The show! Will! Go! On!

Keldeo reared up on his hind legs, his expression serious and his Secret Sword raised and glowing brightly.

Keldeo the Critic

Editorial 9- Could Meowth Beat Pikachu In a Battle?

Title Card tinyurl: q5u3h7y

"It's me! Keldeo the Critic! I review it so you don't have to!" Keldeo said in his normally cheerful demeanor.

"Pikachu has been sending Meowth and the rest of Team Rocket blasting off for years. And in XY078- A Frenzied Factory Fiasco!, the rivalry between Meowth and Pikachu has really heated up with the closest thing to a Pokemon battle we've ever seen."

Keldeo grinned and said, "Not that the Tom and Jerry homage wasn't entertaining. Believe me, I loved it."

Keldeo gave a nod and said, "But it most certainly begs the question: could Meowth beat Pikachu in a battle?"

Keldeo smiled and said, "The keyword here is could. Obviously, Meowth would have no chance against Pikachu right now. Pikachu easily trumps Meowth in speed, experience, skill, and raw power. But what if Meowth went through some special training? Could he ever reach a level where he could put up a decent fight against the franchise mascot? Well, let's find out!"

"First of all, the anime is not the same as the game. So the clear cut definite levels don't really apply here."

"Second, let's determine the base line stats of the two species. According to the Pikasaur Pokemon comparison website, Meowth has a Smart Rating of 35, while Pikachu has a Smart Rating of 40. Smart Ratings are determined by taking all six base stats and comparing them. The scale goes from 29 to 100."

Keldeo looked curious and asked, "Huh. I wonder what my Smart Rating is?"

Keldeo: 87

"Nice. . ." Keldeo said with a smile. He nodded for a moment, then he said, "Oh yeah, back to my point. So, Meowth and Pikachu have a difference of 5 points. Huh. . . that's. . . not much of a difference, actually! With enough training, Meowth actually could put up a fight against Pikachu."

Keldeo smiled and said, "So, let's move on to the third part: what does Meowth currently have to offer?"

Keldeo though for a moment, "Well, Meowth has no resistances or immunities, but his only weakness is to Fighting-type moves, and Pikachu doesn't have any. Also, during AG006- A Poached Ego!, we learn that Meowth has gotten used to Pikachu's Electrical attacks to the point of a strange kind of bootleg resistance. Think of it as a kind of a hack. Also, Meowth is really smart, BUT!"

Keldeo became very serious and pointed, "BUT, this has to be a fair fight. No tricks or cheating."

Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!

"Aw, come on!" Meowth complained.

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"You heard me, Meowth! And besides, you tried cheating in the Factory episode, and it didn't work!" Keldeo shouted back. Keldeo then lightened up a bit and said, "But that doesn't mean Meowth can't come up with clever strategies, like using the environment or performing clever dodges or spotting openings whenever Pikachu readies or recovers from an attack."

Keldeo thought a bit more and said, "Also, Meowth has more HP than Pikachu, and Meowth might possibly have the Ability Technician, which would make moves with a power level of 60 or less 1.5 times more powerful. This would actually make sense, as it would make his Fury Swipes more powerful. This could be the reason why its the only move he uses."

Keldeo held up a forehoof and said, "Now, before we jump into moves, let's stop and consider the fourth, and also potentially game changing part: Stat Enhancers."

"We've seen Vitamins in BW070: The Clubsplosion Begins! and Wings in BW042: Club Battle Finale: A Hero's Outcome! We've even seen Rare Candy in AG142: Caterpie's Big Dilema. . .although it was actually Dr. Gordon's complete version, but it at the very least it means that normal Rare Candy exists according to Brock. This means that Team Rocket could either break in somewhere and steal some of these items, or they could just get a job in a kitchen somewhere and earn enough money to buy some. Either way, these items would be perfect for leveling the playing field between Meowth and Pikachu."

Keldeo nodded excitedly and said, "Okay, now for the final part: moves."

"We know that learning how to talk kept Meowth from learning Pay Day, but Meowth has plenty other moves that he can learn. Now, the purpose of this discussion is to figure out a way for Meowth to put up a decent fight, so we need to find the moves that would work the best against Pikachu."

Keldeo frowned, "Now if Mewoth could learn a Ground-Type move, Pikachu would be in trouble. However, Meowth has no Ground-Type moves in his natural move set. And although TM's have appeared in Pokemon Origins, they apparently don't exist in the main anime, so I'm afraid we can't us them. Sorry, Meowth."

