Johto Region — New Bark Town
The reversal of momentum in that Pokémon battle had been far too fast.
Akane — the player known as "The Wind-Like Billiards Boy" — hadn't even fully processed what had happened before he was already handed a crushing defeat.
Still feeling baffled, Akane immediately downloaded the battle replay for review.
He even called over one of his rare close friends to analyze it together.
Silver.
"Thermal Exchange is the exclusive Ability of the Paldea pseudo-legendary Pokémon Baxcalibur,"
Silver said coolly as he replayed the footage.
"When Baxcalibur is hit by a Fire-type move, its Attack rises instead of taking heavy damage."
"Then there's the held item Loaded Dice," he continued.
"It turns multi-hit moves like Bullet Seed, Rock Blast, and especially Icicle Spear and Scale Shot, from a random two to five hits into a stable four to five hits."
"The effective base power skyrockets."
Silver's analysis was precise and merciless.
Akane, on the other hand, was a Trainer with extremely high talent—but wildly inconsistent habits.
He was free-spirited, impulsive, sometimes reckless, sometimes shamelessly lecherous.
A Trainer with an absurdly high ceiling…
and a shockingly low floor.
Compared to legendary battlers of the past—those known for stable, overwhelming strength—Akane was far more prone to beginner-level oversights.
Not knowing newer Abilities or recently introduced held items?
Entirely in character.
"Ohhh, so that's how it works," Akane said, scratching his nose.
"So Baxcalibur can use both Scale Shot and Icicle Spear, and both are STAB moves.
No wonder Loaded Dice fits it so perfectly."
Silver nodded.
"And there's more."
"In Snow, Ice-type Pokémon gain a physical defense boost."
"On top of that, Alolan Ninetales sets up Aurora Veil, which drastically reduces damage taken by both Baxcalibur and itself."
"…I'll be honest. That team construction is nearly flawless."
"Even seniors like Red or Blue might not optimize it much further."
"You're exaggerating, aren't you?"
Akane blinked.
"It's just a Snow Team! I could build one too if I wanted!"
Silver glanced at him, smirked faintly—
and said nothing.
That silence…
…was deafening.
"I wonder who originally developed that team concept," Silver said after a moment.
"If that Trainer truly pioneered it themselves, their tactical depth is no joke."
Meanwhile, back on Poke-TV—
The live chat had exploded.
[Holy hell, this kunkun dragon is actually insane?!]
[I used to think it was ugly and overrated—now I see it's BEAUTIFUL]
[This is strength aesthetics.]
No flashy bait like "Dragon Dance Gible" was needed anymore.
By standing on the shoulders of giants, Serena had copied proven high-level competitive concepts, refined them, and combined them with solid command and execution.
That alone was enough to impress even the most nitpicky Poke-TV viewers—
many of whom proudly claimed to be "at least Champion-level" (self-certified).
For years, Serena had worked behind the scenes in Pokémon modification circles—
the ancient Greek god of "totally legal friends" who helped battlers "adjust" Pokémon for competition.
Fresh out of her metaphorical Hogwarts, she had seen it all.
Not a thousand strategies—
but easily eight hundred.
She wasn't the single best specialist of any one archetype.
But in terms of breadth?
She was terrifying.
"To be clear," Serena explained to the stream,
"Baxcalibur is just the most suitable main damage dealer for Snow Teams."
"But the true soul of Snow Teams—
has always been Alolan Ninetales."
"Like they say: Supports are eternal, carries come and go.
As long as Ninetales can set screens, its usage rate will never truly drop."
"Thanks to RegiGrassGod ThunderSquid for the plane—bro, is that Regi even legal?"
"Thanks to RegiChicken You'reTooBeautiful for ten glow sticks and ten hearts!"
With her win streak blazing on, the stream's popularity surged again.
Seeing that it was getting late, Serena wrapped things up and said goodbye to her viewers, ending the broadcast for the night.
On the computer screen, Pokémon Masters EX was still open—
and a friend request notification kept flashing.
Serena leaned in for a closer look.
It was from "The Wind-Like Billiards Boy."
After calmly accepting the request, a message immediately popped up.
Wind-Like Billiards Boy:
That last match was a mistake. Let's run it back—two more games.
"..."
Ah yes.
Lost → added friend → demanded rematch.
Classic tilted behavior.
Serena replied calmly:
"Streamer doesn't do charity.
Teaching games aren't free.
Girls play free.
Guys: 500 per match."
"!!!"
Back in New Bark Town, Akane nearly exploded in rage.
"What the hell—this is the first time I've ever seen someone so shameless and so confident about it!"
Silver glanced at the message, then looked at Akane.
"One correction," he said flatly.
"It's the second time I've seen someone like that."
"…Oh?"
Akane scratched the back of his head, confused.
"Then who was the first?"
That, dear reader—
do you perhaps have a clue?
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