The Kanto region, Sevii Islands.
A dense cluster of islands located in southern Kanto.
Although called the "Sevii Islands," it includes nine large islands and several smaller ones.
This is the legendary land of Kanto, once home to Ho-Oh and Lugia.
After the Burned Tower incident in Johto, people occasionally spotted legendary Pokémon here as well.
Each of the Sevii main islands has its own unique features. The fourth island, perpetually covered in snow and ice, is known by the people of Kanto as the "Frozen Island."
Rather than the elusive Articuno said to inhabit the icy depths of Icefall Cave, this unassuming island became famous due to a powerful woman from Kanto.
Yes, this is the hometown of Lorelei, one of the Elite Four of Kanto!
Due to the harsh climate, the population here is sparse even by Sevii Islands standards, with only a few households residing on the island.
Near the Icefall Cave lies Lorelei's residence.
"Tsk..."
"Never thought Charizard would know Solar Beam... Why didn't Lance ever use that move?"
A red-haired woman in a swimsuit sat in front of her computer, silently adjusted her glasses, and stared intently at the glaring red "Defeat" on the screen, clicking her tongue in frustration.
Her identity was unmistakable.
She was none other than Lorelei, one of the Elite Four of Kanto, known as the "Ice Beauty!"
Having been granted some vacation time, Lorelei decided to follow the recommendation of her devoted fan, Misty, and occasionally play games to improve her tactical skills.
As fate would have it, her first match of the evening was against this somewhat peculiar opponent, and she was thoroughly defeated...
However, Lorelei remained emotionally stable, showing no signs of distress from the loss. Instead, her cold expression quickly melted into a gentle smile.
"Just as Misty said, he's a very creative and interesting young trainer."
Though she was a new Gym Leader, Lorelei had known Misty for quite some time and was aware that Misty aspired to become a mature Trainer like herself.
Because of this connection, even though she rarely surfed the internet, Lorelei had heard about "Teacher Azure," a Gym Leader from far-off Paldea, through Misty.
Misty had described him as an exceptional Trainer who always came up with unexpected tactics and strategies that amazed his audience.
After personally facing him in battle, Lorelei agreed—this was indeed an unconventional Trainer.
Lorelei wasn't particularly fixated on the outcome of a single game, as there were significant differences between gaming and real battles.
Without rigid numerical templates, things like Mamoswine enduring a Solar Beam with sheer willpower and thick fat were more commonplace for her.
Even taking hits for her Pokémon was a frequent occurrence.
In unrestricted wild battles where both Trainers and Pokémon fought together, if a Trainer couldn't keep up with their Pokémon, they would become a weak link in the team and a prime target.
Thus, there were even brutal tactics like Chuck's, where he acted as a human shield leading his Pokémon into battle.
Forget a Solar Beam—having her main Pokémon unleash Ice Beams on Chuck would merely hinder his movements; it wouldn't endanger his life.
If humans could easily do such things, why did game designers think Pokémon couldn't?
It really wasn't rigorous, and it severely underestimated the power of Pokémon.
Lorelei had long wanted to critique this point while playing games, and today provided a perfect opportunity to voice her thoughts.
Which of the Kanto Elite Four's Pokémon couldn't fight for hours, holding their own despite type disadvantages?
Did a type disadvantage mean they couldn't fight?
If that were true, breaking through the trials of the Kanto Elite Four would be far too easy!
However, despite these internal musings, Aiden's innovative thinking did catch Lorelei's eye.
A Solar Beam-wielding Charizard was something she never anticipated before the battle.
It was precisely this unexpected move choice, paired with the various advantages of the Sunny Day team, that led to his eventual sweep.
Lorelei accepted the defeat wholeheartedly.
Such previously unseen tactics naturally held a significant advantage when first used due to the element of surprise.
But that advantage would only last once.
From now on, whenever Lorelei saw a Charizard, she would consider whether it might similarly use Sunny Day Solar Beam.
Thankfully, Lance hadn't thought of this move during his challenge for the Champion title; otherwise, after defeating Agatha and Bruno, his morale might not have been enough to secure a win...
Phew, it was a close call—the Kanto Elite Four's internal battles almost ended prematurely!
The temperament of the people of Kanto also favored harmony and compromise.
Compared to such an obviously unacceptable outcome, a minor setback in a game was nothing to Lorelei. It merely reminded her to be more cautious of Lance using this tactic in the future.
She wasn't sure if Lance had seen this battle, but the same trick wouldn't work on her twice!
As the Ice-type Elite Four, knowing her weaknesses meant she would immediately find ways to address them.
The recent battle had indeed exposed some weaknesses in her team.
Any Trainer with a keen eye could see that her entire team was slower than that Charizard.
In wild battles, her style involved using AOE Ice-type moves like Blizzard to suppress opponents and gain the initiative.
But if someone managed to set up a Sunny Day, her type disadvantage would be magnified.
Hence, she prepared a counter-tactic with Slowking's Chilly Reception to initiate a Hail condition.
However, the results seemed rather lackluster...
Perhaps she needed to broaden her currently limited mindset?
Just as Lorelei was deep in thought, hoping to find a suitable solution, an incoming call interrupted her train of thought.
Lorelei instinctively furrowed her brows, but upon checking her phone and seeing the caller, her expression softened.
Upon answering the call, Misty's sweet voice immediately reached her ears.
"Hey, Lorelei-sis~"
Even through the phone, one could feel the lively spirit of the girl on the other end.
"It's Misty, what's the matter?"
Lorelei's originally stern expression quickly softened, and her voice became gentler.
She adored this young, promising fan because Misty reminded her of her younger self.
