LogFAQs > #979962780

Welp, I just got a hard reality check in the form of Hau's Alolan Raichu. There's a rival battle in Malie City, and his Alolan Raichu absolutely decimated my team the first time I battled him. When I finally took it down, all I had left was my Cutiefly on low health, but he still had a Tauros in the back which finished me off. This rival battle doesn't actually require you to win, and the story progresses even if you lose, but I still decided to try to get a win.

I figured with better play and better luck, I could beat him. For that to happen, I needed to get enough good luck (AKA not getting flinched with Bite) to KO his lead Torracat with only Popplio, meaning Mudbray would be at full health for Alolan Raichu. After that, Cutiefly easily KO's his Leafeon and Noibat before he sends out the Alolan Raichu. Then, I would send out Magnemite against Alolan Raichu, set up Light Screen, and chip away with Flash Cannon until Alolan Raichu KO's it. Finally, Mudbray would survive a Psychic and KO Alolan Raichu with High Horsepower. On my fourth attempt at the battle, I finally got the luck needed to reach Alolan Raichu with Mudbray at full health, got the whole setup done... and then Mudbray missed with High Horsepower. Thankfully, it actually took so little damage from Psychic due to Light Screen that it could survive a second one and have another chance to hit with High Horsepower... and then Alolan Raichu got a critical hit with its next Psychic and knocked out Mudbray.

After that awful luck, I was pissed off and probably should have just given up and moved on, but I tried a couple more times. On attempt #7, I eventually got the luck and setup I needed to make it back to Alolan Raichu, and this time I played it safe and had Mudbray use the weaker but 100% accurate Bulldoze instead of the stronger but 95% accurate High Horsepower, and thank god it still got the KO. After that, Mudbray stayed in and took down Hau's Tauros with 3 Low Sweeps thanks to Stamina defense boosts letting it tank Tauros's attacks, and I finally won this annoying rival battle.

But this was a real wake-up call about the challenges of facing fully evolved Pokemon with a team of unevolved Pokemon. I was planning on doing more today than just this battle, but it was annoying enough that I don't feel like playing anymore. Next up is route 10, Mt. Hokulani, and Sophocles's island trial.