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Sunday, 6:30 PM.
Like Monday at midnight, this was one of the two peak times for user activity on Poké TV.
The reason was simple...
The former was when Aiden went live each week, and the latter was the time for video releases.
As the sole major streamer on Poké TV, Aiden's online influence was evident.
Last week, he streamed ranked singles battles with a Sunny Day team and left a preview before ending the stream—
This week would still focus on the Sunny Day system, but the tactics would expand into doubles.
Naturally, some of his loyal viewers eagerly awaited this.
These two modes were quite distinct.
Ranked singles battles were fair fights where both sides sent out one Pokémon to use all their skills to defeat the opponent first. This was the main rule in international competitions.
As for doubles mode, it likely originated from the more chaotic wild battle rules. Controlling multiple Pokémon simultaneously clearly required higher trainer skill.
Thus, doubles rules hadn't spread widely in the Pokémon world, but in Aiden's past life's games, they became official rules due to their strategic depth…
But there were trainers who truly needed Aiden's doubles tactics.
They were—
The superhuman trainers of Kanto and Johto regions using the ancient no-rules wild battle system, bursting with martial virtue!
Because "the ancestors' law cannot be changed," even as the Master Rules of international tournaments were about to land in these ancient regions, most Gyms here still included no-rules wild battles as an option.
Not to mention the International Police officers frequently battling Team Rocket and Officer Jennies. These nefarious individuals certainly didn't adhere to martial virtues.
Therefore, it was necessary to study under Teacher Azure and learn extra content from Chief Lance!
So, those waiting in the live stream room were mostly "regular army."
[Officer Jenny of Cerulean City: Hurry up, Teacher Azure, my Arcanine and I have been waiting for so long!]
[Justice Bringer (Saffron City Edition): It's dinner time, but what if I'm still on duty outside :(]
[What's going on in Teacher Azure's live stream? Why are there so many cops today...]
[Biggest fan of Grimer: The situation is getting dangerous, retreat quickly!]
As the barrage interacted, suddenly a blinding white light flashed, making them instinctively close their eyes.
Then—
"Pokémon Champion, start!"
Aiden's voice came first, followed by his familiar handsome face appearing in the center of the screen.
[Officer Jenny of Cinnabar Island: Ohhhhh, Teacher Azure has finally appeared!]
[Wow, not a second earlier—you're more punctual than the official news broadcast of the Paldea League…]
[Teacher Azure, hurry up and serve the Sunny Day team—I've been waiting with bated breath!]
"Good evening, everyone~"
After the customary greeting, Aiden didn't delay further and directly opened the already launched Pokémon Champion, entering the team editor.
It was the same lineup as last week.
"Today we'll play doubles with the same lineup, though the core of the team might slightly change."
As he spoke, Aiden moved the mouse pointer to the team's fierce-looking, fur-puffed Incineroar.
"Because the Alola region is relatively obscure, many people might not be familiar with its Pokémon or understand the functionality of this Pokémon in the team."
"But it doesn't matter! Through a few ranked matches, I'll show you the charm of Incineroar~"
"In fact, not just Sunny Day teams, many lineups can include one—it's a very versatile jack-of-all-trades!"
[Isn't Incineroar notorious? Do you really think we haven't watched Teacher Azure's Gym live streams?]
[Indeed, repeated Intimidate + Parting Shot—how can anyone come up with such tactics? Teacher Azure has surpassed humans too much; he's almost inhuman...]
[Teacher Azure is too authoritative in researching dirty tactics. I can't even imagine how strong this 'Tiger God' he personally endorsed is.]
[It's a pity only players from the Alola region can get this starter. There aren't many ways to obtain it elsewhere. Otherwise, I'd want one—it'd feel like having a gate god full of security, right?!]
[You mean... waking up in the middle of the night to see an Incineroar standing at your door?]
[That's a bit morbid, buddy!]
"If you want a gatekeeper, besides Incineroar, you can also choose one of Galar's starters, Rillaboom."