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"Oh, maaaaan!" Meowth said as he snapped his fingers.

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"Now, before we look into other moves Meowth could learn, let's take a look at two moves that Meowth seems to unofficially know. First, we have Tickle, which Meowth uses on a Rhydon in EP104: Bound for Trouble. Now, this is a perfect move to use, a it can lower Piakchu's attack and defense and leave him open for an attack."

Keldeo smiled knowingly and said, "Another move Meowth seems to be at least close to knowing was mentioned in DP103: Jumping Rocket Ship."

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"NO! Don't talk about that move! It's too scary! It's too scary!" Meowth shouted frantically, flailing his arms wildly.

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Keldeo face hoofed, then he put his hoof down hard and said, "Meowth, do you want to beat Pikachu or not?"

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Meowth sighed, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. Go ahead."

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Keldeo nodded, "Right. The move we're talking about is Night Slash. This is a really awesome move that has a high chance of landing a critical hit, and in this battle, every hit counts."

Keldeo tapped is chin and said, "So, we've got Fury Swipes, Tickle, and Night Slash. What should Meowth's fourth move be?"

Keldeo grinned, "Assurance. No brainer. Assurance does double damage if it is used after the user received damage. Remember, Meowth has higher HP than Pikachu, and he's grown a resistance to his Thunderbolt. If Meowth can use Tickle to reduce Pikachu's attack and defense, damage him with Fury Swipes and Night Slash, then let Pikachu take a shot at him, he could very well knock Pikachu out with a double strength Assurance! Assurance has a Power of 60, and 60 times 2 is 120! That's as strong as a Solar Beam! He doesn't even have to wait for his attack to charge!"

Keldeo turned to the side to think for a moment, then he looked back and said, "And hey, if Meowth really wanted to win, he could forget Furry Swipes, temporarily if he's attached to it, and learn Screech to lower Pikachu's defense even more!"

Keldeo settled down and ave a serious look as he said, "But in order for all of this to happen, Meowth would need one final ingredient. Something that no Pokemon can do without. And that's determined and dedicated training. Learning all these moves and getting stronger takes a lot of time and effort. Sure, he could make things go faster by using Vitamins, Wings, and Rare Candy, but he will still have to go through a tough training regimen in order to fully learn and control these moves and strengthen up his body. Champions aren't made in a day, so Meowth has a long road ahead of him. Take it from me, the other Swords of Justice put me through some really tough training, and still do! No one should rest on their laurels. I may have learned Secret Sword and earned Kyurem's respect, but I still have so much more to learn, not to mention to challenge of keeping my fitness level from dropping! You gotta maintain what you've got!"

"Anyway, in Meowth's case, he probably could reach his goal, mainly because of Jessie and James. They've been shown to genuinely care about him, and they'd most certainly do all they could to help. Jessie would make a great taskmaster, and James would provide great moral support and encouragement. And I'm sure Wobbuffet would help him out as well by using Counter to build up Meowth's strength and resistance to physical attacks."

"Now, I'm not gonna talk about the ideal battlefields or use of their surroundings during the battles because in all likelihood Meowth won't have much control of those. Meowth's own smarts and tactics are good enough. What I do know for sure is that if Meowth doesn't slack off, keeps his eye on the prize, and absolutely refuses to give up, he might, just might, be able to put up a decent fight against Pikachu."

Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Boy are you a chump!" Meowth laughed triumphantly.

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"Why am I a chump, Meowth?" Keldeo asked, looking very annoyed.

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"Cause you just told me how ta beat Pikachu!" Meowth said with a grin.

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"Oh, I thought of that. See?" Keldeo said as he put on a pair of sunglasses and took out the memory erasing device from Men in Black.

THE VISUALS IN THIS SECTION HAVE BEEN DISABLED FOR YOUR SAFETY. THANK YOU, AND HAVE A NICE DAY.

Keldeo took off the sunglasses and put the device down.

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". . . . . . .What were we talking about?" Meowth said in utter confusion.

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"Oh, I was just doing an editorial on Giovanni's Perisan," Keldeo said with an innocent smile.

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"Ick. I'm outta here!" Meowth said in disgust.

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"I'm Keldeo the Critic, I review it so you don't have to!" Keldeo said cheerfully as he walked off.

The End

Credits

Men in Black

Specail Thanks

Pikasaur

Bulbapedia