"Wait, Fishing Dreamer? He's streaming again?"
Iono's eyes went wide as she clicked into the livestream.
She still remembered this streamer's gym challenge video with a Magikarp. It had left quite an impression.
Iono had this nagging feeling that he might become serious competition down the line, so she'd been keeping tabs on him.
What surprised her was that Caster hadn't posted anything for the past month. His comment section was filled with people saying he'd gotten himself a sugar mama, that some gym trainer from Johto was keeping him.
Iono had been pretty bummed out when she saw that!
But judging by this stream, those must've been just rumors.
The match was just starting when Iono clicked in.
"Hold on. Last time he used Magikarp for a gym challenge, and now he's using Pichu against Lt. Surge's Raichu?"
Iono's jaw dropped. This was insane.
As a fellow Electric-type gym leader, Iono obviously knew Lt. Surge.
They didn't just know each other—they'd actually fought in the Type Expert Tournament.
Lt. Surge's battle style was brutal and aggressive. Iono had nearly gotten crushed back then.
"Pichu versus Raichu... can he actually win this?"
The matchup alone was wild enough to hook her. Iono settled in to watch.
Meanwhile, inside Vermilion Gym.
"Pichu, use Agility to dodge!"
The massive fist came hammering down, but Pichu didn't panic. Its body flashed, not only dodging Raichu's attack but getting faster with each movement as it darted around the field.
Pichu's speed shot up!
"Damn it! Not this move again!"
Lt. Surge's expression soured as bad memories came flooding back.
His Raichu had been run in circles by Ash's Pikachu using this exact strategy.
"Does this kid know that other kid?"
Remembering how Caster had known about his loss to Ash, Lt. Surge ground his teeth.
This wasn't just a simple gym match anymore. Time to get serious.
Lt. Surge's eyes sharpened as he commanded with intensity, "Raichu, use Discharge!"
Discharge was an area attack that hit everything on the field.
So Pichu's good at dodging, huh?
Let's see you dodge an attack that covers the entire arena.
"Rai~chu~"
The towering Raichu with its massive electric reserves began charging up.
"Here it comes! Lt. Surge going all out—can Pichu handle it?"
In the stream, viewers held their breath.
Caster's mouth twitched slightly as he barely held back a grin.
"Pi~"
On the battlefield, Pichu's eyes lit up with excitement, and it unconsciously licked its lips.
BOOM!
Massive bolts of lightning exploded from Raichu's body, blanketing every corner of the field.
Pichu had nowhere to run and was instantly engulfed by the terrifying electrical current, looking like some kind of Super Saiyan Pichu.
"Direct hit!"
Lt. Surge pumped his fist, but then he noticed something wrong. Pichu wasn't crying out in pain.
"Lightning Rod ability?"
Lt. Surge raised an eyebrow.
That ability was pretty rare in the Pikachu family.
His Raichu, for example, just had the standard Static ability.
"So Pichu has Lightning Rod—no wonder the streamer was so confident. Lt. Surge's Raichu supposedly knows every Electric-type move, but now they're all useless."
"Go Pichu, charge up!"
"Don't get too excited yet, guys. I already figured Pichu had that ability. The problem is, Pichu's so small with limited storage capacity. Can its Lightning Rod really absorb all of Raichu's attacks? It might overload!"
"Good point! The energy gap between them is still huge. Abilities and moves can only do so much—they're not everything!"
In the stream, viewers were initially hyped, but the realists quickly brought the mood down with their doubts.
But as time went on, both the stream viewers and Lt. Surge noticed something strange.
Pichu never cried out in pain.
In fact, as time passed, the continuous Discharge drained Raichu's reserves, and the current kept getting weaker.
"Pi~ Pichu~"
Once the current weakened, everyone finally got a clear look at Pichu.
Not a scratch on it. Its eyes were bright and alert, its face showing pure excitement.
Its aura kept rising as it absorbed more electricity.
Thanks for the snack, old pal!
"Holy crap! Pichu's fine!"
"Hey, remember that special training the streamer mentioned yesterday? What if he's been specifically training Pichu's Lightning Rod ability? That's the only way it could handle Raichu's attack!"
"That makes sense! Totally makes sense! It's obvious Pichu's ability has been developed way beyond normal."
"Ha! Lt. Surge, Raichu's running on empty—time to push!"
Seeing this, the tense atmosphere in the stream suddenly turned celebratory.
Compared to the viewers' excitement, Iono, as an Electric-type specialist, saw something deeper.
"Can this Pichu really handle all that?"
Iono frowned slightly, her eyes fixed on the electric sparks crackling from Pichu's cheek pouches.
She was impressed that Caster could develop Pichu's Lightning Rod to this degree. Even she, as an Electric-type gym leader, wasn't sure she could pull that off.
But she could tell Pichu's electric sacs were nearly full too.
Of course, Raichu's electricity was almost depleted as well.
In that case, it was anyone's game.
And beyond everyone's expectations, Lt. Surge actually did "push" Raichu, shouting, "Raichu, hang in there! Use Discharge at maximum power!"
Of course, Lt. Surge couldn't see the stream chat. His assessment matched Iono's—he simply didn't believe Caster's Pichu could actually absorb all of Raichu's electrical energy.
Sure, this Raichu was a quickly-trained fighter, not his ace Pokemon, but its Electric-type talent was still incredibly strong.
Otherwise it wouldn't have caught Lt. Surge's attention, much less mastered every Electric-type move the Raichu line could learn.
"Rai~ Raichu~"
Hearing its trainer's command, Raichu gritted its teeth and increased its output.
ZZZZT! ZZZZT!
Current kept streaming from Raichu's body, rushing straight at Pichu.
Thanks to Lightning Rod, it was all absorbed and processed by Pichu.
But gradually, Pichu started feeling full. It couldn't take any more.
"Pi~ Pichu~"
Pichu's expression turned pained.
It desperately wanted to blast all the absorbed current back at Raichu in one shot, but Raichu kept feeding it more electricity. It couldn't intake and output at the same time.
And if it deactivated Lightning Rod, Raichu's current would damage it and might even detonate its near-limit energy reserves.
"Pichu!!!"
From the sidelines, Caster realized his miscalculation.
He hadn't expected Lt. Surge to order another Discharge after the first one failed.
This is what you get with an Electric-type specialist. Sharp instincts.
On top of that, he hadn't expected Lt. Surge's Raichu to have such powerful and abundant electrical energy that it was nearly pushing past Pichu's limit.
That's a gym leader's Pokemon for you. Even if it wasn't his ace, it still outclassed an ordinary trainer's Pokemon.
In terms of raw Electric-type power, Trixie's Ampharos didn't even come close to Lt. Surge's Raichu.
"Oh no! Pichu can't hold on!"
In the stream, sharp-eyed viewers noticed Pichu's pained expression getting worse.
"Raichu~"
Seeing this, Raichu pushed even harder.
But right then, Pichu's body suddenly lit up with a blinding white light.
"Wait, is that—?!"
Whether it was Caster, Lt. Surge, or the countless viewers in the stream, everyone's eyes went wide, staring in disbelief at the spectacle.
"Pichu's about to evolve!"
After the initial shock, Caster broke into a huge grin.