"I didn't expect Teacher Azure to be so knowledgeable about the situation in Kanto?"
After ending her online conversation with Aiden, Sabrina instinctively began to reflect on his words.
"Teacher Azure's suggestion is... to have all the Gym Leaders join Team Rocket, ensuring city safety while also acting as moles to help the League completely eradicate this threat at a critical moment?"
"No wonder he's Teacher Azure; it's indeed a feasible approach and currently the best solution."
"So, the only issue now is..."
"Which Gym Leaders can we trust?"
Sabrina couldn't help but ponder this question.
Among the current Gym Leaders in Kanto, eight were generally considered powerful and could be seen as the "Eight Gym Leaders" akin to those in other regions.
Apart from herself, Misty and Brock, who appeared in Teacher Azure's live stream, were both young. Although she wasn't sure if they could be trusted yet...
Since they were part of Teacher Azure's chat, they should be trustworthy.
Sabrina didn't know how this logic formed, but she chose to trust her sixth sense.
As for the other Gym Leaders, the situation with Mr. Koga was unclear; she didn't know much about this former candidate for Poison-type Elite Four.
Mr. Surge was a veteran from Unova who reportedly participated in several anti-terrorism operations and saved many lives. He probably wouldn't join Team Rocket?
Erika of Celadon City was a young lady from a local prestigious family. Given her background, it was impossible for her to be associated with Team Rocket, especially since the areas most severely affected by Team Rocket recently were Celadon City and its surroundings.
Clearly, they were pressuring this young Gym Leader like herself.
Thus, the problem lay with the two senior Gym Leaders rumored to have joined Team Rocket.
Blaine was a very enthusiastic old man who once worked with Professor Oak for a period and was said to be skilled in genetic research. He likely wouldn't agree with Team Rocket's ideology.
As for Giovanni...
After organizing the clues, Sabrina suddenly understood the meaning behind Aiden's final warning to "be careful of Giovanni."
Giovanni indeed ensured the safety of Viridian City and was respected by nearby residents.
But she had never heard of him participating in any operations to eliminate Team Rocket?
And compared to the clearly untenable reason that Giovanni's strong deterrence kept Team Rocket away from Viridian City...
The hypothesis that Giovanni himself was part of Team Rocket seemed more convincing, right?
Although it was just speculation, it was enough to raise her alertness.
After processing all the known information, Sabrina quickly concluded:
Teacher Azure was right.
If Team Rocket's combat power included not just the four executives but also strong figures like Giovanni and other suspicious Gym Leaders, it would be better for them to stop resisting and temporarily join instead.
Thinking this, Sabrina couldn't help but sigh.
She didn't expect that Teacher Azure, thousands of miles away, knew more about Kanto than she did.
She felt somewhat inadequate as a Gym Leader...
However, it wasn't too late to make amends now.
Starting with joining Team Rocket and confirming which Gym Leaders were already colluding with them, she could contribute to the League.
"If this matter can be resolved satisfactorily, I really hope to temporarily step down as a Gym Leader and go on a journey for a while..."
Sabrina shook her head helplessly and quickly used her psychic powers to dial a call.
"Hello, is this Miss Misty from Cerulean Gym?"
...
Time quickly approached midnight on Monday.
Monday at midnight was the peak time for active users on Poké TV each week.
The reason was simple: a certain unnamed major Poké TV streamer usually updated videos precisely at this time.
"Behold, any evil will eventually face justice—Arcanine's Counterattack!"
A perplexing video appeared in an unknown... widely-known corner, instantly skyrocketing to five-digit views.
[I was there, I was the Hatterene, already scared to tears by Teacher Azure's Whimsicott~]
[Front-row reminder, you might think this is another dirty tactic from Teacher Azure, but actually... this damn thing turns out to be a practical combo!]
[Today's victim: Miss Sabrina from Saffron Gym in Kanto. Even adorable ones aren't spared by Teacher Azure—the scum of scums!]
[Today's live stream was so entertaining, and many Gym Leaders came to tip and pay respects. Our Teacher Azure is doing well...]
Countless bullet comments rolled in, quickly catching the attention of viewers and making them anticipate what interesting tactics Teacher Azure would showcase today.
"Hello everyone, I'm the new streamer Azure Wings."
"Today I'll present an interesting doubles tactic, which I call the Beat-Up team!"
Still Aiden's signature opening line, followed by a lineup of six Pokémon appearing in the center of the screen.
The main attackers were Annihilape and Arcanine;
The primary Beat-Up support was Whimsicott, with two other unique Beat-Up users, Maushold and Dragapult;
Finally, a versatile control support, Indeedee.
The lineup wasn't hard to understand, and as Aiden explained, many grasped his idea.
Using the Beat-Up move to maximize the output capabilities of Arcanine or Annihilape, achieving astonishing combat power to sweep everything.
Continuing to watch, soon there was a doubles ranked battle, and as previously hinted in the bullet comments, the opponent was the famous psychic from Kanto, Miss Sabrina!
Next, Aiden's series of accurate predictions and preemptive commands made even his chat, who were getting used to this, widen their eyes in surprise.
[Teacher Azure, you know if you've exposed yourself or not. The opponent hadn't done anything at the start, and you already predicted their moves?]
