"This team has three different types of weather setters, which is quite overpowered in a way."
Gazing at Raihan's lineup, Aiden's eyes revealed a hint of intrigue.
"Besides Milotic manually starting the rain, both Torkoal and Gigalith are likely to be sent out first."
"However, for the tactic we're demonstrating today, it makes no difference."
The battle quickly began, with both sides simultaneously throwing out their Poké Balls.
Aiden sent out his sleek, charcoal-black Gliscor;
Raihan chose Gigalith as his weather setter to start.
With Gigalith's appearance, a strong wind soon blew around the battlefield, bringing with it a sky full of sand, drastically reducing visibility.
Gigalith, the Compressed Pokémon, Rock type.
Like the powerful Tyranitar from the Johto region, it has the Sand Stream ability, which stirs up a sandstorm upon entering the field.
[My vision was already bad, and now I have to deal with this sandstorm...]
[Do Dragon-types always take unconventional routes? What does this sandstorm have to do with dragons?!]
[Dragon Master? Weather Team Master!]
"Most Rock-type Pokémon share a common trait—they are incredibly slow."
Aiden smiled faintly.
Facing Gigalith, who successfully initiated the sandstorm, he felt no tension.
After all, there wasn't much that could be done against Gliscor.
Gliscor shares the same Ground + Flying type as Landorus—noble types. Besides being four times weak to Ice, its only other weakness is Water. Even the sandstorm wouldn't cause any erosion effects on it.
"Gigalith, Stone Edge!"
"Gliscor, Toxic!"
Both trainers commanded simultaneously. Gliscor, with its agile body, struck first, flicking a glob of venom at the immobile Gigalith with its tail.
Focused on gathering strength, Gigalith ignored this and quickly hurled a massive rock towards Gliscor.
However, due to the vast speed difference, Gliscor swiftly reacted before Gigalith's attack landed and dodged it by gliding.
Seeing this, Aiden couldn't help but inwardly comment:
This seems to be the first opponent I've encountered who misses moves...
Your bond with your Pokémon seems insufficient; go back and practice some more!
From this alone, it's clear that Raihan can't compare to Leon, the true protagonist of Galar.
After the first round, Gigalith's body, coated with venom, quickly developed purple spots and occasionally emitted small bubbles with black smoke.
[As expected of you, streamer. A few days ago, you started with straight raw Hypnosis, and now you're starting with Toxic—it's so dirty yet pure...]
[Isn't this too dirty?]
[Wait, isn't Gigalith not the only one poisoned? Why is Azure's Gliscor also poisoned?]
Prompted by a chat message, many viewers noticed that Aiden's Gliscor also had similar spots, just like Gigalith.
"Remember when I was teaching about Breloom, I mentioned an ability?"
Aiden smiled faintly and continued explaining.
"The combination of Poison Heal ability and Toxic Orb—we've covered this before. If you don't understand, let the class representative catch you up."
Even if Gigalith's Stone Edge had hit Gliscor, thanks to the continuous healing provided by Poison Heal, it could basically recover after stalling for a while.
"Toxic, huh..."
Raihan's expression froze momentarily.
His intuition as a seasoned trainer told him that the opponent might be an expert at playing with poison.
And what they love most is slowly wearing down their opponents' stamina, securing victory step by step with solid defense.
Trainers who play such toxic tactics definitely have dark hearts!
Thinking of this, he almost instantly relaxed his furrowed brows.
"Come back, Gigalith."
Raihan issued the command.
He had completely seen through the opponent's intentions.
Rather than letting Gigalith stay on the field with almost no countermeasures, it would be better to bring out his ace to forcefully suppress them.
"Go, Duraludon!"
A flash of red light later, Duraludon, covered in silvery-white metal and as sturdy as a fortress, stepped onto the ground, causing the earth to tremble.
This was Raihan's solution.
As a Steel + Dragon dual-type, Duraludon not only possessed unparalleled defensive power but could also resist toxins entirely.
It was highly resistant to the opponent's toxic tactics.
If it came down to a battle of endurance, Raihan was confident that no Pokémon could match his ace Duraludon!
[Damn, playing Toxic and you actually Raihan's Duraludon. How can you play now?]
[Unless Azure modifies Gliscor's ability to Corrosion on the spot, it should be tough to handle it...]
What do Toxic users fear?
They fear encountering fellow Poison types and Steel types that aren't affected by toxins!
Unfortunately, they ran into Raihan this time; it was just very bad luck.
However, Aiden didn't think so himself.
Other Pokémon using this tactic might indeed struggle against the current Duraludon.
But remember, Gliscor is not actually a Poison-type Pokémon.
"Gliscor, Earthquake!"
At the same moment Duraludon appeared, Aiden, who had been silently waiting for an opportunity, immediately gave the command decisively.
Gliscor, still gliding, suddenly plummeted downwards, stomping to quickly trigger an earthquake, making the live stream screen shake.
In the world of Pokémon, there are almost no perfect Pokémon.
Even noble dragons have their weaknesses.
And Duraludon's weakness was the underground currents and Fighting-type moves that symbolize absolute power!
After solidly taking an Earthquake, Duraludon, who had just entered the field, instantly lost more than half of its HP bar.
If it weren't for Duraludon's incredibly strong defense, this super-effective Earthquake might have been fatal.
"Ah, so it's not a simple attrition tactic?"
Although his ace was nearly depleted of HP right after entering the field, Raihan wasn't worried. Instead, he began pondering the opponent's tactical setup, occasionally marveling.
Steel and Poison types, which are resistant to Toxic, happen to be extremely vulnerable to aggressive Ground types.
So when facing these two types of Pokémon, one could flexibly switch between offense and defense using Gliscor's excellent output capabilities.
It was indeed a good method.
Raihan's lips curled slightly upwards. Only now did he truly acknowledge the opponent's strength.
Therefore, he must show sufficient respect!
"Duraludon, use Draco Meteor!"
Raihan unhesitatingly unleashed the strongest ultimate move exclusive to Dragon-type Pokémon.
Even if it meant Duraludon would have to retreat afterward, this troublesome Gliscor must be prioritized for elimination!
"Oh? Choosing direct assault?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow.
Duraludon was a Pokémon that matured early; the power of this Draco Meteor was not to be underestimated.
However, the solution was simple—
Why confront it head-on?
Duraludon? Evolve one more stage and come back as a Bridgeon!
"Gliscor, Substitute!"
As Aiden spoke, Gliscor, leveraging its speed advantage, acted last but struck first. Before Duraludon could gather a meteorite falling from the sky, Gliscor quickly created a substitute with part of its energy.
Then it decisively crouched down defensively, completely hiding its body behind the reliable substitute.
A meteor streaked across the sky at high speed, breaking through the starry sea and plummeting directly towards where Gliscor stood!
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