"..."
The screen was filled with a bright red symbol of defeat, and Nessa's slightly calmed mood plummeted once again.
"Grass-types really have that much of an advantage over me?"
The memory of her last defeat by Gym Leader Milo was still fresh, and now she couldn't even get past a single Breloom?
Although she had only come to test her Rain team, losing was normal, but failure was still failure, inevitably bringing sadness.
If she couldn't even win against random opponents, how could she possibly handle Milo's army of Grass-types?
Nessa couldn't help but think this way.
In her first year as a Gym Leader, with limited experience, simply retaining the top-tier Gym status for Hulbury Stadium already met the residents' expectations.
And her next opponent, Mr. Milo, was an object of admiration for countless Trainers, far surpassing her in both experience and strength.
Even if she lost to him, it wouldn't be a big deal…
Though shameful, escaping was useful, and she truly couldn't think of any way to turn the tide.
With these thoughts, Nessa lay down on the soft carpet, raising her phone high to distract herself with interesting videos.
However, just as she opened Poké TV, the public chat on the homepage displayed a live stream from a certain user.
The title read "Come Watch One-Punch Man Breloom!" and the live stream interface showed the familiar Pokémon Champions game.
Could it be such a coincidence…
Nessa frowned, and before entering the live room, she clicked on the broadcaster's profile page.
"Azure Wings, Gym Leader of Sunlight Gym in Paldea, with League certification…"
After comparing, she found that the name matched her opponent from earlier exactly.
She hadn't noticed the certification icon before the match started.
If the opponent was also a Gym Leader, losing to him would be understandable.
It seemed he was a veteran Trainer specializing in Grass-types like Mr. Milo?
With strong curiosity, Nessa entered the live room.
Just as she came in, she heard the streamer discussing their previous battle.
His comment about "not being good at dealing with Grass-types" hit the nail on the head, accurately capturing her current pain point.
Even against someone like Kabu, who could go toe-to-toe with Champion Leon, Nessa had confidence in showcasing her style.
But when facing Milo, she always felt powerless, having almost no hope for the upcoming ranking battle.
Could this Paldean Gym Leader offer her advice?
Nessa suddenly felt like she had discovered a deeply hidden treasure.
To show her sincerity, she should follow the rules of live streaming...
She didn't know much about this, but she knew Poké TV had a paid comment feature.
The most expensive tier was only 100,000 coins…
If spending a little money could get useful advice, it would be worth every penny.
Soon, a striking red comment appeared in the live room.
[Nessa: Streamer, you're absolutely right. I'm indeed not good at dealing with Grass-type Pokémon. Do you have any advice? This is very important to me!]
---
[Whoa, it's actually Nessa herself, so cute!]
[I want to be Nessa's Lotad, but Nessa said she likes Drednaw...]
[Kid, you've come to the wrong place; we don't hand out photo books here!]
[Now this is clout, Azure is getting so famous even Gym Leaders are asking for his tactics!]
Nessa's appearance in the live room quickly ignited chat's enthusiasm.
Faced with chat's skillful trolling, Aiden couldn't help but click his tongue.
It wasn't that he couldn't teach Nessa how to play a Rain team.
On the contrary, he had too many theoretical solutions in mind.
After all, overcoming Grass-type threats was a standard test for Rain teams, with different strategies based on varying rosters.
He didn't know her true request.
[By the way, isn't Nessa's ranking battle against Mr. Milo next week? Last time, she suffered a crushing defeat…]
[The impact of type disadvantage is too great; it's tough~]
As Aiden pondered, a barrage comment caught his attention.
So he decisively opened Poké TV and, unsurprisingly, found footage of their previous battle.
After watching it, Aiden's expression gradually became scrunched.
Generally, Rain teams would include Pokémon of other types to cover blind spots, avoiding obvious defensive issues.
A pure Rain team like Nessa's was something he hadn't seen before.
Of course, he was somewhat thinking with game logic, while real battles considered more factors.
Even so, there were still many common points, especially in tactical setups.
In Aiden's view, Nessa's team shouldn't fear Grass-types at all.
"Fortunately, I'm kind-hearted. Since you asked sincerely, I'll mercifully tell you!"
After watching the video, Aiden cleared his throat, speaking more seriously.
"Your Rain team's foundation isn't bad; the main issue seems to be in your strategy—"
"Let me share my thoughts. Of course, what I say might not be entirely correct, just for reference."
He was quite puzzled.
With our invincible Pelipper leading the charge, shouldn't Grass-types be easily defeated?
Aiden could understand Nessa's steadfast ace, Drednaw.
After all, the soul of Galarian battles lies in Dynamaxing, and each Gym Leader's Gigantamax Pokémon guaranteed audience attendance.
Without Dynamaxing, even someone as strong as Nessa would struggle to attract viewers with her style.
But with a bit more flexibility in other Pokémon's roles, winning against opponents shouldn't be difficult!
"To fight a Grass-type Gym Leader, setting aside post-game analysis like Seismitoad's four-times weakness to Grass and whether it can survive long enough to use Ice Punch, Pelipper and Toxapex both have decent counters, right?"
"Don't overvalue the weather setter. Even under Rain, using Water-type moves against Grass-types won't work; the main role is to let teammates trigger their abilities."
"So in this case, Pelipper can go extreme and focus on offense. Its STAB Hurricane is hard to withstand."
"Or Pelipper and Golisopod have a nice combo: U-turn swaps in coldly for a surprise attack, definitely taking out at least one of the opponent's Pokémon!"
"Of course, I suggest not using Seismitoad next time. Add a special attacker that can use Ice-type moves and has decent speed, like…"
"Starmie?"
"If Miss Nessa hasn't trained other main Pokemon, pretend I didn't say anything. But type disadvantage is an important aspect of Pokémon battles; if you can avoid it, try to do so…"
After rapidly firing off what he considered better solutions, Aiden finally exhaled deeply.
"That's all I have to say. I hope it helps Miss Nessa."
After calming down and looking back at chat, he noticed that chat density had noticeably decreased.
[Though I didn't understand a word, it sounded impressive...]
[Bro you serious? What's all this jibberish? Is this something a Poké Ball rank player should learn?]
[Ngl, you have great insight!]
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