The town square felt like it was vibrating with energy. The gathered spectators were half townsfolk, half curious viewers who'd spotted Joseph's stream and showed up IRL just to say they were "part of the clip." Rotom's projection screen hovered above the battling pair, complete with sparkly emojis and a scrolling feed of live comments.
At the center of it all: Riolu vs. Shinx, fur bristling and eyes locked like neither would ever back down.
Joseph's heart thudded in time with Riolu's little growls. He threw a quick glance at Diana, who wore a grin so smug it made his competitive side flare up.
"Alright, Riolu — we practiced this!" Joseph yelled. "Use Feint — catch Shinx off guard!"
Riolu darted in, fists glowing faintly as he blurred out of sight. For a second, Joseph thought they had it in the bag — until Diana snapped her fingers.
"Shinx, Double Team! Then Spark!"
The square shimmered with afterimages of Shinx. Riolu's punch went clean through an illusion — and the real Shinx slammed into him with a burst of electricity.
Riolu tumbled across the cobblestones, sparks crackling over his fur. He skidded to a stop, panting.
Chat blew up:
"OHHHH SHE GOT HIM" "This girl is built different" "RIOLU FIGHT BACK BABY"
Joseph clenched his fists. He could call it here — but no, Riolu was pushing himself up already, eyes burning with determination.
"Let's finish this! Counter that Spark with Quick Attack — dodge and strike!"
Riolu lunged forward again. This time, he weaved through the illusions, eyes locked on the tiny twitch of Shinx's tail — the real one.
With a sudden twist, Riolu flicked behind Shinx, landing a precise chop to its side. Shinx yelped and tumbled backward, sparks fizzling out.
For a heartbeat, both Pokémon just stared at each other, then Shinx's legs wobbled. It dropped, eyes swirling.
Silence.
Then the entire square erupted into cheers.
Diana sighed, returning her fainted Shinx with a soft grin. "Not bad, streamer boy. You got me this time."
Joseph dropped to his knees, scooping Riolu into a hug while the puppy yipped excitedly, tail wagging like crazy.
Rotom did a sweeping drone shot, adding a glittery "VICTORY ROYALE!" sticker. The chat spammed:
"ICE CREAM TIME" "RIVAL SHIP CONFIRMED" "DINO WHO?? RIOLU MVP"
Joseph laughed, scratching Riolu's chin. "Good work, buddy. You carried that hard."
A soft thud behind him. He turned to see Tyrunt standing there, eyes half-lidded and tail swishing. He gave Joseph a look that said, "You didn't even use me, traitor."
Joseph sweat-dropped. "Don't worry, big guy. You'll get your shot."
True to their word, Joseph and Diana ended up at the local ice cream cart, each with a giant cone of Moomoo Milk swirl. Riolu perched on Joseph's shoulder, occasionally swiping licks. Tyrunt stomped his foot until Joseph handed over an entire cup just for him.
Diana leaned against the cart, eyes on the stream chat that Rotom projected on a nearby wall for fun.
"They love you, you know," she said, licking her cone. "The way you mess up and laugh about it? It's weirdly refreshing."
Joseph blinked. "Mess up? I don't— okay, I do mess up a lot."
She snorted. "I mean it as a compliment. Most people around here take battling way too seriously. You make it fun."
He grinned. "Hey, gotta keep the EeTvee family entertained."
A kid ran up and asked for a picture with Riolu and Tyrunt. Rotom immediately photobombed with a goofy filter. Diana laughed so hard she nearly dropped her ice cream.
Back home, Joseph flopped onto his bed, full of sugar and energy. Tyrunt lay at his feet, still licking the inside of his empty ice cream cup. Riolu bounced on the mattress like a trampoline, and Rotom circled overhead, replaying clips of the Shinx battle in every possible meme edit.
Joseph stared at the ceiling, thinking about what Diana said.
Battling's gotta be fun.
He wanted to push that idea further — but also keep training his team for bigger, better fights. If he was gonna make EeTvee the biggest stream in the world, he'd need real skills too.
His eyes drifted to Tyrunt and Riolu.
"…Double Battles," he murmured. "You two. Together."
Tyrunt gave him a blank look. Riolu tilted his head.
Rotom slapped a big "BRUH???" sticker on the ceiling.
"No, really!" Joseph sat up, pointing dramatically. "Think about it — you two covering each other, combining moves, showing off for the chat. It'll be amazing! Or a total disaster. Either way, content!"
The next morning, Joseph dragged Tyrunt and Riolu to the park. He even brought cones from his failed obstacle course, setting them up like battlefield markers.
"Okay! Tyrunt, you're power. Riolu, you're speed. When I say 'go,' you—"
Before he could finish, Riolu was already darting circles around Tyrunt, who looked confused and tried to spin in place to keep up.
Rotom hovered above, adding live commentary bubbles like:
"RIOLU GOING ZOOM" "Tyrunt.exe has stopped working"
Joseph facepalmed. "No! You're supposed to work together, not play tag!"
He grabbed a stick and drew a big X and O formation in the dirt. "Look — Riolu distracts. Tyrunt uses Rock Tomb from a safe distance. It's genius!"
Tyrunt squinted at the stick diagram. Then he chomped the stick in half.
"…Close enough."
They tried again.
Riolu zipped around a training dummy (one of Joseph's old pillows on a stake). Tyrunt roared, reared back — and instead of Rock Tomb, he charged straight at the dummy, tackling it so hard it flew into a nearby bush.
Rotom projected a massive "BOOM HEADSHOT!" caption as Joseph buried his face in his hands.
By the time the sun was setting, Tyrunt and Riolu were both flopped on the grass, panting. Joseph sat between them, sweat dripping down his neck but grinning like an idiot.
"Okay. Maybe we're not Double Battle Masters yet," he said, offering each Pokémon a Poképuff. "But we'll get there. And when we do, EeTvee's gonna have the best highlight reels in the whole world."
Riolu curled up in his lap, dozing. Tyrunt rested his massive head on Joseph's shoulder. Rotom projected the last clip of the day: Tyrunt missing a Rock Tomb by five feet, the rock landing squarely in a trash can.
The chat spammed:
"10/10 aim" "Who needs training when you have memes?" "EETVEE FOREVER!"
Joseph laughed, hugging his two Pokémon close. "Yeah. EeTvee forever."
ADVANCED CHAPTERS:
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