Even after going offline, Aiden and Cynthia's video call continued.
"By the way..." Cynthia tapped her lips thoughtfully. "We got so absorbed in our discussion, I completely forgot something else."
"About you participating in the Psychic-type Master Tournament—I haven't told Caitlin yet."
"But if she knows you're competing too, she'll probably be happy, right?"
"Happy...?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow, his expression turning peculiar.
If Caitlin had been in the stream earlier, she'd probably be completely broken by now.
After all, in what should have been a three-person movie, only one person was missing from the frame—relegated to being background scenery in a world-famous painting...
Why did this scenario feel like it had happened more than once?
But Caitlin probably wouldn't be watching his stream anyway—last time was likely just an accident.
So maybe it was actually a good thing that she didn't know?
"If she finds out, she'll probably prepare much more seriously for the tournament."
Aiden spoke casually.
"I beat her once in-game before—she's probably still holding that grudge. This time, having a proper match against her might actually be something Caitlin would be happy about?"
Though Caitlin seemed a bit spacey and laid-back, she might actually be the most competitive among the three of them.
Since childhood, she'd often suffered psychic power outbursts from frustration after losses—making other children avoid her. She'd had few friends growing up.
But precisely because of this flaw in her personality, Caitlin had grown rapidly as a trainer.
Even before Cynthia became Champion, Caitlin had already established the Battle Chateau, accepting challenges from elite trainers across Johto and Sinnoh.
Her ability to compete for an Elite Four position in Unova proved her strength was unquestionable.
With their complicated relationship—especially after Aiden had beaten her with Kingdra tactics long ago...
Even with their recent reconciliation over details of her Trick Room team, Caitlin definitely wouldn't hold back.
If she learned from Cynthia that Aiden was competing, she'd probably start intensive preparation immediately, developing strategies to beat him.
But this might actually be a good thing.
Having a strong opponent was exactly what he needed.
Besides her, there was also Kanto's Sabrina, and Kalos' Gym Leader Olympia—both formidable rivals.
Perfect for testing Mewtwo's strength, making up for its lack of practical battle experience recently, helping it grow on both paths—as Pokémon and as a trainer.
Thinking this, Aiden couldn't help but smile.
He should thank Caitlin in advance. Whether he won or lost, this trip to Johto would definitely yield good results.
"Possibly. Her competitive spirit has always been strong."
Cynthia nodded helplessly.
Knowing her close friend as she did, Aiden was absolutely right.
But having a good opponent was a rare blessing for any trainer.
Thinking this, Cynthia blinked, then spoke again:
"By the way—you're probably going to start preparing tomorrow's video battle footage now, right?"
"Hmm."
Aiden nodded without hesitation.
"The battle intensity was too high, and the strategy wasn't conventional Sandstorm play. I can't use it as material—I'll need to play a few more ranked matches."
After all, in that match against Cynthia, Tyranitar hadn't been very prominent. Excadrill appeared late—already in the endgame cleanup phase—making it useless as reference material.
Rather than team composition and tactics, that battle had mostly showcased prediction ability—too advanced for newcomers with weak foundations.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer."
Cynthia in the holographic image nodded, then tilted her head curiously.
"After you're done, could we play a few more matches? I got some new ideas after our battle, and want to try them before bed."
"Also, about Mega Garchomp's speed reduction—in-game it might be limited by stats and hard to fix. But in reality, with proper training, it should at least be partially compensated, right?"
"Sure thing!"
Aiden agreed immediately without overthinking.
Battling Cynthia was enjoyable—playing against skilled opponents was always more fun!
However...
Considering the time difference, by the time he finished editing the video, it would almost be dawn in Sinnoh, right?
What kind of Champion stays up all night?
And about Mega Garchomp...
Aiden thought for a moment before giving his answer:
"Though Mega Evolution theoretically can't be used twice in one battle, if your team has multiple Pokémon with evolution potential, flexible variation could confuse opponents."
