Chapter Fifty-One: Subjugation

Previously, Boom the Mischievous Electrode never listened to Amu’s commands, nor would it help him fight on the battlefield. However... On one hand, Amu’s abilities had improved; on the other, Boom had been tricked by this Ditto while guarding the villa, making it feel it had lost face. Now it was eager to teach Ditto a lesson.

“Transform, transform!” The four shadowy hands behind the Coffin of Death converged, gathering ghost-type energy in an instant.

“Boom! Use Thunderbolt, send it back!” Amu saw the Coffin of Death preparing Shadow Ball and immediately directed Boom to counterattack.

The shadowy hand threw out a Shadow Ball, which collided head-on with Boom’s lightning attack. With a resounding explosion, both moves canceled each other out!

Their skills had similar power, so such phenomena occurred—not like in the games, where you hit me, I hit you, and neither interferes with the other.

Seeing this, Amu made a guess. This Ditto must have reached the normal growth limit of wild Pokémon—around level 50! No wonder it was so composed when facing the Exeggutor and others earlier...

“Boom, keep circling and attack!” Amu judged quickly. Circling wasn’t because Boom couldn’t win—it was already level 50—but to widen the advantage!

Boom was clearly a type with fast movement and quick skill preparation. Wrapped in electric energy, it darted around the field. The Coffin of Death wasn’t exactly slow, especially the shadowy hands extending from its shadow, which were ghostly and unpredictable, but it couldn’t even get close to Boom...

After dodging the Coffin of Death’s shadowy hand again, Amu commanded, “Use Thunderbolt!”

A Thunderbolt lashed out, striking the Coffin of Death squarely!

The Coffin of Death, struck hard, floated back, but managed to stabilize itself.

When Ditto transforms into another Pokémon, its base stats—except for HP—are calculated according to the Pokémon it imitates, but its growth level remains unchanged. A level 50 Ditto transformed into another Pokémon is still level 50.

The Coffin of Death’s base stats totaled 483, slightly less than Boom’s 490. Its HP base stat was 58, but when Ditto transformed into it, HP remained Ditto’s 48, essentially making it a Coffin of Death with slightly reduced stamina.

Ghost Pokémon differ most from others during wrestling phases outside of skills—they aren’t affected by pure physical impact, nor can they inflict physical damage by body collisions. Both sides can only engage in “energy duels.”

The hands stretching from the shadows seemed to be concentrated ghost energy, and Boom wasn’t intimidated either, enveloped in lightning—collisions wouldn’t disadvantage it!

The Coffin of Death had a special attack base stat of 95, fifteen points higher than Boom’s, but...

Amu estimated that a wild Ditto’s growth value would be low, certainly not above 20%, perhaps not even 15%. It couldn’t be as systematically raised as Boom, whose special attack had been particularly strengthened.

Moreover, Boom had Amu’s guidance, avoiding unnecessary exchanges outside of skills.

“Use Energy Ball!” Boom unleashed another skill for the third time...

Thunderbolt and Energy Ball had similar power, and Boom was equally proficient in both. Neither had extra effectiveness or resistance against ghosts, so Amu alternated their use.

In this true Pokémon world, skills weren’t limited by number of uses; the main restriction was the Pokémon’s own stamina.

However...

The four dominant genes were like four bridges—if you always use just one, consumption did increase, sometimes leading to overload and stagnation.

It was said that legendary Pokémon and some rare cases could break the limitation of four dominant genes...

This Energy Ball hit its mark, and the Coffin of Death suffered another heavy blow!

Just as the Coffin of Death barely managed to ready its skill, condensing a Shadow Ball, Amu quickly commanded, “Thunderbolt! Send it back!”

Unlike Amu’s usual battle strategy, this time he aimed to counter whenever possible—neutralizing attacks!

There was a crucial difference between the two: the Coffin of Death’s strongest stat was physical defense, with a base of 145, while Boom’s was speed, at 150—five times that of Coffin of Death.

Though skill accumulation speed wasn’t strictly proportional, Coffin of Death took so long to prepare a skill that Boom could unleash three in the same time!

Previously, Amu tended to attack the opponent directly and didn’t bother neutralizing their skills, sometimes taking hits to ensure accuracy.

But in this “Boom vs Coffin of Death (Ditto)” battle, Amu preferred speed over force, canceling out the opponent’s attacks!

Boom’s speed meant it could “squeeze in” two extra skills between each of Coffin of Death’s moves...

And Coffin of Death’s advantage—physical defense—was useless against Boom, since Boom relied entirely on special attack skills!

Amu timed it perfectly—whenever Coffin of Death readied its skill, Boom was prepared to “clash” in response.

If Amu had raised his own Coffin of Death, facing a powerful ancient Boom, he would have focused on special attack growth, giving it an advantage in duels, plus Coffin of Death could learn many support skills to turn the tide...

But this wild Ditto transformed into Coffin of Death fought rigidly. Led by Amu’s Boom, it was dragged into a passive rhythm, merely taking hits!

“Boom, Thunderbolt!” Another thunderous strike hit the Coffin of Death. It shuddered violently!

Electric energy had invaded its body, inducing paralysis...

Not only did its skill preparation slow, but its movements were sometimes delayed due to paralysis.

Seizing the opportunity, Amu threw a Poké Ball!

But...

Although it couldn’t dodge due to paralysis and lacked stamina, the Poké Ball captured it, only for it to immediately pop out, breaking the ball.

“Are you up to this? You can’t catch a Pokémon this way!” Yumi complained impatiently from the side.

It was true—this was Amu’s first attempt at “normal capture”...

“Weakening stamina helps, but... if the target resists too much, you absolutely can’t catch it, unless...” Yumi muttered something about ancient times and barbarians.

Amu didn’t listen closely, but had a sudden idea: “Ryoichi! If I hadn’t performed CPR and saved Chikako, you’d be guilty of murder! How will you thank me?”

“I... I’m truly grateful...” Ryoichi glared at Amu, then, considering Ditto’s situation, reluctantly expressed his thanks, even trying to look sincere.

Meanwhile, Boom, enveloped in electricity, rammed the Coffin of Death again, and Amu threw another Poké Ball!

This time, the Coffin of Death—or rather, Ditto—put up much less resistance and was finally caught.

Yumi breathed a sigh of relief, then reminded, “Remember to increase your bond with it afterwards, or it might abandon you!” Then she turned to the other officers, saying, “Alright, stop gawking and escort the criminal back!”

The officers: ...

Were we really just “gawking”?