After giving Iono's team a quick glance, Qingyu already had a rough grasp of her playstyle.
Kilowattrel, Electivire, Bellibolt, Electrode, Luxray, Mismagius.
"A standard mono-type Gym Leader team, huh. Though I don't really have the right to criticize anyone," Qingyu muttered.
Iono's team had an extremely high overall Speed tier. Against his own comparatively sluggish Steel squad, her core idea was obviously to seize the initiative and go for fast, aggressive offense.
In the world of Pokémon, every type had its own defining traits.
Electric-types were defined by one word: fast.
Sure, there were a few slow ones here and there, but overall their Speed tiers were absurdly high.
All martial arts fear speed, and especially that certain electric pole that cranks Speed to ridiculous levels—it was the prime example.
Although Electric didn't have a type advantage over Steel, Steel resisting Electric was very much a real thing.
Judging purely from type matchups, Qingyu's side was actually at a slight disadvantage.
"Still, not a big problem."
Qingyu nodded and quickly locked in his lead.
As the battle field loaded in, both trainers' virtual avatars simultaneously tossed out a Poké Ball.
On Qingyu's side, it was once again Skarmory—silver-white all over, sharp-eyed, taking the lead.
On Iono's side hovered a black-and-gold bird as well. With each breath, the electric sac beneath its beak swelled, sparks flickering faintly.
[Leading Skarmory against an Electric Gym Leader? Isn't that a bit too textbook, streamer?][You're not throwing on purpose, are you? Don't let a bad woman cloud your judgment—you're a man aiming for Master Ball!][I forbid you from calling Iono a bad woman, she's my good wife!][Who's got yellow pee? Hurry up and splash this guy awake, don't let him taste even a bit of sweetness!]
"Skarmory, Stealth Rock."
Qingyu ignored the chat as it instantly derailed and issued his command decisively.
Even though Skarmory had performed extremely well before, this match clearly wasn't going to give it much room to shine.
So instead of saving it for later, he might as well send it out early to contribute to the team.
As a sacrifice slot, getting two layers of hazards up would already count as a success.
Skarmory spread its wings, preparing to "deliver a small gift" to the opponent's field—while Kilowattrel on the opposite side made the exact same motion.
"Kilowattrel, Tailwind!"
Hearing the cute, loli-like voice giving the command, Qingyu raised an eyebrow.
Calling me formulaic? Isn't Iono being even more formulaic than I am?
When it's obvious my team can't win the Speed war, she's actually wasting time and letting me set more hazards…
"There's such a good deal?"
Qingyu naturally wasn't going to pass up such a free opportunity. Right after Stealth Rock, he immediately had Skarmory lay down a layer of Spikes.
At the same time the Spikes scattered across the field, Kilowattrel's attack followed.
"Electro Ball!"
Fast as lightning, Kilowattrel condensed a sphere of terrifying voltage. In an instant, it struck Skarmory dead-on, crackling sharply with electric sparks.
As everyone knew, Skarmory was an excellent physical wall.
But in front of an Electric-type Pokémon that specialized in special attacks—and also hit it for super-effective damage—its bulk really didn't seem quite enough…
Or did it?
"Not enough" might be an exaggeration—it was actually enough.
The moment the move landed, Skarmory's HP bar nearly emptied in one go.
But it didn't fall.
"Sturdy is still a very useful Ability in battles—especially for a hazard-setting utility Skarmory."
Qingyu nodded.
At the same time, based on the damage from that Electro Ball, he roughly inferred this Kilowattrel's set.
Skarmory nearly lost two extra lives there—this was definitely Wind Power.
Kilowattrel's signature Ability: when hit by a wind-based move or when Tailwind was active on its side of the field, it entered a charged state.
Tailwind alone already boosted Electro Ball's power. After charging, the next Electric-type move's damage directly doubled.
In that case, it was easy to understand why Iono chose to open with Tailwind.
Though honestly, since Skarmory's HP was getting wiped either way, any overflow damage didn't really matter.
Even clinging on thanks to Sturdy, Skarmory couldn't do much to Kilowattrel. After laying one final layer of Spikes, it gloriously completed its mission.
[Even though a lot of hazards went up, Skarmory just got thrown away… this feels like setup for something, streamer…][Gym Leader vs Gym Leader battles really are on another level. Those earlier one-sided stomps didn't even look like the streamer was thinking.][Ugh, losing a point first still hurts—why does it feel like this is going south?!]
"Tailwind, huh…"
Qingyu muttered to himself, then without hesitation sent out his next mainstay.
A simple, ancient-looking Pokémon, its surface etched with the marks of time—
Bronzong.
"Domain expansion—"
"Trick Room, activate!"
The moment Bronzong entered the field, it released a psychic field under Qingyu's command.
A strange psychic space spread outward from its center, gradually enveloping the entire battlefield.
Kilowattrel, which had been about to repeat its old trick and charge up another Electro Ball, was instantly swallowed by the psychic field. Its Speed dropped to an absurdly sluggish level.
As a seasoned competitive veteran, how could Qingyu not know his team's weaknesses?
But precisely because moves like Trick Room existed, being slow was never truly a flaw in battles.
Within the mysterious Trick Room, the effects of Speed were completely reversed.
The Kilowattrel that had been so fast it left afterimages to the naked eye now struggled to move even an inch.
Meanwhile, the clumsy Bronzong suddenly became far faster in comparison.
Even if it couldn't dodge Electro Ball, it could tank it with its bulk and immediately fire back with Rock Slide.
Although Bronzong's offensive power was mediocre, under a double super-effective hit, it still hurt plenty—
At the very least, Qingyu was confident Kilowattrel wouldn't survive a second one.
When it rains, it pours.
With Tailwind and Trick Room's effects clashing, Iono's Speed advantage naturally flipped over to her opponent.
At this point, Iono knew she only had one option left.
Force a trade!
She couldn't let Bronzong set up Trick Room again—it was far too dangerous for her team!
"Kilowattrel, Electro Ball!""Bronzong, Rock Slide!"
Both commands were issued at the same time.
Bronzong moved first, unleashing Rock Slide. Countless stones rained down, smashing squarely into Kilowattrel's helpless body.
Even after taking severe damage, Kilowattrel stubbornly forced out one last Electro Ball.
Both sides took a hit—neither came out well from the exchange.
Kilowattrel plummeted from the sky, losing its ability to battle. Bronzong still stood firm at the center of Trick Room, but its HP bar was nearly empty.
The battle was brutally intense.
[Using Trick Room to counter Tailwind—was this also within the streamer's expectations?!][The score's tied at 1–1. Even though Bronzong's at low HP, with the hazards Skarmory left behind, isn't this still pretty even?][This is insane—this is the kind of battle I wanted to see! Do fifty more turns!]
The clash between two Gym Leaders clearly drew massive attention. Watching the dense flood of chat messages, Qingyu couldn't help but grin widely.
Of course, he wasn't happy because of these meaningless numbers.
Just thinking about the play he was about to make next made him want to laugh out loud right then and there.
But not yet.
He had to maintain absolute focus.
Until he confirmed Iono's next Pokémon.
Qingyu stared straight at the screen, waiting for his opponent's next move.
"Go! Bellibolt!"
The moment Iono's command rang out, Qingyu's smile became dazzling.
If Pokémon battles were an art…
Then today's theme of art was—
"A Big Explosion!"
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