After the battle began, both sides' lineups quickly appeared on the screen.
"What kind of lineup is this?"
Upon seeing Teacher Azure's team, Flint scratched his head and couldn't help but blurt out.
Why is he even using Slaking? Isn't that something only Gym Leader Norman from Hoenn would use?
"Could it be that Teacher Azure has developed some new strategy?"
Aaron wasn't sure either, his eyes glued to the screen as his brows unconsciously furrowed slightly.
At first glance, none of the Pokémon seemed particularly special, and overall, they didn't appear very strong?
"No, wait!"
Only Lucian, who was more familiar with Psychic-type Pokémon, realized something was off.
After his brain raced for over ten seconds, he quickly reached a conclusion:
"We need to be extremely cautious of Teacher Azure's Slaking!"
Both Alolan Raichu and Medicham had Psychic typing.
Which meant… they might use an obscure but crucial support move for Slaking.
Skill Swap!
Even Lucian hadn't immediately thought of it.
If it weren't for how striking this Slaking was, making him instinctively ponder Teacher Azure's intentions, he might not have remembered this move.
He wasn't familiar with Alolan Raichu, but Medicham was one of the Pokémon he often used.
"If Medicham swaps its Pure Power Ability to Slaking..."
After muttering to himself for a moment, Lucian's eyes hardened with resolve.
"I absolutely cannot let that happen!"
"Hiss—"
Thanks to Lucian's reminder, both Flint and Aaron sucked in a breath of cold air.
Pure Power had the same effect as Huge Power.
"Damn, he's really going all out with a Huge Power Slaking?"
"Teacher Azure truly is something else..."
This level of creativity isn't something just anyone could come up with!
...
Staring at Lucian's lineup, Aiden also fell into deep thought on his side.
Bronzong, Sigilyph, Slowbro, Gallade, Medicham, Espeon.
From the lineup alone, it was hard to tell whether Lucian would opt for a Trick Room setup or a speedy aggressive playstyle.
However, Aiden trusted his judgment—
"With Lucian's skill level and his expertise as a Psychic-type user, he should've figured out my strategy before the battle even started."
"Therefore, to counter my Skill Swap, his lead Pokémon should be..."
"Sigilyph and Gallade, right?"
On his side, it was clear he was protecting Slaking. The way to counter it was simple—
Just take it out in one hit.
So by using Sigilyph's speed advantage to set up Tailwind first, then letting Gallade unleash a Sacred Sword...
If Gallade went all out, it might actually one-shot Slaking.
However, after a brief moment of thought, Aiden still opted for the standard Slaking + Medicham combo.
In the backline were Pelipper and Alolan Raichu.
Once his lead was determined, the arena scene generated quickly, and Aiden and Lucian's virtual avatars stood on the battlefield.
Both sides simultaneously tossed out four Poké Balls, and their lead Pokémon appeared before the audience.
There was no need to explain Aiden's side.
As expected, Lucian's lead was exactly what Aiden predicted—Sigilyph and Gallade.
[Read like a book, Teacher Azure really must have Future Sight or something ts ain't fair bro!]
[Even hacking wouldn't allow you to know the opponent's lead Pokémon beforehand. It's just ridiculous...]
[Oh, this is Teacher Azure's signature read, all effort and sweat, no stat boosts involved!]
[Teacher Azure is just too broken. He traded blows evenly with two Elite Four members during the Master Tournament. Predicting a new Elite Four member's moves must be child's play for him.]
[Come to think of it, that's true!]
Because of the successful prediction, the chat was quick to lavish praise on Aiden.
But at this moment, he didn't have time to check those comments.
Although Lucian had only recently become an Elite Four member, his strength was undeniable.
He might still be a step away from Champion-level, but among the Elite Four, he was already above average. With continued growth, he might even have a shot at becoming Champion.
Moreover, his understanding of tactics was solid, his battle fundamentals were strong, and he was highly adaptable in combat.
The fact that he quickly saw through Aiden's tactical thinking showed that he had already planned his countermeasures.
Unfortunately...
"In battle, if you always think one step ahead of your opponent, you'll naturally gain a significant advantage."
After saying these profound words, Aiden immediately spoke the instant the countdown ended:
"Slaking, use Taunt on Sigilyph!"
"Medicham, Fake Out targeting Gallade!"
As he gave his commands, Lucian instantly responded—
"Sigilyph, Tailwind; Gallade, use Sacred Sword on Slaking!"
Commands from both sides rang out almost simultaneously.
Relying on Psychic abilities, Aiden's Medicham struck first, instantly appearing before Gallade and halting its movement.
