For most amateur trainers, items are generally not something they should consider.
After all, Pokémon battles involve quite complex content.
Even excluding the rare and elusive Legendary Pokémon, there are still nearly a thousand remaining species of Pokémon, not to mention thousands of bizarre moves.
Having a basic understanding of the Pokémon distributed in their region and knowing how to raise them already qualifies someone as a competent or even excellent trainer.
On this basis, mastering battles requires additional factors like Abilities and move development.
Only by synthesizing these factors and forming one's own unique understanding can one qualify as a senior trainer.
As for items...
Although the craftsmen of the Pokémon world have handcrafted many peculiar gadgets, most of which aren't particularly expensive, very few people actually use them.
The reason is simple—
These things heavily rely on a trainer's comprehensive understanding of Pokémon and must be carefully designed according to opponents to achieve good results.
Many people lack this ability, so they usually just take the easy route with berries or items like the Choice series or Focus Sash that don't require much thought.
As a result, most trainers haven't focused on them but instead concentrated on honing the Pokémon's inherent strength.
This is certainly not a problem, as becoming stronger isn't just about one path; high stats naturally can overcome all obstacles.
But when Aiden's meticulously prepared Weakness Policy worked wonders for Cynthia, countless trainers in the live stream suddenly realized—
Can items be this satisfying when used well?
Relying on the stealthy Weakness Policy, the Kommo-o, which was clearly weaker than Baxcalibur at the start, almost swept the opponent's Elite Four-level team?
That's outrageous!
Though part of it was due to the Master Tournament rules, using the rules reasonably is itself one of the winning strategies.
Combined with Aiden's previous game live streams, many people began to feel eager to try incorporating their own understanding into the game.
He merely made a slight move in the Master Tournament, yet it quietly brought about a significant change in the Pokémon battle environment…
Aiden himself was unaware of this.
After the first semifinal match ended, while waiting for the next showdown between the veteran Elites Lance and Drake, Caitlin, who had always been at odds with him, surprisingly looked at him with confusion and asked:
"Did you teach Cynthia her setup?"
Based on her understanding of Cynthia, if it were up to Cynthia herself, she would surely send out her ace Garchomp against another ace for a head-on victory.
And until the finals, her Garchomp hasn't made an appearance yet…
Too strange.
Thus, Caitlin speculated that Aiden might have had some influence.
Clair also turned her gaze toward Aiden, silently pondering Caitlin's words.
It was highly possible because almost every time in his Poké TV videos, Aiden used different items and tactics. Even her cousin Lance often felt enlightened.
"Just gave a little advice."
Aiden didn't deny it, only shrugging helplessly.
[Wow, sure enough, these crazy tactics are all done by the streamer!]
[Teacher Azure, you've done all sorts of bad deeds!!!]
[How do I feel that maybe Teacher Azure would be more professional as a coach...]
Aiden completely ignored the teasing from the chat.
Soon, Cynthia, returning after a big win, reappeared in the stands and sat beside him without hesitation.
"The next match is about to start. Who do you think my opponent will be in the final, Mr. Lance or Mr. Drake?"
Cynthia chuckled lightly and asked Aiden with a slightly teasing tone.
"It's hard to say, or rather, either could happen."
Aiden gave an ambiguous answer.
In his view, the raw strength definitely belonged to Lance, the so-called "Flying Elite," who was slightly stronger.
But once on the battlefield, the outcome still depended more on the performance at the moment.
"Both sides will likely target each other's ace Pokémon. It depends on who has prepared better."
After Aiden finished speaking, the repair work on the field had just come to an end.
In the previous battle, Hassel's Duraludon used Draco Meteor, causing noticeable damage to the field.
Thus, the post-battle cleanup took longer than yesterday.
At this moment, Aiden was seriously considering a question—
If he advances to the Eight Gym Leaders in the future, the challengers' strength will also become increasingly strong. So, the probability of them using high-power large-scale moves like Draco Meteor and Earthquake will increase accordingly...
Should he find a professional team to handle the daily maintenance of the gym's battlefield?
With the sweet voice of Iono, the host of this Master Tournament, appearing again, the next match was about to begin soon.
The attention of the live stream viewers once again focused on the two contestants waiting to appear.
[Lance stop hiding and bring out your red Gyarados!]
[Knowing that the opponent is a Flying-type Elite sneaking into the Dragon-type Master Tournament, wouldn't copying Aunt Lorelei from Kanto work just fine...]
[Honestly, do we even need to think about Lance's weaknesses?]
[Aunt? Saying that word, be careful of getting hit by a Sheer Cold in the middle of the night!]
[These two Elites in the semifinals are nothing more than Azure's defeated opponents; streamer, come and kill them all!]
From their discussions, it's clear how famous Lance, the Dragon Envoy of the Indigo Plateau, is.
Regardless of whether the chat is trolling or being genuine haters, his fame surpasses any other Elite by leaps and bounds; even Champions don't get this kind of treatment...
Infamous popularity is still popularity!
"So, the next match will be between these two Elites."
Watching the two contestants quickly walk onto the field, Aiden narrowed his eyes and began observing their current states.
More often than not, whether someone is in good condition can be seen at a glance.
Just like Clair before, a keen observer could sense her nerves and vaguely feel she had drifted away.
"Mr. Drake still looks serious, very calm and reliable."
"As for Lance, he seems to be in top form as well?"
Halfway through his sentence, Aiden's tone suddenly became uncertain.
Because...
Although Lance's expression was as tense as usual, Aiden faintly felt that he seemed very relaxed, even...
Holding back laughter?
Given his personality, he shouldn't be capable of such frivolous behavior before a match, right?
Aiden quickly shook his head.
It must be his illusion.
While he continued to introduce them, on the other side, Clair's expression became noticeably strange.
Based on her understanding of her cousin, Lance's current expression...
Clearly indicates that he's hiding a big move, and thinking about what he's going to do next almost made him unable to hold back his laughter!
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