[Commanding Taunt and Trick Room without hesitation at the start—this prediction is too outrageous!]
[Good thing I'm not a pro. If Teacher Azure faced my Hatterene using Moonblast at the start, wouldn't he be screwed?]
[Mate, talk after you match with Teacher Azure!]
A smooth and spectacular battle feast quickly ended. Besides marveling at Aiden's preposterous predictive abilities that seemed like he was cheating, the simplicity and ease of use of this tactic also caught the attention of many viewers.
[To be honest, this seems similar to the Onix & Cinccino tactic—it should be easy to copy, right?]
[Using Beat-Up, a move that causes minor damage multiple times, to continuously trigger Justified... Teacher Azure, you're damn genius!]
[Fam, no more talk—I'm going straight for it!]
[Buddy, don't be reckless. Generally, Teacher Azure prepares counter lineups—don't rush into ranked matches to lose points!]
Sure enough, after this match, Aiden's voice appeared again, starting to analyze the pros and cons of the Beat-Up tactic.
"This tactic is actually quite troublesome to restrict because Beat-Up isn't a status move, so commonly used Taunts aren't very meaningful against this tactic."
"On the other hand, the solution to Beat-Up becomes simpler and more straightforward—"
"As long as you can outspeed Whimsicott and take out this support Pokémon before it uses Beat-Up, you solve 90% of the problem."
"So, in reality, this is a tactic focused on taking the initiative. If you feel Whimsicott isn't reliable enough, you can use Dragapult. In short, speed is key!"
After listing a few Pokémon that could serve as counters, this episode drew to a close.
In the video's comment section below, countless Officer Jennys excitedly left their thanks.
[Great! Teacher Azure finally remembered that among his chat are a bunch of sisters from the Jenny family. This tactic feels tailor-made for us!]
[Teacher Azure the GOAT! Many Pokémon can learn Beat-Up. In the future, before going on duty, let teammates use Beat-Up on Arcanine, then go punish wrongdoers after maxing stats—efficiency will greatly improve!]
[See that, Nurse Joys? Teacher Azure made a special episode for us too. From now on we're even!]
Officers Jenny from various regions appeared, momentarily giving viewers the illusion of "accidentally entering a police station," causing them to gasp in unison.
Actually, a long time ago, many Officers Jenny and Nurse Joys had already appeared in Aiden's live stream, so their appearance wasn't surprising.
Nevertheless, such scenes still left people in awe.
...
Kanto Region.
At 8 AM, the disciplined Dragon-type Elite Four member Lance had finished his morning exercise and returned to his residence near the League.
Just as he was about to make breakfast, a notification popped up on his phone.
[The streamer you follow, "Azure Wings," has uploaded a new video!]
"A new video from Aiden? And it seems this time it's related to Arcanine tactics?"
Upon receiving the notification, Lance immediately became interested and clicked to watch.
"The Beat-Up team, huh? Quite interesting."
After quickly watching the video, a smile crept onto Lance's lips.
"With Aiden's strength, he must realize this isn't just a simple doubles tactic but an ingenious one that rapidly boosts overall team combat power in complex real battles!"
Not just the Jenny family; in fact, many international police officers' main forces were loyal and brave Arcanines.
"If this tactic can be promoted across all Kanto branches, it can effectively alleviate the pressure of insufficient combat power when facing Team Rocket."
Lance instantly understood the true purpose of this tactic and couldn't help but feel even more respect for this young Gym Leader from Paldea.
This tactic wasn't a spur-of-the-moment idea but a carefully prepared gift for the Jennys and their international police force, right?
"Really thoughtful, Teacher Azure..."
Unbeknownst to himself, Lance's way of addressing Aiden had subtly shifted to "Teacher Azure."
"But, this means I owe him another favor."
Lance shook his head helplessly, though a smile lingered on his lips.
"What a luxurious and happy dilemma. If such 'favors' could come more often, that'd be great..."
"If this can truly be achieved, I believe the world isn't far from the 'absolute justice' I envision..."
(T/N: AYO? Akainu?)
After sighing, Lance slowly stood up.
With remote assistance from Aiden, he gained more confidence in eradicating Team Rocket.
Soon, he dialed a call.
"Mr. Lance, today should be your day off. What's the matter?"
"Notify all international police chiefs in the Kanto region to meet at the League headquarters tomorrow. There's a brand-new tactic to share with you."
"Yes!"
"...Mr. Lance, may I ask, is the tactic you mentioned..."
"Teacher Azure's Beat-Up tactic?"
"...Correct."
"Understood! No wonder it's Mr. Lance. It seems you've watched Teacher Azure's tutorial and have additional supplements and improvements for this tactic, right? I'll notify the chiefs from other regions to attend your lecture!"
"...Wait."
"Beep—"
The call was disconnected, and Lance instinctively rubbed his forehead, sighing helplessly again.
"Are the younger generation always this hasty?"
Without a doubt, by the time he called back, this misunderstanding would have spread throughout Kanto...
Thinking of this, Lance felt a headache coming on.
He had just learned the Beat-Up tactic from the video—how could he have any additional content to supplement it?
It seemed he could only think more about what Aiden's tactic might have missed before tomorrow's meeting...
Lance muttered to himself and quietly took out his notebook, rewinding the just-finished video back to the beginning.
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