Hoenn Region, Pokémon League.
It had been about a week since League Champion Steven ended his "external assignment" and returned.
However, although the Champion had returned like lightning, Wallace, who had been serving as acting Champion in Steven's place, hadn't returned to Sootopolis City but remained at the Hoenn League.
After all, during peaceful times, expecting Steven to actually work was quite unlikely.
He had ten thousand excuses to delegate work to the other Elite Four members, and they had even grown accustomed to this arrangement.
"Huuuh—"
Sitting in the Champion's seat, Wallace finally finished his work and looked toward the other side with a helpless expression.
On the sofa, Steven was immersed in his gaming world, a diamond pickaxe enchanted with Efficiency IV flying through blocks at the center of the screen, while his score in the top right corner kept skyrocketing.
This was Steven's favorite game—he was reportedly the current world record holder for highest score, surpassing second place (his father) by more than double.
Wallace didn't actually mind Steven's little hobby.
However...
"Hey! Could you not play games so openly during work hours, Mr. Champion? If that's how you're going to be, you might as well just give me the Champion position..."
Wallace held his forehead, his face written with helplessness.
"Haha, if you're willing, that's not impossible either."
Steven smiled slightly, his eyes still fixed firmly on the screen even as he replied.
"If you were Champion, I'd be able to rest assured."
"..."
Honestly, Steven's thick skin had exceeded Wallace's imagination.
To have such an absurd reason as needing personal time to give up the Champion position—Steven, you bastard!
"Let's not. After all, you fairly took this Champion position from me, so fulfill your responsibilities properly!"
As Wallace complained, he stood up and walked toward Steven, sitting on the other side of the sofa.
"By the way, didn't you meet Aiden in the Paldea region?"
At the mention of Aiden's name, Steven's focused expression froze for a moment.
It was at this moment that the game displayed the results screen.
"Hmm, Teacher Azure is a very interesting person. His image differs greatly from what I imagined."
Noticing his score was much lower than expected, Steven smiled helplessly, then turned to look at Wallace.
"Actually, I didn't feel at all that Teacher Azure was 'unorthodox.' Getting along with him, he seemed like an outstanding young man with a strong sense of justice."
Even though his time with Aiden wasn't long, recalling how Aiden remained calm when facing those two powerful Paradox Pokémon, and how he immediately chose to stop fighting upon discovering the truth—all these actions undoubtedly left a good impression on Steven.
He was indeed a generous person—it was true that he would give valuable gifts to newcomers even on first meeting.
But at the same time, Steven was also a highly discerning "investor."
The eldest son of Devon Corporation wasn't some foolish rich kid—only trainers who earned his recognition received special treatment.
And Aiden was the most outstanding peer he had met in Paldea.
So even if he sometimes used strange tactics in online matches, the flaws didn't obscure the virtues—Steven still held him in very high regard.
He had even given him a precious evolution stone as a gift for their journey together.
"Such a high evaluation..."
Wallace was stunned.
Why did the Aiden in his eyes seem like a completely different species from the one in Steven's eyes?
His impression of Aiden was basically that of a "sunny, cheerful big boy"—what normal person would use Salt Cure to torment their opponents...
Fortunately, Steven hadn't experienced that misfortune, or he would have been confused too.
"Never mind. Get up first—you've had your turn. It's my turn to game now."
With the topic concluded, Wallace immediately took the controller from Steven's hands.
Steven didn't say anything about this, maintaining his calm smile.
As a citizen of the isolated Sootopolis City, Wallace actually had quite few hobbies.
Besides participating in Pokémon Contests to showcase his "unparalleled elegance and charm," he only had Pokémon battles.
So the only game he would play would naturally be "Pokémon Champion."
"By the way, isn't today Aiden's live stream day?"
Steven suddenly spoke up, causing Wallace, who had just opened the game, to pause briefly before reacting.
"Oh right! Aiden mentioned before that he was going to talk about Rain teams this time."
"I'm actually quite looking forward to it. After all, there doesn't seem to be any strategy Aiden doesn't know. His previous Sun team content also received many positive reviews."
As he spoke, Wallace had already taken out his phone, opened Pokémon TV, and entered Aiden's live stream room.
