The next day, the sun rose as usual.
Not long after the Sunshine Gym opened its doors, three challengers had already arrived.
In short, ever since Aiden decided to livestream his gym battles to showcase the true level of challengers through his perspective…
Aiden had originally expected that many students would camp out in the livestream, waiting for others to verify the correct answers before attempting their own challenges.
This was commonly known as "snatching a chicken."
But things seemed to… exceed his expectations?
After the gym's difficulty increased, he thought the number of challengers would temporarily decrease. Instead, it only seemed to ignite the students' fighting spirit even more. Each of them was determined to be the first to conquer the Sunshine Gym.
Thus, barely a day into the Victory Road, the Sunshine Gym had already seen over a dozen challengers come and go.
Although there was the precedent of Qiuming, whose commanding ability and Pokémon choices were clearly beyond what other students could replicate…
For now, the Pokémon brought out by the students challenging the gym were nothing short of a chaotic mix.
It was clear they were preparing meticulously, but they still fell a bit short.
This should have been a good thing—it showed that the gym's popularity was rising, and students were more willing to challenge themselves.
But…
Are the things you're bringing out a bit too absurd???
"I lost…"
Today's third challenger recalled his fallen Volbeat with a resigned shake of his head.
So was it still too difficult to clear the Sunshine Gym in one go?
"Teacher Azure, I'll definitely come back to challenge you again!"
"Hold on, don't leave just yet."
Seeing this student about to walk off the battlefield to make room for the next challenger, Aiden immediately stopped him.
"Excuse me, what's your name?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow as he looked at the puzzled challenger who turned back, unable to help but ask.
During the battle, Aiden had subtly noticed something amiss.
"Teacher Azure, my name is Ka—Kato!"
Kato froze, suddenly feeling both surprised and flattered, and quickly introduced himself.
Teacher Azure actually asked for his name?
Could it be that his cool commands from earlier had impressed Teacher Azure and earned his approval?
Yes! I knew I was a genius all along!
While countless thoughts raced through Kato's mind, Aiden sighed with a complex expression and posed a soul-searching question:
"So, Kato…"
"Do you know that the Prankster Ability has an additional note besides letting status moves go first?"
As he spoke, Aiden himself was struggling not to burst out laughing at how ridiculous this was.
Using a Prankster Volbeat against Sableye?
Too absurd!
Which little genius taught you this trick? Confess now!
"Ah?"
Kato froze, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat.
Oh no, what do I do?
He wasn't being praised for being a genius—he was about to get roasted instead!
Was he about to become infamous in Teacher Azure's livestream in this special way?
No, please no!
Without hesitation, Kato immediately sold out his "comrades," blurting out an explanation:
"This morning, I saw a post on the school forum about how to challenge the Sunshine Gym. It mentioned maybe using the Prankster Ability to fight poison with poison, so I came here to try my luck..."
?
A question mark slowly appeared above Aiden's head, and he sighed again.
"I don't even know what to say to you guys…"
"If you know you're not smart enough, at least look at the Pokédex!"
"Check what the effect of Prankster says!"
Aiden facepalmed in exasperation, and Kato, noticing his expression, immediately clammed up.
When he quietly pulled out his Rotom Phone, opened the Pokédex, and searched for "Prankster," Kato was utterly dumbfounded.
Prankster:Pokémon with this Ability can use status moves first (Priority +1).
This was common knowledge, but there was a small line of text below in the Pokédex—
Since Dark-type Pokémon are naturally more sensitive to energy changes, status moves influenced by this Ability will become ineffective when used against Dark-type Pokémon.
In battles, this must be taken into account!
"Ssss—"
Kato gasped sharply, his finger trembling as it hovered over the screen. His face instantly flushed red, and steam practically started rising from his head.
These damn fools hadn't even understood the Ability's effects before posting their "guide"!
What type is Teacher Azure's Sableye?
Dark + Ghost!
How could Prankster possibly work?!
No wonder Volbeat's Taunt had no effect on Sableye earlier—he had thought Teacher Azure had prepared some special item.
Turns out he was just stupid and didn't know this crucial detail…
At this realization, Kato's face turned even redder.
Of course, he shouldn't have trusted those failures who hadn't even passed Teacher Azure's test—they didn't know anything about Pokémon battles!
Discussing with those scrubs for a year wouldn't get them past the Sunshine Gym!
"Teacher Azure, next time I'll come back to challenge the Sunshine Gym with my own strategy!"
After taking a deep breath and leaving behind what sounded like a somewhat cool line, Kato fled the Sunshine Gym as if escaping.
Only Aiden was left behind, scratching his head in resignation.
"Does this count as the worst batch of students I've ever taught?"
"Oh wait, I've only taught this batch, so never mind."
[This sounds familiar—I feel like I've heard this from a teacher back in Pokémon School...]
