Aarav had zero interest in the chaotic barrage of comments.
He didn't rush into the next match either. He cleared his throat and said, "Ahem… Teacher Qishu, are you here? Uh… boss, time to settle the bill?"
High Great Ball tier. Pachirisu appeared. Victory.
Under normal circumstances, with three conditions this strict, being able to satisfy even two would've been impressive.
Yet Aarav somehow pulled off the full sweep.
Even Qishu—watching from behind the screen—had to admit it: this guy's weird tactics were actually something.
After tossing him a Master Ball, she still refused to concede in words:
"Consider it feeding a Growlithe. Keep going."
It wasn't just stubborn pride.
After only one match, Qishu had already sensed the true strength hidden in that lineup.
Not the kind of strength that came from raw, explosive damage—
But the kind of strength that made you grind your teeth in frustration.
She wanted to see just how high the ceiling of Aarav's squad really was.
The moment Qishu surfaced, the chat instantly began copy-pasting her message in waves. Aarav couldn't miss it even if he tried.
He rubbed his hands together excitedly—not because he enjoyed being insulted, but because he understood one thing perfectly:
"We're about to get rich, Sprigatito."
Aarav scooped up Sprigatito—who had been sprawled atop his PC tower soaking up warmth—and shamelessly buried his face into its fur.
"Mm. That's the stuff."
With Qishu's very real, very expensive motivation on the line, Aarav poured twelve out of ten focus into every decision.
And his team's power was no joke:
Incineroar and Rillaboom rotating double Fake Out pressure,
Amoonguss controlling the field with Rage Powder and Spore,
Garchomp and Sylveon bringing the violence when it mattered,
And Pachirisu…
…Well.
Pachirisu brought cheerleading spirit.
In short, over half the evening, Aarav piloted Qishu's account into a straight six-win streak, dragging her rank from Great Ball Tier 4 to the edge of Master Ball.
And the opponents he ran into weren't randoms either—
There were Gym Leaders in the mix: Morty from Johto, Skyla from Unova, and more.
At some point, the viewers also learned about the ridiculous bet between Aarav and Qishu.
Every single time Aarav sent Pachirisu onto the field to "participate" in a win, the chat exploded the hardest.
"Water-sensei, you're scamming Qishu out of Master Balls—does your conscience not hurt?!"
"Garchomp MVP! Pachirisu is a freeloading passenger!"
"Stop! If you keep talking, Water's gonna start defending Pachirisu again—'Why do you care so much about damage output~?'"
"…"
Qishu not only donated Master Balls without hesitation—
She also helped create top-tier entertainment.
What a genuinely good person.
Aarav couldn't help thinking it.
Without realizing it, time slipped by. The streak carried them close to ten o'clock.
"Alright, alright—this is really the last one today. If we win this, we hit Master Ball tier clean. We take this and I'm ending stream!"
Aarav hit the ranked button, then rubbed his temples.
Honestly, Path to the Champion was exhausting.
If he had to compare it to something…
It was like playing a MOBA where you controlled two champions at once.
You needed League-level reflexes and mechanical execution,
and Dota-level instant judgment and macro awareness.
But that was exactly why the game was so rich—and why so many elite Trainers played it.
Like the opponent he matched into for tonight's final battle.
Qishu Qishu vs. Dragon Storm!
Dragon Storm?
That name felt… familiar.
Aarav paused, then looked at the chat—because the moment the opponent's ID appeared, the comments spiked again.
"That ID… is it Raihan?!"
"AHHH I MATCHED MY HUSBAND!"
"Master Ball tier rank 13—yeah, it really might be Raihan!"
"It's him. He just went live. First match and he runs into Water LOL!"
"Raihan's really made it—he gets to fight Water-sensei now."
"Isn't he the Hammerlocke Stadium Gym Leader from Galar who's rumored to have Champion-level strength?"
"Heh. Galar people love bragging. Let him try facing Lance or Alder."
"You mean that 'Lance' who almost got swept by Leon's three Pokémon? Don't make me laugh."
"Talk big all you want—wasn't it Galar pulling strings that got Dragonite's visa blocked?"
"Come to Kanto and try that!"
"…"
Aarav stared at the chaos and sighed.
So regional wars existed in every universe, huh…
The chat had derailed into pure nonsense, but one thing was clear:
This opponent could only be—
Leon's rival.
Hammerlocke Stadium's Gym Leader.
The strongest Gym Leader.
Galar's current top ace.
A Dragon-type master.
Dragon Storm—Raihan.
The man had so many titles you almost wanted to say, "Sorry, there aren't enough seats in the room for all of you."
But his strength was absolutely real.
Top three among all Gym Leaders? Completely believable.
And you could tell just by looking at his preview team:
Duraludon, Flygon, Tyranitar, Salamence, Goodra, Kommo-o.
Five pseudo-legendaries out of six.
Stats that looked beautiful on paper—
And hidden beneath that, a sandstorm core threaded through the whole composition.
In other words…
This was the strongest opponent Aarav had faced so far.
Entering the team selection phase, Aarav glanced at the chat—
only to find everyone suddenly spamming the exact same message.
"Take this seriously—if you win, I'll drop TEN Master Balls!"
No explanation needed.
That was obviously a certain rich sponsor's message being copied and pasted.
Aarav's curiosity flared.
Did Qishu and Raihan have beef?
In the games and anime he remembered, he didn't recall any direct interaction between them—
but this wasn't the old world. This was a living one.
Who knew what kind of connections existed here?
Still—this wasn't the time to gossip.
Aarav immediately declared, "No problem, Teacher Qishu. This one's on me. I'll take it."
Then he locked in his four without hesitation:
Incineroar. Sylveon. Garchomp. Pachirisu.
The moment he selected Pachirisu last, the chat flooded with question marks.
A lot of people assumed he was forcing the mascot again purely for entertainment.
Was that the truth?
…Okay, fine. It was.
This was just a ranked match. If he lost, it wasn't the end of the world.
If he won, it was a jackpot.
But there was also a deeper reason:
Neither Rillaboom nor Amoonguss was particularly suited for this battle.
First—Raihan was basically full Dragon.
Rillaboom's proud Grassy Glide would hit like a wet paper fan.
Second—Amoonguss might be "dirty," but Kommo-o's ability was very likely Overcoat—
which meant Spore wouldn't work at all.
In that case, Amoonguss might not even be more useful than Pachirisu.
And as for whether Pachirisu could recreate that legendary "white devil" moment from the World Championships—
standing tall against dragons and refusing to die…
Well.
That depended on fate.
Amid the roar of chat arguments and excited screams, both sides finalized their picks.
And the match officially began.
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