other than Pikachu!!!
"Pika-chu~"
Pikachu called out, still just as adorably cute.
This aspect hadn't changed with its evolution.
"Pikachu!"
Looking at the little cutie before him, Caster was overjoyed beyond words.
His Pikachu had evolved into Pikachu at the critical moment!
And as Pichu evolved, Caster's livestream exploded, with comments filling the entire screen.
"Holy crap! Pichu evolved into Pikachu. It got stronger, and even cuter!"
"Oh my god, how can there be such an adorable Pokémon as Pikachu? Pikachu, mommy loves you!"
"Everyone, remember that old friend I mentioned during the Pewter Gym battle? Now that Pichu has evolved into Pikachu, it looks even more like them!"
"Pikachu, charge! Beat up that Raichu!"
"Raichu, put your back into it!!! Give it your all!"
While netizens in the livestream discussed enthusiastically, many wealthy viewers immediately sent rewards—Luxury Balls, Master Balls, and Draco Meteors from various Dragon-type Pokémon.
For a moment, the livestream screen flashed wildly, with various reward effects appearing one after another, dazzling to the eyes.
At the same time, Pichu's evolution during battle brought a new explosive moment to the livestream, with countless netizens swarming in and the popularity continuously expanding.
"Last time during the gym battle it was Magikarp evolving, this time it's become Pichu evolving. How is this guy's luck so good that his Pokémon always evolve during battles?"
Iono blinked, marveling at Caster's good luck while also being captivated by Pikachu, her eyes sparkling brightly as she said, "Waa waa waa~ Pikachu is so cute! I want to give it a squeeze!"
As an Electric-type Gym Trainer, Iono naturally had a special love for Electric-type Pokémon.
"Damn! It actually evolved during battle?"
On the battlefield, Lt. Surge sighed.
Originally, if Raichu had put all its strength into discharging electricity, there was still hope of overwhelming Pichu and winning through that.
But now with Pichu's evolution, that hope had clearly vanished.
Because whenever a Pokémon evolves, all its bodily functions or basic abilities greatly improve, this was a leap in life itself.
And with Pichu evolving into Pikachu, it was foreseeable that its Lightning Rod ability's development would skyrocket, and its electric sacs' charge capacity would also surge dramatically.
"Pika-chu~"
On the battlefield, Pikachu curiously examined its own body, appearing very curious.
At the same time, the feeling of nearly being overwhelmed just moments ago had completely disappeared, and Pikachu appeared full of energy.
The electricity from Raichu just now had all become its nourishment, leaving Pikachu radiant with vitality.
"Pika-chu~"
After calling out, Pikachu glanced provocatively at the opposing Raichu.
Raichu, can you still go on?
"Rai~"
Raichu showed a troubled expression.
Although it hadn't suffered any attacks, with the massive release of electricity, its stamina had inevitably been greatly depleted, and it began panting.
It had almost been drained dry!!!
At this moment, it had no choice but to interrupt its Discharge move and take a breather.
Seeing this, Pikachu was greatly disappointed.
Either you can or you can't. What does taking a breather mean?
"Rai~ Raichu~"
Looking at the unsatisfied Pikachu, Raichu really wanted to grit its teeth and shock it again.
But its trembling legs told it: you can't go on anymore, save your strength!
And taking advantage of everyone's astonishment and shock, Caster began checking Pikachu's latest status panel.
[Pokémon: Pikachu]
[Type: Electric]
[Ability: Lightning Rod (Draws Electric-type moves to itself, takes no damage from them, and instead raises Special Attack)]
[Moves: Magnet Rise, Nasty Plot, Encore, Fake Out]
"It learned four new moves?"
Caster's eyes lit up, pleasantly surprised.
In terms of quantity, four new moves wasn't a small number.
But what truly surprised Caster was the quality of these four moves.
Magnet Rise was a move that could make Pikachu levitate and rise into the air.
Not only could it enhance mobility, but crucially, once levitating, Ground-type moves could no longer hit it.
This way, Pikachu's only weakness was gone too.
Nasty Plot was a stat-boosting move that greatly raised Special Attack, similar to a Special Attack version of Swords Dance—its power needed no elaboration.
Encore was a Normal-type move whose effect was to force the opponent to consecutively use the last move they had used—it had many wonderful applications in battle.
As for Fake Out, this was even more of a divine technique!
Not only could it perform a priority attack, but it could also make the opponent flinch, equivalent to an extra turn of output—excellent for breaking through abilities like Multiscale and Sturdy.
Closing the status panel, Caster was about to order Pikachu to launch a counterattack, but after seeing the panting, exhausted Raichu, a new idea suddenly emerged in his mind.
"All for the streaming effect."
Caster consoled himself inwardly: "Anyway, making Raichu suffer a bit, I'll bear the infamy."
So he quickly changed tactics and shouted loudly: "Pikachu, use Encore!"
"Pika?"
On the battlefield, Pikachu was stunned for a moment.
Having accumulated so much electrical energy in its body, it had already prepared to counterattack with an electric current, to shock Raichu crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, venting its pent-up anger.
Yet unexpectedly now————
Although it didn't understand, Pikachu still obediently used Encore.
"Pika-chu~"
Raising both hands, Pikachu generated a white spherical energy in its hands, then threw the energy toward its opponent, hitting the panting Raichu opposite.
Whoosh!
After Raichu's body was hit, it suddenly lit up with a white glow.
Immediately after, its body seemed to lose control, its electric sacs began continuously sparking with arcs, and it released all of the already scarce electrical energy within.
Zzzzt!
Raichu desperately discharged electricity, but the current was still very weak—hitting Pikachu's body wasn't even enough to tickle it.
"Pika~"
Pikachu looked disdainful.
What good is this little bit of current?
Not satisfying at all!
"Rai~"
Raichu was indignant, but its body still couldn't be controlled.
After three discharges, Raichu collapsed to the ground, eyes spinning.
Seeing this, whether it was the people at the scene or the netizens in the livestream, they all gasped in shock.
Raichu was forced!