"Huh… did they surrender?"
When the big VICTORY text flashed across the screen, Aarav stretched, still wanting more.
To be honest, the quality of that match was on a completely different level from the earlier ones.
A Gym Leader was never a Gym Leader just because their Pokémon were strong.
Their understanding of battles—timing, pressure, decision trees—was genuinely a cut above ordinary Trainers.
If Aarav hadn't correctly predicted Iono's plan to burst down Hatterene with Volt Switch into Shadow Ball, the rest of the match might still have been winnable… but it definitely wouldn't have been that clean.
And after Aarav "captured" the famous streamer—and Gym Leader—Miss Iono for the second time, his stream's popularity exploded to an absurd level.
Passersby flooded in. Even plenty of Iono's viewers—there for pure chaos—piled into his room.
The chat became a storm of madness.
"Breaking news: Iono got tilted again and rage-quit her stream!"
"I'm dying—getting demolished by a Trapinch? Even a normal person wouldn't sleep at night."
"Trapinch-sama, I apologize for not letting you have enough fun…"
"How was that last Trapinch switch even possible? That was pure robbery!"
"I officially declare I'm done watching Iono—I'm joining Shui's stream, the true authority!"
"Cute streamer Gym Leader runs into Shui in ranked—gets bullied by Trick Room tactics, tries everything and still loses!"
"Not everything."
"Not bullied."
"Not cute streamer."
"…"
Along with the rolling tide of chat came an avalanche of follows—and quite a few large donations.
After all, beating a top-tier streamer like Iono head-on, and doing it with maximum entertainment value… it was impossible not to blow up.
"Thanks to [IonoExplodedToday] for the ten Luxury Balls—absolute legend!"
While thanking donors, Aarav also answered a few questions from the chat.
"How do you feel about the famous Gym Leader Iono getting 'captured' again by unknown small streamer Shui, one week later?"
Aarav smiled lightly.
"My review is—stop trolling. Everyone knows Iono is one of the Trainers I respect the most!"
Some memes were fine for the audience to run with.
But the person involved? Better not.
Aarav understood that.
Besides, his stream rising this fast… was largely thanks to those two "Iono moments."
Toward her, he had nothing but respect. Pure respect.
He picked another question that kept appearing.
"Was the final Trapinch switch just luck?"
"Not at all."
Aarav answered seriously.
"In that situation, it was extremely dangerous for Iono. Her only real winning line was to delete Hatterene with a burst combo like Volt Switch into Shadow Ball. And even if my read was wrong… the advantage was still on my side."
"…"
Meanwhile, in the Paldea region—Levincia City, inside a high-end apartment.
After rage-ending her stream, Iono lay on her bed with lifeless eyes, her mind still haunted by the image of that big-headed 'ant' racing across the battlefield like a monster.
It wasn't that she couldn't accept losing to a Trapinch.
It was just a ranked match in a game—what was there to obsess over?
"But that strategy… it does feel kind of ridiculous."
Rolling over, Iono peeled off her oversized, eccentric punk outfit. Her pale feet swung over the edge of the bed, bouncing lightly as she scrolled on her phone.
"Shui… Shui… found him!"
Seeing the bright Trending label beside his stream, Iono snorted.
"Top twenty in the battle category already? This guy… heh."
She knew a big part of that popularity came from her.
But she didn't mind.
She streamed mostly for fun anyway, and for a younger creator as talented as Aarav, Iono was actually happy to give a push.
…Well, she'd be even happier if he hadn't captured her twice in public.
So she wasn't here to pick a fight or demand revenge.
She was here for one reason:
To learn the tactic.
With that thought, Iono tapped into [Shui's livestream], full of expectation.
"Why are people still saying Mimikyu is useless?"
Aarav looked helpless.
"Just because it didn't do damage means it's useless? Why are you all so obsessed with damage output?"
"You don't realize you're turning Pokémon battles into pure numbers. Do you even know what 'alienation' means? What 'turning things into objects' means?"
The chat continued clowning Mimikyu, so Aarav decided to make it simple.
"Let me give you an example. You all love Sun teams, right? Six Pokémon. You've got a weather setter like Torkoal, and a damage dealer like Charizard."
"Charizard just spams Heat Wave and Fire Blast, blasting damage nonstop. Meanwhile Torkoal uses Drought, maybe throws out Yawn or Stealth Rock, and then goes down—barely doing any damage."
"Then the match ends, you check the numbers—oh wow! Professor Zard knocked out three Pokémon! Professor Zard got MVP!"
"Does that mean Torkoal is a 'freeloader'? A 'carried dog'? A 'lay-flat leech'? Can you really calculate it like that?"
The analogy was so vivid—and Aarav's delivery so infectious—that Iono, who'd been in a terrible mood, actually laughed.
And then, on impulse, she sent the most expensive gift available across the entire platform:
A Master Ball.
A gorgeous animation instantly filled the screen.
Aarav froze for a solid moment before reading it out loud.
"Th-thank you… [IonoNarrates] for the Master Ball? Huh? Wait—this ID… is that actually Iono-sensei?"
Chat exploded even harder.
"Over ten million followers? That really is Iono!"
"Iono got tilted off-stream and still came here to tip? That's… kind of M behavior."
"She rage-quit and still brought a Master Ball as 'medical fees'? I'm crying."
"She's clearly here to steal his tech—petition to rename her ID to [IonoNarrates (Student of Shui)]."
Aarav saw the chat's direction getting dangerous and immediately cleared his throat.
"Don't talk nonsense. This is the most respectful-to-Iono livestream on the internet. Mods—give those instigators a 365-day package."
The only problem was…
This stream didn't actually have any mods.
Iono didn't care about the teasing. She spoke frankly:
"That strategy was actually pretty interesting."
Normally, it would've been impossible for Aarav to pick out one message in the sea of chat.
Unfortunately—or fortunately—too many people were relaying her words like hired couriers, spamming it across the screen.
Seeing that the Master Ball really was "tuition," Aarav explained seriously.
"I call that lineup a Heavy Trick Room team. It has very clear strengths and weaknesses. I won't even talk about the strengths—you've already felt them personally, Iono-sensei."
Iono, staring at the screen: "…"
Did you really have to add that last part?
Aarav continued, calm and professional.
"Of course, it's not unbeatable. The most classic counters are Taunt, Roar, or any method that prevents the opponent from setting Trick Room."
Far away in Paldea, Iono made an "Oh!" sound as she finally understood.
Right—Taunt prevented status moves, which naturally included Trick Room.
It wasn't even a complicated counter.
Even if Aarav didn't say it, once Trick Room teams became popular on the ladder, people would figure it out quickly.
But then Aarav smoothly shifted again.
"Of course, there are counter-counters too. For example, you can swap your Trick Room setter to Indeedee with the Ability Psychic Surge—but that's a deeper layer of mind games."
"Anyway, because of the four-move limit and various other restrictions, this game is still different from real Pokémon battles. Strategies like Trick Room have a much bigger stage here."
"From now on, I'll bring you all even more tactical tutorials."
"Alright—stream's over for today. See you tomorrow!"
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/lucarioTL