Not so long ago, she too was a novice Trainer, full of girlish dreams, hoping to meet her destined partner on her journey...
Yet, this dream remained unfulfilled to this day.
In a few years, she might no longer be active on the frontlines as a Trainer, transitioning to the background and passing the mantle of Elite Four to younger generations.
For instance, Misty, deeply influenced by her and passionate about Water-types, might be a good candidate.
On the other end of the line, Misty's excited voice quickly returned.
"Lorelei-sis, I watched your battle with Teacher Azure earlier. He's currently reviewing the match in his live stream. If you're interested, you can join the live stream to listen."
"Teacher Azure has great insights, and as a Trainer from another region, he can offer perspectives we might not think of. Sometimes, a single Pokémon's change can affect the entire team's strength!"
Hearing Misty's earnest explanation, Lorelei couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, I'll take a look."
"Please send his stream link to my PokeNav."
"Okay~ It'd be great if I can help Lorelei-sis!"
Misty quickly ended the call, followed by another vibration from her phone.
Though Lorelei had indirectly learned about the often-mentioned "Teacher Azure" through Misty, she knew that Professor Oak and even Lance had shared his videos multiple times.
She had watched the video content, and the quality certainly matched his high reputation.
However, since they were from different regions and unlikely to interact in the future, Lorelei hadn't paid much attention to him before.
But after personally battling him, Lorelei found herself genuinely curious about him.
So, Lorelei opened the link Misty sent.
Since a few minutes had passed since their battle, she immediately heard the passionate voice of a young man discussing with the chat as soon as she entered.
"Mamoswine has obvious strengths but even more obvious weaknesses!"
"The Ice/Ground coverage may be unbeatable, but what's the cost? A defense that's weak against many popular types!"
"Fire, Water, Grass, Steel, Fighting—I laughed just listing them. Newcomers should know what the starter types are, right?"
"Even though Thick Fat can mitigate Fire-type weaknesses, it's still a significant disadvantage—though among Ice-type combinations, having just a few weaknesses is already commendable."
Aiden's voice quickly reached Lorelei's ears, making her instinctively frown.
It wasn't that he was wrong—these were basic facts easily found in the Pokédex.
In Lorelei's view, Ice-type Pokémon sacrificed defense for aggressive offensive capabilities, a common trait among these Pokémon.
But Aiden's tone suggested he had a way to circumvent this issue?
Lorelei decided to continue listening, and soon Aiden's voice echoed again:
"So, is there a way to neutralize this problem?"
"Yes, friends, there is."
[Chills, what's the secret fam?]
[Can Teacher Azure change attributes? No ability seems to save Mamoswine...]
[Wait, now that you mention it, I think I know what Teacher Azure means.]
[Could it be something familiar to Paldeans... That thing?]
[What thing? This mf get your riddling ahh out!]
After glancing at the chat, Aiden quickly revealed a satisfied smile.
"That's right, some students have guessed it. What I'm talking about is—"
"The specialty of the Paldea region: Terastalization, a phenomenon that temporarily changes a Pokémon's type!"
Though Mamoswine had many weaknesses, it wasn't completely hopeless.
Besides Terastallizing into the same type to further boost move power, using Terastalization to avoid weaknesses was a common tactic among Paldea's elite trainers, including:
Iono's Tera Electric Levitate Mismagius, Brassius's Tera Grass Sudowoodo, and other various oddities.
Since every Pokémon could Terastallize and only required Tera Shards to temporarily change into any type, its versatility was extremely high, giving every Pokémon the potential for a shining moment.
However, mass production of Tera Orbs was only perfected in the past two years, and Gym Leaders like them had only recently started using them, so people outside the Paldea region rarely knew about this unique phenomenon.
But since the atmosphere had already built up, Aiden casually mentioned Terastalization.
"Besides Terastallizing into Ground-type to further enhance its pressure, Terastallizing into Grass-type significantly boosts Mamoswine's synergy."
"Paldean students, if you ever get the chance to obtain a Tera Orb, try using Terastalization to expand your synergy options!"
Aiden quickly revealed the answer.
Grass-type had many weaknesses, but Thick Fat helped Mamoswine avoid the most fatal ones.
As for other weaknesses, they posed no threat to its own type and could suddenly unleash Terastalization in battle, overwhelming the opponent's mind.
"Terastalization is a fascinating phenomenon with many functions in battles. Trainers from other regions interested can learn more about it."
"Who knows, maybe Terastalization will enter the game someday?"
After speaking, Aiden smiled.
After all, Mega Evolution was about to enter the game, so other regional phenomena like Z-Moves, Dynamaxing, and Terastalization shouldn't be far behind.
[Though he's introducing Terastalization seriously, why do I feel like Teacher Azure has a "paid promotion" vibe?]
[Teacher Azure, how much "friendship fee" did President Geeta give you to promote Terastalization for the League?]
[Wdym, isn't Teacher Azure the Terastalization Ambassador? As the region's most popular streamer, it's only natural to bring welfare to fellow townsfolk!]
[Fam, any unsold Tera Orbs, help us~]
Chat quickly began joking around.
Paldeans naturally knew that Tera Orbs weren't for sale. Besides internal League channels, only a select group of outstanding students at Naranja Academy qualified to receive them.
So, there was no such thing as a commercial deal.
But though the speaker might be innocent, the listener wasn't...
"Terastalization...?"
Lorelei frowned slightly. She had only occasionally heard of this unique Paldea phenomenon and didn't know much about it.
However, if it could enhance her overall strength, she was indeed somewhat interested.
After some thought, Lorelei quickly typed a message—
[Kanto Elite Four Lorelei: Teacher Azure, could you elaborate?]
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