Chapter 122: Raising Kathy

"Akai, believe in me! Hard work will pay off!"

"Do you know about the culture of the Hidden Villages?"

"It is said that there was once a ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village with serious talent issues named Might Guy. Later, he specialized in Taijutsu..."

"Do you know Uchiha Madara? He was almost kicked to death by him!"

"No, no, no, I’m not asking you to switch to a physical attacker... nor am I asking you to attack the trainer directly! That was just an analogy."

...

Abra was feeling very insecure right now, so Arm used [Animal Senses] to shower him with motivational chicken soup.

"Not being able to evolve also has its advantages; there’s no need to blame fate," Arm said, patting Abra’s thin, frail shoulders.

"Boss, if you say that, then if one could evolve, would Alakazam be better, or would Abra be better?" Clefairy chimed in, stepping on a sore spot.

Arm: ...

"Boss is right. If I hadn't evolved from my Gastly state, I would still have the [Levitate] ability, making me immune to Ground-type damage... Is evolving into Gengar really all that great, Gastly?" Haunter also chimed in with a sarcastic tone.

Abra, who had started to believe him, immediately became dejected again.

"You two, go off to the side and practice your skills!" Arm said irritably.

Facing "that Abra" you were all timid and obedient, but facing "this Abra" you're throwing heavy punches? Are you holding a grudge and trying to get revenge?

"Don't listen to them. They were terrified to death by another Abra earlier, just like cowering grandkids!" Arm frantically exposed their secrets.

Unfortunately, Abra, who knew about the "Alakazam" situation, was not encouraged by this.

"Actually, your individual values and growth potential are excellent, especially your individual values—it just so happens that you are heavily weighted toward Special Attack and lightly weighted toward Physical Attack..." Arm tried his best to encourage Akai.

However, Akai continued to project feelings of "depression" and "inferiority"—Akai had not yet reached the level where he could communicate through telepathy or simulated language.

This was normal! There are many Pokémon capable of telepathy, but few who have mastered human language. The comedic duo here and that "Alakazam" were the exceptions.

"Akai, to be honest... you rarely get a chance to play in matches..." Arm suddenly blurted out a "hard truth," which immediately made Akai even more despondent.

"But! Believe me, I really do intend for you to be my secret weapon, someone who can help me win key match points at critical moments!" Arm said with great sincerity.

And more important than words, Akai truly felt Arm’s sincerity through [Animal Senses].

That’s right, if one could evolve into Alakazam, of course Alakazam would be stronger. What Arm said earlier was indeed just comforting himself in a situation where "evolution is impossible," right?

However, Arm wasn't lying afterward—there are indeed advantages to an Abra not evolving...

First, Abra’s Special Attack and Speed are already very high even without evolution. Second... if it doesn't evolve, Abra’s physical defense base stat is shockingly low—only 15 points. Among known Pokémon, it is only higher than the Blissey line, and its Special Defense isn't high either, at only 55 points!

And theoretically, Abra can inherit a skill that is absolutely critical in this situation—[Guard Split]!

The effect of [Guard Split] is to have the user "split" their Physical Defense and Special Defense with the target...

In this realistic Pokémon world, using this move on a Pokémon with a higher growth level than one's own results in a diminished effect, while using it on a Pokémon with a lower growth level yields even better results—meaning that against a lower-level Pokémon, one might even end up with an advantage on top of the "split."

For Abra, using it on a Pokémon of the same level is equivalent to inflicting a massive reduction in the opponent's Physical Defense while simultaneously giving itself a... massive, massive, massive increase in Physical Defense!

As for Special Defense, it is generally higher than Abra’s anyway, so it is highly likely to be an advantage as well.

One skill is worth the "efficiency" of several others.

Just as Akai was starting to believe it, Clefairy leaned in and said: "Boss! That must be for when he coordinates with me in a double battle... After all, those stupid humans with their worldly prejudices against Clefable will never guess how much my sandbag-sized fists hurt! Otherwise, if Akai goes out there alone, lowering the opponent's physical defense won't help..."

Indeed, unlike Clefable or Nidoking, with Abra’s measly 20-point base Physical Attack, there is no possibility of any unorthodox physical strategy.

However, Arm said: "No, Akai, when it really comes time for you to take the field, while it might not necessarily be singles or doubles, it will definitely be a moment where you need to complete the turnaround yourself! You must also learn the skills [Psyshock] and [Foul Play]!"

[Psyshock] is a Psychic-type, Special Attack-based skill with 80 power. It might seem unremarkable compared to [Psychic], which has 90 power and additional effects, but it has one most important characteristic—it uses psychic power to create a physical impact; it is a Special Attack skill for the user, but it deals physical damage to the enemy!

And [Foul Play] is a Dark-type skill, characterized by using the opponent’s own physical attack power to deal damage to them, having nothing to do with the user's own physical attack...

With two types of offensive methods, the coverage is not limited, and coupled with [Guard Split], these three tactics ensure that Abra is not at a disadvantage in a match, especially if it catches the opponent off guard—it has the potential to win against stronger foes!

Akai listened until he almost believed it himself, but... he suddenly became despondent again.

Having said all that...

Akai hadn't inherited [Guard Split]!

And this wasn't a move that Abra could learn later on...

But for Arm, this was certainly not a problem: "Come on, Akai, let’s try it first... trigger your inherited skill!"

"Wait, but Akai’s stamina is still too weak, isn't it? In the time outside of using skills..." Clefairy tried to raise an objection again.

This time, Akai turned his head himself: "Abra, Abra!"

Without needing Arm to say anything, Akai retorted himself—even outside of skills, I can use Teleport!

Before his mental energy is exhausted, there are very few Pokémon of the same level who can hit Abra "outside of skills," and even with skills, very few can actually land a hit on Abra.

It’s just that...

Constantly using Teleport to dodge consumes far more energy than the opponent's attacks, and Abra is typically "low in stamina," so... under normal circumstances, it only delays the inevitable defeat for a little while.

But if it really is trained the way Arm says...

Then Abra would truly have the strength to fight, especially when facing high-attack, high-defense Pokémon—catching them off guard gives it a huge advantage!

Arm suddenly shivered. He turned his head and saw the "newcomer" squinting his eyes, wondering if he was looking at him...