The sight of the regional rodent utterly dominating Metagross was truly shocking.
After all, Metagross is one of Hoenn's rare "late bloomers," gaining terrifying combat power once it evolves into its final form.
Compared to Maushold, they were like heaven and earth apart.
But this powerful Pokémon nearly got one-shotted by the mice?
"Tsk, it's a good thing Mega Evolution isn't fully implemented yet; otherwise, Metagross would've been done for."
Aiden clicked his tongue quietly.
It wasn't that the mice weren't trying—it was just that the opponent was too damn tough!
"My Maushold has Technician and Wide Lens. You can do the math on the damage from Population Bomb after two uses of Tidy Up. Any other Pokémon would've already fainted, okay!"
Once these words left his mouth, many knowledgeable viewers in the chat immediately began calculating furiously.
[Technician boosts low-power moves, right? It pairs really well with multi-hit attacks!]
[I know about Population Bomb. As long as it doesn't miss, it'll keep attacking until it hits ten times. Paired with Wide Lens' accuracy boost…Damn that's OP]
[Holy crap, each hit has a 99% hit rate? Rounded up, doesn't that mean it almost always deals full damage?!]
[Guaranteed ten times with Technician boosting Population Bomb, and it's been strengthened twice, yea that seems fair]
[If you factor in STAB it seems Metagross really couldn't survive a punch.]
People who play Pokémon battles tend to be decent at math, and soon the barrage confirmed Aiden's claims weren't exaggerated.
Isn't this way too violent? Is this really the kind of damage output expected from a regional rodent?
Under the relentless gnawing assault of Maushold, the opponent was tormented to no end.
They couldn't fight back effectively, and their commands were always anticipated by Aiden.
In the end, unable to bear the humiliation, the opponent swiftly surrendered after the mice achieved a perfect 4-0 score.
Aiden's Maushold still stood proudly on the battlefield.
The scratches on their bodies were nothing more than minor scars.
[Maushold is invincible! Why didn't you show us this earlier, streamer?]
[Wide Lens was such an inspired choice—it made the output so stable! Unless you're extremely unlucky, you'll always deal full damage. So satisfying!]
[Learned something new! Tomorrow I'm going to catch a Maushold in the wild. Once I train it, I'll come challenge you in Cabo Poco!]
[What if I bring a Rocky Helmet? Wouldn't that just explode you?]
Admittedly, with more viewers came more talent in the chat.
While most were busy copying homework, someone had already thought of how to counter Maushold's "Family Jumping" offense.
Aiden couldn't help but laugh.
"Good point! That comment is absolutely right—Rocky Helmets and Rough Skin Abilities are indeed great counters to multi-hit contact moves like Population Bomb."
"Whether hitting a Rocky Helmet or Rough Skin, it might end up killing itself."
"Of course, the best approach is to deny Maushold any chance to strengthen. This applies to almost all setup sweepers."
The reason the opponent lost so badly was mainly due to the information gap.
Unaware that Maushold had Tidy Up—a move that perfectly countered Spikes teams—they gave it a chance to strengthen, inadvertently creating a monster.
This situation was actually quite normal.
Limited by regional factors, communication methods between regions were very limited until technological advancements in the past decade.
Even in this era, most people have little knowledge about other regions.
Not to mention understanding the various Pokémon from those areas.
From this perspective, his teaching was quite meaningful.
In addition to attracting local viewers to challenge the Gym, he could also introduce Paldean Pokémon to trainers worldwide.
Moreover, his knowledge of Pokémon from other regions was extensive.
This was his unique natural advantage—even Regional Professors might not understand battle mechanics as comprehensively as he did.
If he could continue producing content, his influence might rival that of Professor Oak, who introduced the concept of the National Dex.
What does it mean to be the Godfather of Battles?
...
For the rest of the stream, Aiden managed to pull off several team sweeps using only Maushold.
Of course, the main reason was that he encountered multiple variations of Spikes teams.
The lineup and tactics might vary, but the core of a Spikes team will always revolve around setting Spikes.
This gave Maushold room to operate.
As long as it could catch Skarmory or other Spikers, Maushold could safely strengthen on the spot and quickly sweep the opposing team.
Even when occasionally restricted by its Normal typing against Ghost-type Pokémon, forcing a switch, the terrifying gnawing pressure of Maushold still left a deep impression on the audience.
With Maushold's brute force carry, Aiden's record remained green, smoothly reaching the Ultra Ball threshold.
However...
If it weren't for the initial miss of Population Bomb in the last match, everything would've been perfect.
[LOL A 99% hit rate move missed at the start of the game?]
[Turns out battling is a game of luck, even a top-tier player like Azure gets punished by Lady Luck LMAO]
[The promotion match system really kicked in. Who would've thought the streamer's first loss would be so anticlimactic, but why am I laughing so hard...]
[Players who use dirty tactics have fragile hearts, so getting punished makes sense, right?]
Facing the mocking barrage, Aiden stared at the glaring red "Defeat" on the screen and could only awkwardly scratch his head.
"Even with a 1% probability, it's bound to happen if you play enough. It shouldn't be bad luck… right?"
Muttering strange things like "losing resets karma" and "hitting 1% is also a kind of good luck," Aiden elicited laughter from the chat, filling the live stream with lively air.
Happy times are always fleeting.
"Seems like today's not a good day for climbing ranks. Let's leave it for another time?"
Seeing the failed promotion attempt, Aiden decided it was about time and prepared to cut the stream in shame.
[No wonder he's the fastest man in this world, streaming only one hour a day is unmatched...]
[Wait! Before you leave, can you tell us which Pokémon can handle Maushold? Since we'll all learn eventually, I'd rather learn how to counter it now~]
[Holy crap, chat is a genius, you're already 2 moves ahead!]
"How to counter Maushold?"
Upon noticing the barrage, Aiden raised an eyebrow.
Do I really need to teach this? A Fighting-type Pokémon with a single punch should solve the problem, right?
Hmm... If it's slower than Maushold, there might indeed be some risk.
Is there a simpler Pokémon?
After much thought, Aiden finally came up with an answer:
"How about Garchomp? With Rough Skin and a Rocky Helmet, not only does it give Maushold headaches, but it also makes most close-combat Pokémon miserable."
"Although Garchomp can't learn Dragon Dance, far less noble than our Maushold who can perform Mouse Dance, it's still very useful~"
After unconsciously making a Garchomp joke, Aiden waited with interest for the barrage's response.
[Yo the absolute disrespect on my boy, does my mighty pseudo-legendary Dragon not deserve some respect?]
[Damn, finally showing your true colors!]
Ever since he noticed the barrage posting the 'Flying type Elite' meme last time, he figured people in this world enjoyed some interesting memes.
As expected.
Aiden's previously defeated mood gradually recovered.
Just then, a gold-bordered, incredibly dazzling paid message appeared dead center in his vision.
[Mythology Scholar Cynthia: If Garchomp heard that, it would probably be very angry, right? (/facepalm laugh)]
?
Noticing the user ID and the prominent small lightning bolt symbol below the avatar, Aiden frowned, realizing things might not be simple.
He instinctively opened the user's profile page, revealing a staggering seven-figure fan count that highlighted the viewer's popularity.
The bio had only one line of text:
New Champion of the Sinnoh League, Cynthia.
What to do when making a Garchomp joke in the live stream gets overheard by Cynthia herself?
Please help, waiting online, pretty urgent.
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