Seeing the barrage chat reach this point, Aiden suddenly remembered Tiger God's good brother.
He was even more heavyweight...
But there would be time to talk about him later.
While chatting with the barrage, Aiden quickly entered the doubles ranked match and started matching today's opponent.
In theory, the popularity of doubles had recently decreased. With his previous streak of victories pushing him up to the high-ball tier, it should take a considerable amount of time to match.
But whether it was the system setting him up or pure coincidence...
In less than half a minute, the matching interface quickly disappeared, and the opponent's identity information soon popped up in front of him.
Still dressed in a thin, seemingly high-quality pink gown, her golden hair flowing down naturally, smooth and silky.
An exaggeratedly large round hat added to her noble air, but alas...
This noble trainer's body was that of a petite, sleepy-eyed little girl.
And her name was all too familiar to Aiden—
ID: Caitlin!
...
Unova region, Undella Town.
As an ordinary town in eastern Unova, Undella Town was known for its proximity to vast oceans and its warm winters and cool summers, making it a popular summer resort destination.
Thus, it housed numerous luxurious villas, and many wealthy people from other regions chose to vacation here during the summer.
Among them, of course, was Caitlin, the well-known rich woman of Sinnoh and the actual owner of the Battle Chateau.
Aiden's streaming time was the prime-time evening slot of 6:30 PM, but this "prime-time" was obviously Paldea-exclusive.
As for other regions, like the Sinnoh League, it should be around 2:30 AM.
On the other side of the ocean, the Unova region was conveniently noon.
Thus, before Aiden went live, Caitlin had just woken up lazily, opening her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.
"..."
The obviously groggy girl stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before regaining some consciousness.
Using telekinesis to open the curtains, blinding sunlight instantly flooded the room, making her instinctively close her eyes. After adapting for a while, she opened them again.
Even in Unova, Caitlin's room still mimicked the setup of her Battle Chateau days.
Various cute pink decorations adorned every corner of the room, and the central golden chandelier sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight.
"Hmm..."
Caitlin controlled her telekinesis to lift her hair before boldly lying back on the bed.
"I should have brought Darach with me..."
Without Darach, the perfect butler who could handle everything perfectly and knew all her habits, Caitlin unsurprisingly lacked motivation upon arriving in Unova, even procrastinating on getting out of bed.
Once she becomes the Champion of Unova, she might as well move her bed to the Victory Road.
Thinking this way, Caitlin finally mustered enough strength to escape the clutches of the bed demon, got up, and washed up briefly.
"Life in Unova after coming here is so boring..."
After eating a simple "breakfast," facing the three-story villa all alone, Caitlin suddenly felt an inexplicable emptiness.
No continuous stream of challengers like in the Battle Frontier, no housekeeper Darach to chat with, and even her best friend Cynthia hadn't contacted her for a while.
She heard that Cynthia seemed to be with Professor Carolina's team, doing archaeology?
Recently, there seemed to be a particularly special ruin discovered in Sinnoh. Some said it might be related to Arceus or the gods of time and space, but Caitlin, far away in Unova, clearly wasn't aware of the real situation.
Hmm, it must be because this archaeological content is extremely important—it absolutely can't be that she doesn't want to talk to me!
I bet even Aiden can't contact her now!
Caitlin thought this way, but she couldn't help feeling a bit down.
"Sigh, this trip seems even more boring than I imagined..."
Muttering quietly, she quickly returned to her room.
During her time in Unova, she occasionally challenged some trainers to practice and became friends with a few female trainers of the same age...
Like Shauntal, who was also preparing to challenge the Elite Four and seemed to be a bestselling author, and Elesa, who inherited the Gym Leader position in Nimbasa City.
Maybe next time when Cynthia visits, she could introduce them to her?
However, even after meeting so many interesting trainers, being essentially a homebody, she preferred staying home, waiting for the Victory Road in Unova to open.
Unlike in the Battle Chateau, she had very little to do at home now.
So...
Given the situation, let's play games first!
Caitlin quickly turned on the console, sitting on the sofa looking at the big screen as the game was starting.
