As Iono confidently steered her character toward the next leg of her journey, the livestream chat was a harvest of praise and heated debate.
"At this rate, the first Gym is as good as cleared!" "Iono's outpacing Cynthia! Our girl is making us proud!" "Hey, hold on! Cynthia only stopped because of a League mission. If she were still playing, she'd be at the Elite Four by now! She's a Champion, you think a Gym Leader AI is going to stop her?"
Iono ignored the banter, her focus narrowing as she entered the heart of Petalburg Woods. The plot thickened as she stumbled upon a Devon Corporation researcher being ambushed by a Team Aqua grunt. She intervened, handily defeating the grunt's Poochyena and earning a Great Ball as a reward.
But she didn't leave immediately. Iono was a professional; she knew the value of the "grind." She stayed in the tall grass until both her Joltik and Mareep hit the Level 15 cap. Only then did she step out of the treeline and into the sprawling, modern marvel of Rustboro City.
The pixelated skyscrapers and bustling stone-paved streets were breathtaking. Iono healed her team at the Pokémon Center and marched straight to the Gym doors.
"I'm ready," she whispered, a sharp glint in her eyes. "Let's see what a real Gym challenge looks like from the other side!"
She entered the building, but the first thing that caught her eye was a massive brown sign shaped like a boulder. [RUSTBORO GYM]
Iono's smile faltered. "Rock-type?"
The chat went into a hysterical frenzy. "HAHAHA! It's actually Rock! The one type she said it wouldn't be!" "The universe is definitely trolling her. Is the AI listening to the stream?!" "Maybe the Gym type changes based on your starter? If so, this dev is a genius sadist."
Iono took a deep, stabilizing breath. "Okay, so it's Rock. Big deal! At least it's not Ground. Electricity still hits Rock-types for neutral damage, and Joltik's Bug-type moves are great against fossils. We've got this!"
She pushed through the Gym, easily sweeping the junior trainers. However, her headache returned when she realized the 'Rock' specialists were using Sandshrew and Diglett, Ground-types. Her Joltik's Bug Bite saved her, but the warning was clear: Roxanne wasn't going to play fair.
Finally, she stood before the Leader. Roxanne, a girl with twin-tails and a sharp, academic suit, adjusted her glasses.
"I shall show you the solid, unyielding heart of the Rock-type!" Roxanne declared.
She tossed a Pokéball. A white flash revealed a strange, purple, bulbous Pokémon with pink tentacles swaying around its head. Lileep.
"A Lileep?" Iono blinked. Being a Paldean specialist, she recognized it as an ancient Fossil Pokémon, but she had never faced one in combat. "Wait... that's Rock and Grass."
She swapped to Joltik immediately. In Gym battles, the first switch was a free action, a faithful recreation of League rules.
"Rock/Grass? Then Bug Bite is the answer! Go, Joltik!"
Joltik lunged, mandibles glowing with green energy. [Joltik used Bug Bite!][It's super effective!]
The chat cheered, but the cheer died in their throats. Lileep's health bar barely moved, a mere sliver of red disappeared.
"How tanky is this thing?!" Iono yelled.
Lileep's tentacles glowed with an eerie, flickering light. [Lileep used Confuse Ray!][Joltik became confused!]
Then, a small blue sparkle appeared around the Lileep. [Lileep's Leftovers restored its HP!]
The tiny bit of damage Joltik had dealt vanished instantly.
Iono: "..." Chat: "???"
"Wait, why does a first-gym boss have Leftovers?!" Iono shrieked. "That's a competitive-tier held item! Is she serious?!"
The battle became a nightmare of attrition. Joltik, trapped in confusion, began hitting itself. Lileep sat there, soaking up damage and healing it back every turn. Between the confusion and the sheer defensive bulk of a max-IV Lileep, Iono's team was systematically dismantled without Lileep ever dropping below 90% health.
[You have no more usable Pokémon!][Your vision faded...]
The chat was a waterfall of "666" and "Roxanne is a god." "I've never seen a boss sweep a player with a single Pokémon." "This isn't a game, it's a lecture on why you shouldn't use mono-types."
Iono respawned, her fangs bared in a determined scowl. She marched right back to the Gym.
"Okay, I see your game, Roxanne! You're a stall-bot! But I have a counter. It worked on Team Rocket, and it'll work on you: The Thunder Wave Strategy!"
She explained to her viewers: "Lileep isn't a Ground-type. It can be paralyzed. If I can lock it down, it can't use Confuse Ray. Then, Joltik and Mareep can slowly whittle it down."
She also realized she needed her own items. She equipped both her Pokémon with Oran Berries she'd found earlier.
The rematch began. This time, the RNG gods smiled. Joltik landed Thunder Wave on the first turn. Lileep was paralyzed. For four straight turns, the Fossil Pokémon was locked in a spasm, unable to act.
Joltik's Electro Ball and Bug Bite finally began to tell. Lileep's health bar turned yellow, then dipped toward red.
"Yes! Keep it up! We're actually doing it!" Iono's voice was high with excitement.
The chat was rooting for her. "The luck is real!" "One more hit and the fossil is extinct!"
Joltik launched another Electro Ball. Lileep was at roughly 30% health. It was paralyzed again. Iono was grinning, her finger poised over the keyboard for the final blow. Her Joltik was low on health, and its PP was running dry, but the finish line was in sight.
Then, the paralysis didn't trigger. Lileep looked up, and a brilliant, warm white light descended from the ceiling.
"Wait... what move is that?" Iono's heart sank.
[Lileep used Synthesis!][Lileep restored its HP!]
In a wash of light, the health bar surged back up to 70%.
[Lileep's Leftovers restored its HP!]
Back to 80%. Full health was only a turn or two away. Iono's Joltik was out of Bug Bite PP. Her Mareep was already fainted.
Iono stared at the screen, her hands dropping from the keyboard. The Fossil Pokémon sat there, paralyzed but nearly fully healed, looking back at her with its hollow, glowing eyes.
"???"
Iono leaned back in her chair, a look of profound, soul-tired defeat on her face.
"Guys..." she whispered to the 500,000 people watching. "I think I want to go offline now."