-141- Differences in Aptitude (Subscription Requested!)

Electivire
Level: 31
Gender: Male
Ability: Motor Drive
Potential: Gym Leader
Moves: Quick Attack, Thundershock, Charge, Thunderbolt, Brick Break, Light Screen, Electroweb, Thunder Punch, Swift, Volt Tackle, Ice Punch, Fire Punch
...

Through the data panel, Tong Si checked the specific details of Electivire.
Aside from the change in its Ability, everything else remained the same.
Did it finally acquire the Motor Drive ability?
Tong Si had once suspected that Elekid's ability to store electrical energy was actually the Motor Drive ability, except that back then, Elekid always had the Static ability.
Now, upon evolving into Electivire, its special capability for storing electricity finally seemed completely justified.
At the same time, having evolved into Electivire, Tong Si now had many new moves it could learn.

"Brother Chen, I must take my leave now!"
Tong Si recalled Electivire into its Poké Ball and promptly bid farewell to Bai Chen.
Bai Chen stood there dumbfounded. Why was he leaving so abruptly?
"Hey..."
Tong Si was already running far away, too distant for Bai Chen to call back even if he wanted to.
"Damn it! This guy... the principal of Linhu University asked me to persuade Tong Si to join Linhu University, but I hadn't even had the chance to bring it up before this guy took off."
Standing in place, Bai Chen muttered to himself, thinking he would simply have to lie to the principal and say Tong Si was unwilling to join.
...

After leaving the Pokémon Association, Tong Si arrived at a sparsely populated park in Linhu City.
"Come out, everyone!"
Tong Si tossed his Poké Balls, releasing all four of his Pokémon.
"Hekoo!"
"Vee~"
"Bachi..."
"Yami~~"
"???"
The other three Pokémon, the moment they laid eyes on Electivire, all wore expressions filled with question marks.

[Who are you?]
[I am Electivire! The evolution of Electabuzz, which is the evolution of Elekid!]
Hearing Electivire's self-introduction, the other three Pokémon looked somewhat bewildered.

Murkrow: [!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ Holy crap! Didn't you just evolve a couple of days ago? How did you evolve again?]
Eevee: [Big Bro, protect me! ｡◕ᴗ◕｡]
Shuckle: [So envious right now... (T＿T)]
...

"Everyone, you should all know each other by now, right?"
After the Pokémon finished exchanging their thoughts, Tong Si suddenly chimed in.
"First, let's welcome Murkrow to the family. Welcome, new partner."
Tong Si took the lead in applauding, immediately followed by Eevee, and Shuckle began clapping its short limbs as well.
Electivire simply glanced at Murkrow and smashed its fists together with a heavy thud.
It hadn't gotten a satisfying bout with Murkrow last time, and it had been itching to fight Murkrow again.
Seeing this, Murkrow flashed a provocative smile.

"You two can fight later."
Seeing the expressions on the two Pokémon, Tong Si knew they were bound to throw down sooner or later, but the introductions weren't finished yet.
"Murkrow, this is a Sharp Beak and choice Spectacles. They are my gift to you."
Tong Si personally fitted the Sharp Beak onto Murkrow. The size was adjustable, so even after Murkrow evolved further, it could still be tailored to fit properly.
The black glasses were also placed over Murkrow's eyes. Needless to say, with the shades on, Murkrow looked exceptionally dashing.

"Yami~"
Murkrow gratefully pecked Tong Si's hand, indicating that it was extremely satisfied with the gifts.
"Next, let me introduce Electivire. It is the further evolution of Electabuzz, who was the evolution of Elekid. I hope you all get along well with each other. Of course, if you want to fight for the position of team leader, I don't mind at all."
As he said this, Tong Si cast a sideways glance at Murkrow, never one to shy away from stirring up trouble.

"Vee~ Vee~"
Eevee immediately put on a headband that read "FIGHT" and pulled out two small handheld fans, eager to fuel the flames.
"Bachi bachi..."
Shuckle clapped while enjoying the show as a spectator.
"Hekoo..."
"Yami..."
The battle between the two Pokémon was ready to ignite at any second.

Actually, Tong Si did this on purpose. He wanted to see the true potential of these two Pokémon.
He wanted to see what they could achieve without his direct commands.
Electivire versus Murkrow.
This match turned out to be exceptionally fierce.
Through the battle, Tong Si noticed that Electivire adapted to its newly evolved body very quickly.
Much faster than it had during its Electabuzz phase.

"As expected, the Elekid family is truly meant to walk the path of a physical attacker," Tong Si sighed with emotion.
However, this match did not turn out to be a one-sided blowout as Tong Si had imagined.
Instead, after evolving into Electivire, the Pokémon found itself struggling immensely in the fight?

Clearly, in terms of type matchup, Electivire held a massive advantage, yet Murkrow's Tailwind was astonishingly effective.
Not only that, but Murkrow's various combat techniques and attack intensity genuinely surprised Tong Si.
"Is this what a Pokémon with Champion-tier potential is capable of?"
Tong Si looked at the Murkrow before him, feeling certain that during their match that morning, it must have been holding back.
Otherwise, Electabuzz would never have been able to defeat Murkrow.
It seemed... Murkrow genuinely wanted to join his team.

After a fierce battle lasting nearly half an hour, both Pokémon collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
"Let's call it a draw!"
Tong Si declared the result of the match.
Even though Electabuzz had evolved into Electivire and was one level higher than Murkrow, it could still only manage a draw against Murkrow.
At that moment, Tong Si suddenly realized the vast difference potential made.
"I need to find a way to raise the potential of these three Pokémon!"
For the upcoming Top 100 University Championship, Tong Si was aiming for nothing less than first place.
The opponents he would face later on would undoubtedly possess Pokémon with exceptional potential, seeing as they were all top students from major cities.
For them to use Pokémon with Champion-tier potential was entirely normal.
Tong Si had to elevate all his Pokémon to Champion-tier potential before the tournament began.
And that would require a massive amount of points.

"Contests! Gym Challenges!"
Between the tasks assigned by the system and the extra rewards, Tong Si needed to work hard to earn points.
Up until now, his point balance was only around 1.3 million.
And that was even with the 500,000 points the system had granted him upon subduing Murkrow.
Lately, Tong Si had engaged in fewer battles with other Trainers, which had left his point accumulation somewhat stagnant.
"I need to go farm some points!"
Tong Si looked toward the Linhu City Pokémon Battle Center; it was indeed a great place for that.

Before that, however, Tong Si first visited a Pokémon Center to restore both Electivire and Murkrow to peak condition after the injuries they sustained in the battle.
Following that, Tong Si prepared to upgrade their living arrangements.
Eevee was the happiest; it had grown thoroughly sick of that worn-out red-and-white Poké Ball!
The space inside was so cramped that even rolling over meant bumping into the walls—no fun at all.
Shuckle didn't really care either way, since it usually lived inside its shell anyway.
Murkrow adored the Dusk Ball, finding life inside it to be quite comfortable.
Electivire, however, expressed that it didn't need an upgrade; it still preferred the red-and-white Poké Ball. Despite Tong Si's repeated attempts at persuasion, Electivire stubbornly insisted on keeping its original ball.
Perhaps it was out of a sense of sentimentality—that was the very first Poké Ball Electivire had ever lived in, and it simply didn't want to part with it easily.

... (To be continued)