In the end, Aiden still accepted Cynthia's commission.
And her request for "Bug Pokémon tactics" undoubtedly had something to do with Aaron, the Bug-type Elite Four member from Sinnoh.
Among the nine known regions, Aaron is the only Bug-type Elite Four member. In other regions, Bug-type gyms mostly appear as the first challenge gym.
The reason for this is that the Bug type, overall, is indeed weaker.
In Aiden's view, every type in the Pokémon world has its distinct strengths and weaknesses.
The advantage of the Bug type is the most obvious: they are very easy to train, evolving quickly to their final form after a bit of training, providing decent immediate battle power.
But the cost of this advantage is...
Besides the fact that Bug-type moves generally have poor offensive capabilities and are easily countered by common types, making it hard to set up defensive synergies, Bug Pokémon also have the lowest average base stats among all types.
Evolving early isn't entirely an advantage.
As for moves, Bug types actually have quite a few useful moves like Quiver Dance and Spore Powder, which somewhat balance their lack of raw power.
However, under normal circumstances, these moves are often better utilized by non-Bug Pokémon.
For instance, in his previous life, U-turn (a move commonly used in both singles and doubles) was most associated with Landorus, the so-called "Bug King" lol, followed by some others whose types don't include Bug...
There are so many Pokémon that can use U-turn, yet Bug types themselves don't have much of an advantage.
This is rather awkward.
Multiple factors stacked together result in Bug types having a low status in this world.
Of course, for Aiden, this wasn't a big issue.
If he dared to take on this job, it meant he had confidence. Even Bug Pokémon could be played with flair.
Come on, back when he was a content creator in his previous life, viewers loved watching these extremely weak Bug Pokémon. He himself didn't shy away from being tormented while researching strategies.
Especially that one Pokémon, Kricketune, which became a meme due to its weakness, was often requested by chat specifically...
Of course, as long as the money was right, even the weakest Pokémon had room for a turnaround.
For chat, it was simple; just donate and request weak Pokémon. But our Azure has much more to consider.
Therefore, the advantage lies with me!
...
In the afternoon, with no challengers at the gym and Nemona not around either—she seemed to have taken Pawmo for a walk—
Because she knew about Pawmi's evolution method, Aiden suggested that she take Pawmo out for walks more often, engaging in skirmishes with wild Pokémon along the way.
Without the usual crowd, the gym suddenly became quiet.
So Aiden chose to take a rare nap with Eevee.
The only one left at the gym to keep watch was Riolu, who was repeatedly doing push-ups and squats.
"Ri..."
After completing another set of exercises given by its trainer, Riolu took a deep breath and wiped away the sweat forming at its temples.
Its trainer was truly a genius; this combination of movements kept its muscles active without overexertion leading to fatigue.
It was a perfect warm-up routine.
Although the ten-kilometer run seemed unnecessary, after trying it once, Riolu immediately understood the trainer's well-intentioned efforts.
Training indoors didn't significantly improve its abilities, so seeking out suitable wild Pokémon for battles was necessary.
The ten-kilometer distance might seem short, but one round trip covered most of Cabo Poco and Poco Path.
Over the past few days, it had already battled most of the decently strong wild Pokémon in the area.
Starting tomorrow, it should change routes.
After finishing its workout, Riolu was loosening its wrists when it suddenly froze.
It realized it had overlooked something very important!
These days, under the guidance of the dojo masters and with the help of its trainer, its strength had improved quite rapidly...
What used to feel like an adequate weight was now completely unnoticeable.
It needed to add new weights!
This problem was relatively easy to solve. Like before with Big Sister, it could just handcraft a few more pieces.
However, Riolu looked around and couldn't find any suitable metal materials.
"Ri..."
Riolu sighed.
Looks like Plan B had to be activated!
All sacrifices were made for the sake of becoming stronger. Surely the trainer would understand...
...
"Shit, did a thief break into the house???"
Waking up, Aiden felt like the sky had fallen.
He had woken up in a great mood, ready to try cooking some gourmet food from his previous life for Eevee and Riolu.
But upon entering the kitchen, all the cookware was gone?
Not even a single pot or iron basin was left!
But this didn't make sense; what kind of thief steals these heavy and worthless things…
Aiden quietly observed the crime scene and soon noticed Riolu looking up at the sky, pretending to be busy.
Good grief, so it was an inside job!
Aiden couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, instantly realizing who the culprit was.
Was it due to the influence of the Prankster ability, causing it to do strange things? It was reasonable...
With the situation as it was, Aiden, even if he wanted to try cooking again, had lost the means. Riolu had completely blocked that path.
Tonight, it seemed they'd have to order Driftblim Eats...
Aiden shook his head helplessly.
Behind him, Eevee sighed in relief, looking at Riolu with gratitude.
You did the right thing, absolutely right!
Only it knew the true horror of its trainer's dark culinary skills, so it must never let him cook again!
...
In the evening, it was time to go live.
As soon as he opened the live stream, Aiden saw countless barrage comments flooding in.
[Went to challenge IRL, streamer looks cooler in person than online, and he's so gentle to challengers—I suspect the streamer has a crush on me!]
[HAH GAEEEEE I've been a fan of Teacher Azure for 10 years already]
[Damn, how are you all Paldean locals? As a Unova resident, I'm pissed bruh]
[Yo wait, why is there video in my live stream?]
[Holy crap, the streamer won the revival match!]
"…Kids, I'm back."
Because he had been busy running the gym and training Pokémon these past few days, Aiden had taken a leave and stopped broadcasting for a few days.
But he hadn't expected that his live stream would still be so lively even when he wasn't streaming.
"I've been a bit busy these days, so I'll squeeze in some time to broadcast for you guys."
"There might be a gym assessment on Friday; if the examiner allows, I can stream that too. We'll see then."
After briefly explaining why he had been absent and skillfully dishing out promises to the live audience, Aiden revealed a mysterious smile:
"As per a fan's request, today we're playing Bug Pokémon."
"Let me show you the Bug Relay tactic I invented!"
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