"Huh? He actually surrendered?"
Seeing that the opponent hadn't responded for a while, the victory icon soon popped up on the screen, and Aiden raised an eyebrow.
[Another Elite Four member has fallen victim to Teacher Azure's dirty tactics—how is he so professional even in doubles...]
[Scared stiff by the streamer's dirty tactics, swapping Abilities to speed up the opponent's Pokémon is just too savage!]
[But this tactic was actually pretty straightforward—relying on Slaking with Huge Power to one-shot the opponent's Pokémon. There wasn't any torture involved...]
[It's similar to the earlier Maushold and Steelix tactic. Teacher Azure really likes using these cute Pokémon as support units.]
[After watching today's stream, do you still think Raichu is cute?]
[Sooner or later, every Pokémon will be turned into some hellish form by Teacher Azure!]
The barrage of comments gave "high praise" for Aiden's use of the Huge Power Slaking tactic today.
But to be fair, Lucian's strength was actually quite good.
Aiden could tell that he had many clever ideas.
At the very least, before the battle even started, just by looking at Aiden's lineup, Lucian quickly made judgments and focused entirely on targeting the core of Aiden's team—Slaking.
After being Taunted at the start, he decisively abandoned further speed boosts and instead used Bronzong to set up Trick Room to regain the initiative—a commendable idea.
Aiden had met quite a few Elite Four members and Gym Leaders recently, and he couldn't tell that Lucian was a rookie who had only been an Elite Four member for less than half a year. His style was already quite mature.
As expected of the most reliable grind king among Sinnoh's Elite Four—he was much steadier than Flint, whom Aiden had encountered before.
However...
"You still need more practice!"
Aiden smiled faintly.
"Lucian's tactics revolve around controlling speed. Since it's a 6v4 doubles battle, there are two modes: Sigilyph using Tailwind to boost speed and Bronzong setting up Trick Room to seize the initiative."
"However, both sets of tactics still have room for optimization in terms of Pokémon selection."
The prototype of a Trick Room team was already there, but the control over speed was still far from professional.
Gallade's explosive output was understandable, but Medicham? Really?
Come on, it's hard!
"If you students want to learn more tactics, you don't have to be like the Elite Four or Gym Leaders—they usually specialize in one type."
"Back to the topic. If we look beyond Psychic-type Pokémon, the strength of this lineup would increase by several levels."
"We can think more creatively—for example, instead of Sigilyph, perhaps we could choose Talonflame for guaranteed first strikes, or even Whimsicott and Jumpluff are great options."
[Teacher Azure still loves cute Pokémon. Can Whimsicott and Jumpluff really be used? They seem like they'd fall over with a single hit...]
[Talonflame is decent. Teacher Azure has used it several times before. Its attack power and speed completely outclass Sigilyph—it's worth a try.]
[Wait... Is Teacher Azure critiquing the Elite Four now? And what he's saying actually makes sense...]
[Tears streaming down my face, the streamer is actually trying to teach me how to optimize the Elite Four's lineup and tactics!]
[I'm too scared to say anything.jpg]
"Let's not put it that way. As long as you students open your minds, sometimes those wild ideas might not be worse than the tactics other trainers use."
Seeing the barrage mostly filled with complaints and not much discussion about improving the lineup, Aiden quickly encouraged them to think more.
Since he now had the additional role of an online teacher, helping his students "get enlightened" was part of his job.
"Pokémon battles are actually very interesting. No matter how random the tactics are, if you come up with something, give it a try. Even if it's not strong enough for competitive play, winning a match for fun wouldn't make you happy too?"
"So bold experimentation is the first step to success. If you're interested, you can try optimizing this lineup this week."
"As for those who say Whimsicott won't work... Next stream, I'll show everyone Whimsicott's strength in doubles~"
Aiden casually said this while inwardly complaining.
If Whimsicott doesn't work, then there aren't many support Pokémon that can be used in doubles.
Do you even understand why it's called "Blackheart Cotton"?
[Is this a preview for the next stream? Teacher Azure, don't ghost us for another half month!]