His meaning was clear—
Besides Mega Garchomp, she could also try using Mega Lucario in actual battles.
Both Pokémon had strong offensive capabilities perfectly aligned with Cynthia's tactics.
And Lucario's Adaptability ability after Mega Evolution was clearly much stronger than Sand Force.
As for whether Garchomp could overcome its post-evolution speed reduction through training...
"Worth trying. Have it do speed training right after Mega Evolving for a while—might actually work?"
Logically speaking, it was probably difficult—but Aiden wasn't entirely sure about Pokémon potential.
After all, his own Pokémon were all somewhat unconventional. Whether Garchomp could learn Dragon Dance, or if its speed could be salvaged after evolution—Aiden felt it wasn't impossible.
"Understood."
"Then, see you in Johto next time~"
After a few more casual exchanges, the video call ended abruptly.
"Garchomp..."
Before Cynthia could speak, her Garchomp beside her froze in surprise.
He didn't take the chance to slander me this time?
Garchomp had been ready to catch him red-handed—finally having a reason to fiercely scold Aiden for nearly making it lose Cynthia's trust.
But this time, Aiden hadn't followed the script...
Leaving Garchomp completely confused.
Could I have been wrong about him all along?
Though it hadn't used Outrage, Garchomp quickly fell into confusion anyway.
Cynthia didn't notice its subtle change.
She was watching her phone with a strange smile.
Since she'd already spoken with Aiden, now it was time to...
Find Caitlin and share this good news~
...
Unova Region, Castelia City.
"So annoying..."
The blonde legal lolita sitting on her bed irritably shook her hair, using psychic power to turn off the wall projection screen.
Clearly, Caitlin wasn't in the best mood today.
The reason was simple—
Though she'd forced herself not to appear in the stream, she'd actually watched Aiden's entire live broadcast from start to finish...
Let's rewind about half an hour.
Originally, she'd expected it to be like usual—just an interesting but not particularly deep tactical explanation she could follow along with, learning more strategies and finding counters for her own team.
At first, Caitlin's mood had been stable.
Until Aiden started matching and encountered Cynthia—her mindset began to shift slightly.
But initially, she hadn't paid much attention to this, treating it as just a very coincidental low-probability event.
Caitlin knew well that her good friend Cynthia was a battle-enthusiast trainer who often played "Pokémon Champion." She'd even come to spar with her occasionally.
So Aiden running into her was completely normal.
At this stage, Caitlin only had minor feelings—but they were quickly drowned out by stronger curiosity.
Who's stronger now—Aiden or Cynthia?
This question naturally appeared in Caitlin's mind.
Logically speaking, Champion Cynthia should easily crush Gym Leader Aiden.
Yet, Caitlin inexplicably felt the opposite might be true.
As one who'd directly faced Aiden and experienced his commanding ability, she had deep understanding.
No no no—I must be overthinking.
After all, Aiden had only been a Gym Leader for half a year. No matter how talented, beating Cynthia was too absurd, right?
Suppressing this ominous premonition, Caitlin quickly focused on the upcoming battle.
Soon, what she'd imagined appeared before her eyes.
Just like when she'd faced Aiden, he fell into an unfavorable position early on.
But quickly, Aiden's counterattack pierced through Cynthia's most trusted general—Garchomp—gaining significant advantage.
Though both sides exchanged brilliant moves, the final score locked at 6:3.
An unexpected victory.
"Cynthia actually lost...?"
Caitlin stared in disbelief.
Whether Cynthia had held back, Caitlin—who'd battled her many times—could definitely tell.
This time, she was absolutely serious!
Yet even serious-mode Cynthia had ultimately lost to Aiden due to a single misstep...
Hard to believe, but the truth was right before her eyes—she couldn't deny it.
Of course, if this were the only issue, though surprised, Caitlin's mindset wouldn't have been affected.
What followed completely broke her composure.
Just as Aiden prepared to replay the battle, Cynthia actually called him proactively, wanting to discuss the match together...
When she and Cynthia played games before, she'd never seen her proactively ask for replays!