"Indeed, today is a Rain team special."
Wallace nodded.
Occasionally after work, he would watch Aiden's streams—his various imaginative strategies were truly eye-opening.
Compared to those, the relatively basic weather systems weren't that difficult.
But with Aiden's style, he would definitely show his unique understanding in today's stream.
If this could open up new ideas, that would be good too.
Of course, Wallace wouldn't watch for free—seeing other regional Gym Leaders sending gifts, he casually clicked and sent some as tuition for learning strategies.
"Oh?"
Glancing at his action, Steven suddenly made a subtle sound, then a faint smile appeared on his lips, his tone carrying a hint of teasing when he spoke.
"By the way, since Teacher Azure is using a Rain team for this week's lesson, you—a master of Rain teams yourself—haven't considered sniping Teacher Azure to seek revenge for your previous defeat?"
"Last time I heard that Teacher Azure used Garganacl to break through half your team—a complete rout where you couldn't fight back at all."
"..."
Wallace sighed helplessly.
How could he not know that Steven was ragebaiting him again, wanting him to cause trouble?
But damn, he did fall for this kind of thing, so even though Steven knew he could see through his thoughts, he remained confident.
"Then let's try. I actually have some new understanding too, and it seems to overlap somewhat with Teacher Azure's ideas."
Wallace quickly revealed a confident smile. Under Steven's subtle "as expected" expression, he quickly launched "Pokémon Champion."
If it were against other teams, he might not be so confident.
But Rain teams were right up his alley—Aiden's team didn't have so many flashy tricks either.
Most importantly, that Garganacl that existed purely to take revenge on society wasn't in his lineup, and Gliscor, who seemed somewhat decent, he had a solution for.
So it wasn't impossible to win against Aiden!
With this thought, Wallace quickly matched with an opponent.
When he noticed the incredibly familiar trainer appearance before him, his heartbeat immediately accelerated.
He really had sniped him! Then let's clash!
Wallace's expression became extremely serious, clearly intending to go all out.
To this, Steven could only smile helplessly.
He hadn't expected they would actually match—it was such a low probability event, yet it happened?
However, he hadn't seen Wallace's serious mode in a long time either.
The last time was probably during the Victory Road, when they battled to determine who would be Champion?
Thinking of this, Steven's expression suddenly became subtle.
But why do I have a feeling that Wallace is going to lose?
...
After matching successfully, Wallace's team quickly appeared before Aiden.
Politoed, Milotic, Ludicolo, Swampert, Toxapex, Wash Rotom.
"The team has been optimized quite a bit."
Looking at this relatively mature Rain team system before him, Aiden's lips quickly curved into a smile.
As expected, trainers at Gym Leader level and above improved much faster than newcomers.
It had been less than two months since his last battle with Wallace, yet he had already optimized his team to a fairly complete level on his own.
"Although it's still the same pure Water-type team as last time, the details are much better executed now."
As Aiden thought this, he quietly voiced his thoughts.
"Wash Rotom, which can use Thunder in the Rainy Weather, also possesses good defensive synergy"
"Toxapex's positioning is similar to Gliscor in our team, but not entirely the same—it has very good defensive abilities."
Come to think of it, Toxapex was also a Pokémon he had used against Wallace last time—probably that battle gave him the inspiration.
"Besides the different choice of weather setter, the overall strategy is actually quite similar to mine?"
From the previous all-out offensive lineup to today's more defensive team—who knew what changes had occurred in Wallace's heart?
But one thing was certain—
"It seems Wallace must have watched my streams quite often..."
As soon as Aiden's muttering came out, it immediately triggered intense complaints from the chat.
[Teacher Azure, please rein in your powers! Our Pokémon battles, how did they become like this...]
[The battle environment has already been corrupted by Teacher Azure. If you don't adapt, you'll be eliminated~ (no mercy)]
[Oh no, Sootopolis Gym was already the most difficult in Hoenn—you had to dive deep underwater while holding your breath to get there. Now even the Gym Leader's strength has increased and they're so unorthodox too, how can anyone clear this gym!]
[Has the 'Azure virus' already spread to Hoenn? This is scary, brothers. Is there any place where trainers are still orthodox?]