[Tears streaming down my face, Teacher Azure is becoming more and more like a teacher, and he's even giving us motivational speeches...]
[To be honest, is Teacher Azure being a bit merciful today? Where's the persona that loves using dirty tactics to humiliate opponents?]
[Teacher Azure the GOAT!]
Amidst the lively barrage, Aiden once again embarked on his ranked climb.
...
A short while later...
"Indeed, just as Teacher Azure said."
At some point, Lucian had closed Pokémon Champions and opened Aiden's stream. Resting his chin on his hand, he seemed lost in deep thought.
Aiden's words, transmitted through the external speakers, made him nod repeatedly.
Sigilyph's speed was indeed a bit slow—in a Tailwind setup, this was actually a fatal flaw.
Just as Aiden had explained earlier, if the opponent had a Pokémon capable of Taunt that was faster than his side, the move might be forcibly interrupted.
And Talonflame, which had a natural speed advantage, was indeed a good choice, though it didn't quite fit his Psychic-type Elite Four identity...
While Lucian was pondering, Flint suddenly clapped his hands behind him and excitedly stood up.
"That's right! The League doesn't force every Gym Leader and Elite Four member to use a single type—it's just that everyone thinks training Pokémon of the same type is easier."
"If you're strong enough, mastering multiple types to improve your team's synergy is better! Look at Aaron's Drapion!"
Aiden's words quickly made Flint "see the light."
"In a Sunny Day team, aside from Fire-type Pokémon, Pokémon with the Chlorophyll Ability or even unrelated to Sunny Day can be brought in since Sunny Day can help mitigate Water-type weaknesses!"
If you don't stick to a single type, the number of options you can include in your team instantly multiplies.
Then, pulling out surprise moves like Self-Destruct Drifblim or Mirror Coat Lopunny—your opponent might not even react in time.
The more Flint thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
(A/N: After all, Flint in BDSP really did this.)
Seeing this, Aaron couldn't help but twitch his lips.
"I brought Drapion because it was my starter Pokémon from childhood, and it actually had a Bug typing before evolving!"
"But rough words, sound reasoning. It does seem possible to occasionally swap out main Pokémon to keep opponents guessing about your lineup today."
Aaron nodded, acknowledging Flint's idea.
"..."
Seeing the two so decisively abandon specializing in their preferred types, Lucian couldn't help but shake his head in resignation.
"That's true."
"After all, if you want to take the next step and become Champion..."
"Relying solely on one type is hard to walk the path of a Champion, let alone defeating the current Elite Four and Champion in one go."
???
Upon hearing Lucian's words, a string of question marks immediately appeared above Flint's head.
Damn, so Lucian still dreams of becoming Champion!
Though it might sound a bit embarrassing, ...
Flint and Aaron exchanged glances, seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes.
It's not that we're not trying—it's just that Cynthia is really strong!
The Victory Road that no one had completed for over a decade was nearly flawless crushed by Cynthia within a year of her debut against the previous generation of Elite Four...
Her strength is vastly different from our generation of young trainers. She even dominated veteran Elite Four members in the Dragon Master Tournament.
So—
Beating Cynthia? Come on, it's hard!
"I feel like if Lucian really wants to become Champion, Cynthia would actually be happy."
Aaron suddenly spoke softly.
After all, Lucian had taken on most of the League's affairs. Unless there was an emergency, Cynthia probably didn't have much to do.
But slacking off isn't necessarily bad!
Since Lucian is willing to grind, let's leave all the work to him!
"Speaking of which, Teacher Azure seems to be a young person around our age, and also a Gym Leader in Paldea."
Flint looked at the live stream, where Aiden had quietly started his second ranked match while they were chatting, and suddenly felt inspired.
"Teacher Azure's understanding of tactics is probably at least at the Champion level. Only Cynthia can keep up with his thoughts."
"A guy like him is just an ordinary Gym Leader?"
"What do you know?"
Lucian slightly furrowed his brow and let out a cold laugh, seemingly mocking Flint's pitiful lack of brain cells.
