After anonymously doing a good deed and swiftly resolving the Titan Klawf crisis in South Province Area 3, Aiden and his group quickly returned to Cabo Poco.
Perhaps due to consuming the Herba Mystica, on the way back, Aiden felt that Miraidon's speed had noticeably increased.
However, since the Sweet Herba Mystica in the original game corresponded to the ability of sprinting, an increase in speed was quite normal.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting anything now that they were here, Aiden ultimately decided to leave most of the remaining Sweet Herba Mysticas with Arven. At least in farming, he was indeed more professional than himself.
Of course, Aiden also kept some Sweet Herba Mystica seeds, perhaps they might come in handy in the future?
They set off in the morning, but by the time they returned, it was already nearing evening.
After a quick dinner, it was time for his usual live stream.
However...
Just as Aiden turned on his computer, preparing to open Pokémon Champions to see if there were any interesting Pokémon he could use for streaming, he discovered that the game needed an update.
With strong curiosity, Aiden immediately clicked in.
In the Pokémon world, each Pokémon's ability should generally be fixed.
Game Freak couldn't possibly still make changes to base stats and move pools every generation like in the past life, weakening the numerical monsters created just to sell games in the previous generation and calling it "balance," right?
After a quick browse, there weren't any adjustment issues he was worried about.
This update added one major point—
More game modes were added.
Apart from the default 6 vs 6 full battle rules that Aiden always played, 6 vs 3 singles and 6 vs 4 Doubles were also implemented in this update.
(T/N: WTF are 6 vs 3 and 6 vs 4 battles?)
"Oh? They actually updated Doubles?"
After quickly reviewing the update content, Aiden couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Unlike the games from his past life, the official competition rule of Doubles wasn't very popular in the Pokémon world, or rather, it was relatively niche.
After all, whether it's the highest-level Master Tournament or the regional Great Ball tournaments, they all used a mixed tournament mode of 3 vs 3 and 6 vs 6, while Doubles basically had no competitions at all.
The reason was simple.
In evenly matched games, the pace of Doubles is much faster than singles, and it requires higher strategic thinking from both sides. Even when at an absolute disadvantage, there's still a possibility of turning the tables.
In the Pokémon world, mastering Doubles would absolutely require very high standards from trainers, and having two Pokémon that can cooperate well also raises the threshold significantly, leading to such differences.
However, it didn't make much difference to Aiden.
Because he was pretty proficient in both modes, he might as well take advantage of this update to bring something interesting to the audience.
That Klawf he encountered today successfully reminded him of a very interesting Doubles tactic.
Anger Shell triggers when HP isn't healthy enough, and the number of triggers is limited.
So, is there a simpler and more effective ability with higher potential?
Yes, fam, yes.
Coincidentally, this Pokémon is also a Rock-type, just like Klawf.
Since that's the case, let's try to recreate that tactic in the Pokémon world~
...
When Aiden finished updating and opened the live stream, there were already many bullet comments waiting eagerly.
[First!]
[Came here from Iono's Channel, who is Azure Wings? Where's the beta guy who hurt cute Iono?]
[Teacher Azure, did you see the update notes today? Want to try out Doubles?]
Those who stay in Aiden's live broadcast room are either trainers with some strength who want to improve, or pure gaming addicts who just want to play games.
Their awareness of version updates is even faster than Aiden's.
"It's okay, let's try Doubles today. Actually, I do have some understanding of Doubles."
Aiden smiled and humbly spoke first.
[Does Teacher Azure know how to play Doubles too? It feels like there are so few trainers who can play Doubles...]
[Usually only psychics have the brain to play them, I haven't even figured out singles yet!]
[So what's the lineup for today?]
"Since we're playing Doubles, let's try some interesting tactics today and destroy the opponents' dreams of climbing the ranks with Onix!"
After saying that, Aiden immediately dragged an Onix into the team editor.
Onix, a Ground + Rock type Pokémon, is one of the childhood memories of the Pokémon series and a dream Pokémon for many mountain climbers and rock climbers.
Many Gym Leaders and Champions like Brock from Kanto, Grant from Kalos, and even Elite Four member Bruno from Indigo Plateau have used Onix as part of their lineup.
However, compared to Onix, its evolved form Steelix might indeed be much stronger.
[Why Onix? Can't it evolve further?]
[Steelix is way better than Onix!]
[Streamer must be playing around with the team, anyway, Doubles points don't count LOL]
[Onix, the new Gym Leader of Pewter City seems to particularly like using this Pokémon, Bulbasaur and Squirtle are pretty easy to get through.]
"That's right, today's lineup may indeed lean towards fun, but the strength shouldn't be too low."
"As for why it's Onix and not Steelix..."
"Because today we'll design an ultimate tactic centered around Onix's hidden ability 'Weak Armor'!"
Weak Armor is commonly found in Rock-type Pokémon.
The effect is that every time it receives a physical attack, part of its shell will shatter, lowering its defense but reducing body weight, greatly increasing its speed.
Other Pokémon with this ability include Skarmory, Dwebble, and even Garbodor.
When Onix evolves into Steelix, due to its rocky body transforming into harder, less detachable steel, Steelix naturally loses this ability, changing into the more straightforward "Sturdy."
Of course, Aiden choosing Onix naturally has its unique advantages.
In fact, this tactic can only be used by Onix, making it a custom-made strategy for it.
Soon, Aiden had arranged his lineup and began today's matchmaking journey.
Since the Doubles mode had just been released, naturally, many players wanted to join in the fun. Everyone started as "newbie level," so almost instantly, Aiden matched with an opponent.
It was an unknown trainer, probably not a familiar game character.
However, his lineup did feel somewhat familiar to Aiden.
Gastrodon, Charizard, Arcanine, and the invincible King of the Sky, the Dragon-type Pseudo-Legendary of Hoenn, Salamence...
Now things are getting interesting, aren't they?
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