Five minutes ago, in the Sinnoh League.
"So, is this all we're supposed to do as Elite Four members?"
Flint scratched his incredibly conspicuous red afro, glancing at the two young men standing with arms crossed on either side of him.
"It's understandable. After all, adapting to the responsibilities of an Elite Four member takes time."
Lucian adjusted his glasses, his blue hair cascading elegantly over his shoulders, giving off a calm and refined aura.
"Besides, today's workload has probably already overloaded your brain, hasn't it?"
"You—!"
Flint immediately flared up, but before he could retort, he slumped back into his seat.
Because Lucian was right.
Compared to the tedious paperwork of the League, Flint was far more suited for battling.
Passionate, fiery battles!
"Hahaha… don't start fighting in the League, alright!"
Aaron, wearing a tank top with a tuft of green hair sticking straight up, patted both their shoulders, looking utterly exasperated.
As fellow Sinnoh Trainers of similar age, the three had known each other since their travels. Never did they imagine that one day they'd all become Elite Four members together.
However, given the compatibility between Flint and Lucian, perhaps this wasn't entirely a good thing…
"Rather than bickering with Lucian, Flint, you should focus on raising your rank. Cynthia's right—your tactical skills can't keep up with your training level!"
The three newly appointed Elite Four members each had distinct personal styles:
- Psychic Elite Four Lucian was mature and strategic, excelling in planning and seizing advantages.
- Bug-type Elite Four Aaron specialized in utilizing every Pokémon in his team, with scientifically balanced lineups.
- Fire-type Elite Four Flint poured all his talent into brute-force attacks, embodying the fiery aggression of Fire-types in battle.
The fourth Ground-type Elite Four, Grandma Bertha, was advanced in age. Rather than an active Elite Four, she acted more like an advisor to these younger members.
And then there was Cynthia, the Champion—her lineup was perfectly balanced, her strength unfathomable.
The Sinnoh League was about to be swept by a youthful storm.
"But I'm running a Sunny Day team. Do I really need tactics…?"
Flint scratched his head.
Since becoming a Trainer, he had always relied on straightforward, no-frills explosive tactics. Now, asking him to think strategically felt unnatural.
Still, if Cynthia said so, and if he wanted to grow stronger, he had no choice but to give it a try.
It was also thanks to Cynthia's encouragement that Flint found himself sneaking in some practice during work hours, using Pokémon Champions to improve his understanding of team composition.
No, this wasn't slacking off!
Clearly, he was working overtime to enhance his combat abilities as an Elite Four member!
"Hey, stop spacing out! You've matched with an opponent!"
Aaron interrupted Flint's thoughts with a reminder.
At the same time, Lucian pushed his glasses up again and began analyzing the opponent's lineup.
"Their roster is diverse—it's hard to tell who the main threats are. So, a multi-type Trainer, huh?"
"Wait, what's this Chansey doing here?"
Halfway through his analysis, Lucian suddenly raised an eyebrow, realizing things weren't as simple as they seemed.
When strange Pokémon appeared in battle, they were usually the opponent's ace in the hole.
This required careful handling.
"Huh? They're using Chansey and still made it to Ultra Ball? Watch me crush them!"
Flint, oblivious to the gravity of the situation, followed his usual aggressive playstyle and locked Ninetales as his starter.
---
As the match began, a powerful tune blared through the speakers.
Simultaneously, the opponent's Trainer avatar and lineup appeared on Aiden's large screen.
"Flint?"
Aiden paused.
That iconic red afro, combined with a Sunny Day team lineup full of Fire-types…
Ninetales, Houndoom, Arcanine, Rapidash, Magmortar, Infernape.
There was no doubt—it was definitely Flint, the Fire-type Elite Four from Sinnoh.
However, while Aiden recognized the opponent, the chat remained surprisingly quiet.
Perhaps Flint had only recently been promoted to Elite Four status and hadn't gained much fame yet.
After scanning Flint's lineup, Aiden's lips curled into a faint smile.
"They're running a Sunny Day team? That's easy."
"The lead is 100% Ninetales. It'll trigger Drought upon entry to set the weather, then swap out to preserve its health."
"So…"
Aiden finished speaking just as the game finished loading.
"Chansey, you're up!"
The handsome black-haired Trainer Aiden, smiling confidently, and the comical red afro-wearing Flint stepped onto the battlefield.
Both simultaneously tossed their Poké Balls.
Chansey vs. Ninetales.
As soon as Ninetales appeared, the sunlight above the battlefield grew even brighter.
Pokémon with the Drought ability temporarily changed the weather to intense sunlight upon entering the field.
Exactly as Aiden had predicted.
[??? This is getting ridiculous—Azure didn't even pretend to analyze!]
[This one's somewhat logical. The opponent's lineup practically screamed Sunny Day, but Azure's instant reaction is impressive…]
[Azure is truly 5 head!]
"Chansey, Charm!"
Aiden didn't rush to use Minimize but instead opted to suppress the opponent's offensive capabilities first.
Though Ninetales was primarily a Special Attacker, an Elite Four-level opponent wouldn't be unaware that it could learn Flare Blitz, a Physical move.
If Chansey got one-shot, this match would be over before it began.
Chansey winked cutely, trying to charm the opponent to death. Meanwhile, Flint quickly made a substitution.
The fluffy-tailed Ninetales was recalled, replaced by Infernape, which was clearly a better counter to Chansey.
However, this substitution inadvertently allowed Infernape to take the full brunt of Chansey's Charm.
Its aggressive momentum was instantly doused like water on a fire.
[Was this also part of your plan, Azure?]
[The opponent's on the second layer, but you're on the fifth?]
"This round was pure luck, though honestly, it wouldn't have mattered how the opponent played."
"Chansey's Defense is extremely low, making it very weak against Physical attackers. But…"
"No problem!"
Aiden hadn't expected such a fortunate turn of events but quickly issued his next command:
"Chansey, Minimize!"
Just like in previous matches, Chansey immediately began shrinking its size.
"Infernape, Close Combat!"
Flint reacted quickly, commanding Infernape to launch a fierce attack.
As one of Fighting-type's ultimate moves, Close Combat packed a punch and was particularly effective against Normal-type Chansey.
While shrinking, Chansey took a direct hit from Master Infernape's elbow strike.
However…
Contrary to what most people expected, it wasn't instantly KO'd.
In fact, it only lost about 30% of its HP.
The live chat collectively gasped—
[Azure, you liar! How is this considered low Defense??]
[Scammed]
[The opponent's super-effective STAB move barely scratched Chansey?]
[How can a Pokémon be this broken!]
If Ninetales' ineffectiveness could be somewhat justified, Infernape failing to break through Chansey's defenses was simply absurd.
"Chansey, Minimize!"
After shrinking further, Chansey's luck ran out, and it failed to dodge Infernape's second Close Combat.
Taking two consecutive Fighting-type moves, its HP finally dropped to a dangerous level.
But Aiden remained calm, issuing another command:
"Soft-Boiled!"
Under the watchful eyes of the entire live audience, Chansey leisurely pulled a small egg from its pouch and swallowed it whole.
In an instant, its HP was fully restored to a healthy state.
[What the heck?! After all that scratching, one bite heals it back? What's the point of fighting!?]
[Hmm… Chansey's eggs are indeed nutritious. This makes sense… NOT AT ALL!]
[So this is how disgusting Chansey can be?]
"Hmph, what do you mean by pink demon?!"
Sensing the shock in the audience's tone, Aiden couldn't help but smirk.
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