Still, Caitlin forced herself to remain calm internally:
It's fine—Cynthia only came to analyze her decision-making mistakes because Aiden won. This makes sense!
If I win against her once, she'll come to analyze with me too!
Comforting herself this way, Caitlin steadied her breathing, watching the projection with calm, emotionless eyes.
But the following series of news soon bombarded her until her scalp tingled.
What did he mean that Aiden was also joining the Psychic-type Master Tournament?
Did he even have Psychic-type Pokémon to compete? Probably just threw together two random Pokémon to farm points...
However, she did recall seeing a special Pokémon in his stream before—looking very similar to the Mew featured in yesterday's video.
Could this be his trump card?
Caitlin watched Aiden in the projection with suspicion, then quickly smiled.
I must be overthinking.
It's just Aiden—he's definitely not my match!
Against any other type, Caitlin wouldn't dare claim she could easily beat Aiden.
But Psychic-type? She was a professional. Both as a Psychic-type user's auxiliary effects and understanding of Pokémon—Aiden, who'd only recently gotten interested, couldn't compare.
Even if he was lucky enough to obtain a rare Pokémon she'd never seen before—so what?
The gap in experience and strength couldn't be bridged by just one Pokémon.
Not even two!
So this was her perfect chance for revenge!
After losing to Aiden last time, she'd been depressed for a long time. This time, she could vent all that frustration and collect all her debts!
Thinking this, Caitlin's slightly bad mood suddenly improved.
Just wait to be slaughtered by me, Aiden!
However...
Before she could get excited for even a few seconds, Cynthia's next words instantly shattered her composure—
"Since a friend and Aiden are both competing, I'll go to the venue to cheer them on~"
At these words, Caitlin's psychic power immediately went out of control, nearly unable to suppress the urge to blow up her entire villa.
"What does 'a friend' mean?!"
In what should have been a three-person movie, why wasn't my name worth mentioning—even unwilling to say it at all!!!
Caitlin shouted angrily while struggling to control her emotions.
If she hadn't mastered psychic control, with her recent emotional fluctuations, not just her villa but nearby buildings would have been destroyed.
Though she wasn't short on money, the aftermath would be troublesome. With Darach not around, she needed to restrain herself.
After several deep breaths, Caitlin finally calmed down slightly.
But this didn't mean she wasn't angry anymore.
"Damn it, Cynthia you bad woman—I'm not done with you!"
"And Aiden too! If not for you, why would Cynthia forget our bond and not even mention her longtime rival?!"
The more Caitlin thought about it, the more wronged she felt. Soon, she lay on her bed, tears welling in her eyes—pitiful yet stubbornly refusing to let them fall.
Cynthia! I've completely lost all good feelings for you—no amount of regret now will help!
Caitlin held a belly full of anger, but after venting internally, her eyes soon sparkled with brilliant determination.
"In this Master Tournament, I must win—I must defeat Aiden face-to-face to show you!"
"I'll prove who the true strongest is!"
"And Aiden too—you'll pay Cynthia's debt for her!"
Will I win?
I will win!
...
About a certain blonde "loser" in Unova's inner monologue, Aiden naturally knew nothing.
At this moment, he'd just finished a day's work. After clicking send on the video he'd edited overtime, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The moment it was sent, the clock in the bottom right corner flipped to 00:00, marking the start of a new day.
March 2nd, Monday.
Normally, Aiden would already be asleep by now. But needing to gather supplementary material, his workload today was much heavier than usual—pushing him to this late hour.
Fortunately, he'd still made it on time.
Finally free, Aiden yawned but didn't rush to bed. Instead, he decided to open his phone first—to check how his newly uploaded video was performing.
Due to his regular upload schedule, many viewers had already been waiting on Pokémon TV, flooding in the moment the video was posted.
After all, today's Sandstorm team stream had been exceptionally good. Even without Aiden and Cynthia's Master Ball-level peak battle as material, it was enough to whet people's appetites.
