Really, that's just having the Ash mentality. If you truely want success, you need to evolve that pikachu, but lon--wanderer, let's not call people noobs. I always use Croconaw instead of Feraligatr. You'd be amazed at how well it can do. After Croconaw, my fav pokemon:
1. Croconaw!
2. Kingdra, the best dragon
3. Steelix
4. Scizor
5. Hypno
6. Poliwrath
7. Arcanine
8. Mewtwo
9. Umbreon
10. Blastoise
After steelix they're in no particular order, but go Croconaw!
EDIT: About Lt. Surge's Raichu, it is the AI. My dog could be the E4. Really, ingame trainers are worse than...my little sis, and she puts Iron Tail on milotic.