At the same time, before Gallade could attack, Medicham swiftly slapped it, causing Gallade to freeze in place.
Unless Gallade Mega Evolved and gained the Steadfast Ability to ignore flinching, this slap would undoubtedly cause it significant psychological trauma, causing it to instinctively retract its glowing elbow blade.
On the other side, Sigilyph, which was about to use Tailwind to assist its teammates, suddenly noticed the lounging Slaking beckoning it with a finger.
Sigilyph's anger soared instantly, triggered by the Taunt.
For the next while, it could only use attacking moves.
And Lucian's earlier command for it to use Tailwind was naturally rendered impossible.
With just one exchange, Aiden had already gained a significant advantage.
[Wow, is this a double lockdown? It's like Lucian's side did absolutely nothing!]
[Is Slaking really that fast? Sigilyph was about to take off, but it got interrupted...]
[To the comment above, if Slaking gets serious, it's a stat monster, okay!]
As the chat pointed out, under similar configurations, even if Sigilyph pushed its speed to the max, it still couldn't outspeed Slaking.
Unless Lucian gave it a Choice Scarf.
But having a Tailwind user carry a scarf to boost output sounded pretty abstract.
Given Lucian's personality, he definitely wouldn't make such an unconventional build.
Confident in this, Aiden didn't hesitate to speak, directly using Taunt and Fake Out to suppress the opponent's momentum.
And with Sigilyph now Taunted and unable to provide effective support, what was there to hesitate about on his side?
"Medicham, Skill Swap with Slaking!"
After the first round of exchanges, Aiden immediately spoke again but didn't rush to give Slaking a command.
Due to the Truant Ability, Slaking, having just used a move, was now unwilling to obey.
It just wanted to slack off.
Thus, he needed to use the timing gap of live commands to expand his advantage.
Hmph, you want to slack off after just one move?
Not on my watch!
After Aiden spoke first, Lucian quickly reacted, immediately recalling Sigilyph, which was now useless, and sending out Bronzong.
At the same time, he commanded Gallade again:
"Gallade, continue using Sacred Sword!"
Even if it was a bit slower, it didn't matter. His Gallade was holding a Life Orb.
Therefore, as long as Sacred Sword hit Slaking, it would definitely take it out in one hit!
Medicham and Gallade moved almost simultaneously, but because Medicham was closer and Aiden had spoken first, its speed was slightly faster.
After two white energy glows appeared, Aiden decisively commanded:
"Slaking, Protect!"
Under the effect of Skill Swap, the previously sluggish Slaking suddenly felt full of energy, even standing up straight.
Meanwhile, Medicham, which had been standing, now looked rather listless, quickly lying down as if meditating.
That's right—the Skill Swap had taken effect, and Slaking's combat power had instantly reached its peak.
Free from the continuous effects of Truant, it could now obey Aiden's commands, swiftly deploying an energy barrier that barely blocked Gallade's light blade.
Slaking remained unscathed.
At this point, both Flint and Aaron sitting beside Lucian could clearly feel the atmosphere shift.
Was Lucian sweating bullets?
But then again, it wasn't his fault—his current opponent was a Huge Power Slaking...
The combination of those two words was terrifying to even think about!
Flint asked himself—if he were the one facing this thing, wouldn't his legs go weak too?
Is this Huge Power Slaking even legal?!
"Tsk!"
Lucian bit his nails in frustration, slapping his forehead as if trying to cool his brain.
Every step he took should have been perfect, but Teacher Azure had somehow anticipated his possible commands and preemptively locked down his intentions.
He truly hadn't expected that a Slaking that had just used a move could use such a small trick to bypass the disobedience caused by Truant.
Now, not only were his stats lower than that Slaking, but his tactics had also been blown apart—how was he supposed to fight against an opponent like this...
However, even so, he didn't plan to give up.
"Bronzong, Trick Room!"
"Gallade, keep using Sacred Sword on Slaking!"
Lucian's voice grew resolute.
No matter what, Teacher Azure's lineup relied entirely on that one Slaking to carry.
As long as he could find a way to restrain it, the following victory shouldn't be too difficult!
As he spoke, Aiden also made his commands without hesitation:
"Come back, Medicham."
"Slaking, use Shadow Claw on Gallade!"
That's right, just like that!
Lucian's lips curled slightly upward.
This time, he'd calculated correctly. Faced with the obviously more threatening Gallade, Teacher Azure absolutely wouldn't have the chance to interrupt Bronzong's Trick Room!
Therefore, he would regain the initiative next!
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