"Teacher Azure Teaches You How to Play Sandstorm Team - Singles Edition~"
After refreshing once, the ever-reliable weather team title appeared on the homepage. Aiden clicked in without hesitation.
Logically speaking, less than a minute had passed from posting to opening the video—his speed should have been quite fast.
But when the video started playing, the beginning was already covered with countless chat messages, with view counts already in the five digits.
"Are my fans' loyalty abnormally strong?"
Aiden muttered quietly, then turned his gaze to the rapidly scrolling chat.
[Seems I came early today—why so few chat messages? Someone who doesn't know might think Teacher Azure is a small streamer. Brothers, stop lurking—come out and say hi!]
[Great news: Teacher Azure finally reached Master Ball rank! His opponent was even Sinnoh Champion Cynthia!]
[Though Teacher Azure said this stream's material was too intense to be useful, he'll probably use regular footage recorded after going offline...]
[No problem—someone on Pokémon TV already recorded it. Watch fans' recordings to catch up—definitely match of the year!]
As chat flooded the screen, the video quickly began playing.
Aiden's own voice sounded in his ears.
"Hello everyone. Today's tutorial on Sandstorm Singles teams is extremely practical."
When he first started streaming, hearing his own voice had felt a bit awkward. But now a veteran, he was completely immune to such things.
"As one of the four major weathers, sandstorm has more obvious advantages and disadvantages compared to the sun and rain teams we've already introduced."
"Sandstorm doesn't directly boost damage for related-type Pokémon. Instead, it increases Special Defense for Rock-types—this is one of their most fundamental differences."
"The other difference is its erosion effect on Pokémon not of Rock, Ground, or Steel types."
Here, Aiden's voice paused.
"So... I believe students can see that Sandstorm Teams actually lean more toward defense than offense."
"Relying on weather to wear down opponents, gradually gaining HP advantage, then letting our sandstorm brothers finish them off—this is our team's core strategy!"
"Does this feel familiar? That's right—many tactics Teacher Azure taught before now have their place in Sandstorm teams!"
As he finished speaking, several previous video covers appeared in a row on screen.
Spikes team, Protect-Poison, Baton Pass team, Tailwind team...
"Students can use your imagination—think about how to build tactics suitable for yourselves~"
[Skarmory, Gliscor, Scizor, Talonflame... I immediately visualized Pokémon when seeing Teacher Azure's team. Am I beyond saving???]
[Sages stand in line like hemp—anyone who's watched Teacher Azure's streams will probably cry when seeing these Pokémon...]
[Holy Pog connected to previous tactics? Teacher Azure—was this also in your calculations?]
"Clever—you can even predict which Pokémon I'll use for teaching."
Noticing these chat messages, Aiden quickly smiled.
His tactics weren't taught in vain. Now, when newcomers see these Pokémon, they immediately recognize what strategies opponents might use.
For rookies, this was already significant progress.
Next, as long as they memorize enough Pokémon, when facing most common Pokémon, they'll be able to battle back and forth—even make counters.
At that stage, tactics will have less impact, and students will naturally focus back on their core duty—cultivating Pokémon.
One word: just keep grinding!
At the halfway point, Aiden decisively paused.
The rest was basic tactical teaching—nothing worth watching.
Instead, he'd check the comments section for a change.
So he quickly clicked into it.
The first comment that caught his eye was rather "humble."
[Teacher Azure, I understand the logic—but this Sandstorm team is too skill-reliant. Are there simpler, more direct tactics?]
Aiden raised an eyebrow.
To be honest, singles Sandstorm teams did require "a bit" of rotation and prediction—after all, the overall team composition leaned toward defense.
Defensive teams might seem torturous, but they actually demand high trainer skill. Sometimes team collapse happens in an instant—one breakthrough in defense and there's only death left.
So this comment's frustration was quite normal.
Aiden thought for a moment, then replied with a smile:
[Azure Wings: Yes, brother—yes! Go play Sandstorm teams in doubles—you won't need to overthink it!]
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