[Impressive, Teacher Azure has already adapted to his role as a teacher so quickly.]
[To be honest, the overall level of Paldea's students doesn't seem very high. They're already on the Victory Road, but their fundamentals should at least be decent, right?]
[Teacher Azure's mini-lesson has begun! Learned something new today—I bet not many viewers in the livestream knew about this either.]
[Wh-what? Of course I knew! (Looking away, feeling guilty)]
After two days of livestreamed gym challenges, many viewers gradually realized—
You really couldn't blame Aiden for being too strict. This obvious handicapped test, using only Sableye to examine a Trainer's fundamentals, had a pass rate of less than 20%...
Sableye barely had any real combat ability—it could only rely on dirty tricks to annoy opponents, and it seemed easy to handle!
Of course, that was from a spectator's perspective.
Only a few Naranja Academy students who had truly challenged the Sunshine Gym and were lurking in the livestream for inspiration felt their blood pressure spike watching Kato's cringe-worthy performance, suddenly feeling inexplicably embarrassed.
In a way, when they confidently went to challenge the Sunshine Gym, their performances in the livestream might not have been much better than Kato's.
So…
They needed to reflect on why they were being stumped by a single Sableye!
After the idea of using Prankster to counter Prankster was quickly shut down, the "clever" students soon had another epiphany.
Ah, right!
If Teacher Azure's Sableye can nullify the opponent's status moves, can't we do the same?
Just bring out a Dark-type Pokémon, right?
Once the interference from status moves is neutralized, Sableye would just be a useless little critter!
After Teacher Azure's guidance, the students finally discovered Sableye's weakness and regained confidence.
Thus, one afternoon challenger finally brought out a Pokémon that caught Aiden's attention.
Lokix!
Lokix is a Bug-type Pokémon discovered only in Paldea, with an extremely wide regional distribution, evolving from Nymble.
Though a weak Bug-type, it wasn't as timid as other bugs. Instead, it was brave, skilled in battle, and excelled in combat.
When the battle reached its climax, Lokix would unfold its third pair of legs folded behind its back, relying on its powerful muscles for greater explosive strength to further suppress its enemies.
This stance was referred to by scholars as Lokix's "Final Mode."
However, despite this bug Pokémon's proficiency in fighting and ability to learn various flying kicks…
Its typing was Bug + Dark.
Thus, all of Sableye's status moves powered by Prankster would have no effect on it.
When this Pokémon appeared on the field, Aiden couldn't help but nod approvingly.
Something so simple took this long for someone to figure out—it was quite a feat…
Why didn't they bring out these Dark-type Pokémon earlier?
Judging by Aiden's reaction, the opposing student seemed to think they had a high chance of winning and began grinning foolishly.
Unfortunately…
"Hmm, using a Dark-type Pokémon to counter Prankster is indeed a good choice."
"At least in this aspect, I admit you've put in a lot of effort."
As he spoke, Aiden couldn't help but smile, simultaneously revealing the Poké Ball in his hand.
If he only used Sableye as the test content, once the students figured it out, they would start bringing waves of Dark-type Pokémon to challenge.
Aiden obviously wouldn't let them off that easily, allowing them to earn badges purely through type advantages.
Thus, aside from Qiuming, who broke through with an impressive strategy that even Aiden praised, other Trainers still had to undergo further evaluation.
"Therefore, let's use this battle as an example to teach everyone a second lesson."
"The topic of today's lesson is: Synergy Defense!"
As Aiden spoke, the opposing student suddenly froze, a bad feeling rising in their heart…
Could it be—
"Dark-types are indeed a great way to counter Sableye, so using Sableye against a Dark-type Pokémon is obviously unwise."
"This touches on an important concept regarding team-building."
"How to minimize blind spots in your team and maximize each Pokémon's strengths—also known as improving synergy defense—is something every excellent Trainer needs to constantly consider."
"Relying on bonds and trust can lead to victory, but the prerequisite is…"
"You truly achieve unity with your Pokémon."
"And that's incredibly difficult."
In other words, bonds could also be considered a blatant form of cheating…
Aiden paused, then smiled again:
"So, what type naturally has an advantage against Dark-type Pokémon?"
"The answer is simple—"
"The natural predator of Dark-types: Fighting!"
With that, Aiden gently tossed his Poké Ball.
Soon, a Pokémon resembling a child, with blue fur covering its body and black limbs and upper torso, appeared on the battlefield.
Its red eyes slowly opened, contrasting sharply with the mask-like black markings on its face.
Simultaneously, a wave of invisible Aura quickly enveloped the entire arena.
It was Aiden's Riolu!
"Rio!"
Riolu opened its eyes, looking at the challenger who seemed startled by its appearance, and slowly revealed a mischievous grin.
Finally, it was its turn to shine!
Besides the borrowed Sableye, Riolu also possessed the Prankster Ability!
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