Whether online or offline, through Pokémon battles, she could broaden her thinking and increase her chances of becoming an Elite Four member.
Especially in double battles, as a Psychic-type user, she naturally had an advantage with her powerful calculation abilities, easily defeating other trainers.
So... who would be the unlucky opponent today?
A smile crept onto Caitlin's lips.
After a brief wait, a somewhat familiar trainer image and his information quickly appeared in front of her.
Trainer ID: Azure Wings
At the same time, her smile froze instantly.
"..."
The originally silent atmosphere in the room was infinitely amplified at this moment, almost palpable with resentment.
"Why is it Aiden again!!!"
Caitlin instantly slumped, her previously wonderful day turning gloomy after being matched with the opponent she least wanted to see.
Last time, her confidence was shattered by Aiden's absurd Sniper Kingdra tactic, and it took her several days to recover.
Then, at the Mesagoza event cheering for Cynthia's match, he chased her and defeated her!
Even thousands of miles away in Unova, am I still living under this guy's shadow...
How could there be someone as detestable as Aiden in this world!
Caitlin helplessly pouted, then quickly cheered up—
"No, this situation is different. This is ranked Doubles mode, how could Aiden possibly know more than me?"
In this world, it was impossible for any human to be better at doubles than a Psychic-type user!
Moreover, after the last Dragon-type Master Tournament, Caitlin, who was slightly curious about Aiden, secretly caught up on his previous videos and often watched his live streams.
Of course, she wouldn't send gifts—never in this lifetime!
She absolutely couldn't let Aiden know that she was secretly learning his tactics, otherwise, he would surely mock her mercilessly in the future...
But precisely because of her experience stealthily learning in his live stream, she now understood Aiden's tactical thinking to some extent and might actually have a way to counter it.
So, being matched with Aiden this time seemed like a great opportunity for revenge!
Thinking this, a cold smile quickly formed on Caitlin's lips, and her eyes instantly became incredibly serious.
This time, I will definitely win!
Wait for your doom, Aiden!
...
[POGGG why is it Caitlin again? Teacher Azure is going to go all out!]
[Teacher Azure specializes in killing cute things—is this common knowledge? He's truly our role model, no wonder he's destined to become the Battle King!]
[Upstairs, did you forget that there seems to be something between Teacher Azure and Sinnoh Champion Cynthia... Hmm, I shouldn't say it!]
For this opponent, the veteran viewers in the live stream were naturally familiar and had already started teasing.
As for Aiden, he was even more familiar with her.
Noticing the opponent's ID, Aiden subconsciously scratched his head.
Should I call it fate or were they really this fated...
To be matched again with this legal loli who always disliked him, Cynthia's good friend?
However, she should be in Unova now—the probability of matching her given the time differences between regions wasn't low.
Aiden shook his head, putting aside his scattered thoughts and focusing on the upcoming battle.
The previous battle with Caitlin clearly had some impact on her.
Her lineup this time was noticeably more mature.
Metagross, Bronzong, Gothitelle, Sableye, Gallade, Reuniclus.
Although it was still almost a single-type lineup, the original speed control lineup, after optimization, had truly become a Trick Room system capable of pulling off many tricks.
[LMAO why did Miss Caitlin bring out Sableye? Has Teacher Azure's virus spread this far?]
[Teacher Azure, you've done all sorts of bad things! Sooner or later, all Gym Leaders and above will be infected by you, using dirty tactics...]
[This prosperous era, that you brought forth!]
Aiden glanced casually and knew that although this little girl hadn't appeared in the live stream, she had obviously sneaked in to learn his tactics.
If even the barrage can tell whose disciple you are, how could I not know...
Should you really be bringing out Sableye!
Don't you know that the things I hate the most are facing my own Sableye and Breloom?
But...
Seems like breaking this lineup is pretty simple?
Aiden quickly revealed a confident smile.
"Students, this match will demonstrate to you just how powerful the Intimidate ability is in doubles battles!"
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