"Because he's a Gym Leader, he can interact with more newcomers and have more opportunities to battle trainers, testing out the wild ideas in Teacher Azure's mind."
"Only tactics tested in real combat are good tactics."
"Probably for this reason, Teacher Azure chose to stay in Paldea as a small Gym Leader?"
"Very reasonable!"
Aaron was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood, nodding repeatedly.
"Paldea's Naranja Academy is arguably the oldest Pokémon school. The students there should be pretty strong, right?"
"And with Teacher Azure's guidance and assessments... Could Paldea produce a monstrously powerful Champion next year?"
"This is probably one of Teacher Azure's goals..."
Thinking this, Aaron's image of Aiden suddenly became much greater in his mind.
"It shouldn't be that simple, right?"
Lucian shook his head and pointed at the screen in front of him.
"Besides Paldea, Teacher Azure has other ways to expand his influence."
"Including us three, how many elite trainers this 'PokeTV mega-streamer' has influenced is probably uncountable by now..."
"If he can drive the entire world's trainers to improve their skills, his future achievements definitely won't be inferior to Professor Oak, who founded the Pokémon school, and his status might even be higher?"
Thinking this, Lucian couldn't help but sigh.
"Indeed, this world never lacks geniuses..."
Just keeping up with Cynthia's pace of improvement made Lucian feel like he was already working extremely hard.
And as far as he knew, Cynthia seemed to be following Teacher Azure's streams as well.
If he couldn't keep up with the learning pace, sooner or later, he'd be left farther and farther behind by the Champions.
So...
For the next few days, sleep one hour less each day to study the optimization ideas Teacher Azure mentioned.
Besides adjusting the Tailwind team, Teacher Azure didn't mention how to optimize the Trick Room team, so he'd have to experiment on his own.
I can work harder (grind)!
In order to one day stand among the top competitors in the Master Tournament, Lucian made this promise to himself in his heart.
...
In the next few matches, Aiden fully demonstrated the charm of raw stats.
Even an Elite Four-level player like Lucian had trouble dealing with Slaking, let alone other "minnows" at the Great Ball or Ultra Ball level.
"Kilowattrel can not only set up Electric Terrain but also has decent offensive capabilities. However, without the ability to automatically set terrain, it's still not as good as directly using Huge Power Slaking."
"So..."
"Go talk to my Huge/Pure Power Slaking!"
"Slaking took too many days off this month. It's reasonable for it to work extra shifts in these few matches, right?"
After easily winning a few matches, Aiden couldn't stop smiling.
This kind of simple, brutal, and effective tactic was much easier than those brainy setups.
When facing opponents of average strength, he only needed to consider one question:
"Should I let Medicham use Skill Swap first, or wait a turn so I don't scare the opponent away immediately...?"
Perhaps because many players in the game were his chat, at least three opponents surrendered instantly within an hour of gameplay today.
By the time Aiden ended his stream, his ranked points had entered the Ultra Ball tier, matching his singles rank.
[We've seen your Huge Power Slaking. Why stay and let Teacher Azure have fun?]
[That's reasonable. Might as well start the next match...]
[But this tactic is actually easy to counter. Just be faster than Medicham at the start and Taunt, right?]
[What if Teacher Azure's Slaking Taunts you back?]
[It feels like when Teacher Azure uses these tactics, it's like a seller's showcase—he can accurately predict any move and casually obliterate opponents...]
[And then in our hands, we have no such skill. Because of Teacher Azure's fame, opponents see through us and obliterate us, right? Brother, I feel you!]
[Teacher Azure is just too hacks. With this prediction ability, do I even need to learn tactics?]
Aiden's operations made chat shout that they couldn't replicate it, but at the same time, his earlier statements planted a small seed in the viewers' minds—
If I could have this understanding, could I develop my own tactics and crush other trainers?
With this thought, countless "genius youths" once again felt confident, opening Pokémon Champions and starting their ranked climb for the day.
Tonight, I won't sleep until I win a match!
And then...
Time quickly passed to the next morning.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)