[There are, brothers, there are—come to our Paldea! Gym Leaders and challengers are all talented people, and the tricks they pull out can bring you endless surprises, eh!]
"..."
Glancing at chat, Aiden couldn't hold back his laughter.
However, the current priority was his battle with Wallace, so he directly ignored the obvious 'slander'.
What do you mean the battle environment was corrupted by me—these are all slander!
"In a Rain team mirror match... I feel like Wallace won't follow the conventional playbook. Better play it safe and send out the weather setter first."
Aiden quickly made his decision in his heart, confirming his lead.
Pelipper!
Compared to Wallace, his team was more dependent on the rain system—Gliscor and Ferrothorn in his team needed rain protection to avoid their fatal Fire-type weakness.
Although the opponent seemed to also have a pure Rain team, Ludicolo had the potential to use Fire Punch.
Thinking even darker...
What if Wallace really had a hidden move like Hidden Power Fire? Its power against quadruple weaknesses would be enough.
When facing an opponent who was clearly well-prepared, Aiden, who always preferred stability, didn't make any flashy commands—he didn't even think about who Wallace would send first.
In any case, establish the advantage first.
Both sides quickly confirmed their leads, and another white light flashed before the screen.
Then, a slightly changed battle field appeared.
The surrounding scene was an impressive white castle—even the audience around the field had become trainers wearing various capes, exuding noble airs.
[If I remember correctly, this version's battle field was filmed at Kalos's Battle Chateau? It really looks much more upscale!]
[Probably a change made to fit the Mega Evolution version—it's quite interesting too.]
[Battle Chateau... but why didn't the game's ranking system change accordingly? I remember their ranks went from Baron to Duke?]
(T/N: Not including Grand Duke/Duchess)
Many people from Kalos region quickly recognized this familiar scene.
However, this wasn't the main point.
After Aiden and Wallace's virtual avatars appeared, both sides quickly threw two Poké Balls, red light immediately appearing in the center of the field.
On Aiden's side, the somewhat clumsy-looking Pelipper appeared first.
With its appearance, the Drizzle ability triggered immediately, and light rain began falling over the field.
On Wallace's side, it was also as Aiden had expected.
He indeed didn't choose to send out Politoed as lead, but cleverly chose Rotom instead.
The reason was simple.
Since the opponent would also set rain, why not just take advantage of theirs?
Using Rotom as lead could also exploit Thunder to create a terrifying threat against Pelipper.
However, the solution was actually quite simple.
"Come back, Pelipper."
After the rain started, its mission was successfully completed, so Aiden decisively recalled his precious weather setter.
"Rotom, use Volt Switch!"
Wallace had clearly anticipated this too—he decisively decided to take advantage of Aiden's switching Pokémon's HP, while also preserving this "Pelipper killer" that had certain threat capabilities.
Unfortunately, this was also within Aiden's prediction.
After Pelipper was recalled, the one who appeared immediately was one of Hoenn's starter Pokémon—Swampert.
Since Swampert's typing was Water+Ground, it was naturally immune to Electric-type moves, so Rotom rushing toward it caused no damage at all.
Electric current swept over Swampert's entire body, only making it scratch its head in confusion, as if saying:
"Such weak force—didn't you eat dinner tonight?"
Aiden smiled slightly, speaking its thoughts.
"Since Swampert is immune to Electric moves, Rotom's Volt Switch has absolutely no effect."
"Correspondingly, it also can't use the attack interval to be recalled."
Just as Aiden explained, after the move was used, Rotom—who should have been immediately recalled—was awkwardly stuck in place. It didn't retreat backward due to the recoil of the attack, entering the range where it could be safely recalled.
[Damn there's actually such an operation? I learned another small technique!]
[But it doesn't seem that useful though—Swampert's attacks can't do much to Wash Rotom either. They'll just stare at each other...]
Water-type Pokémon naturally have very balanced offensive and defensive stats with few weaknesses on defense. Combined with Electric-type and Levitate, they only have one weakness left—Grass-type.
And Grass-type was also Swampert's lifelong nemesis—obviously it wouldn't suddenly pull out a Wood Hammer either.
So on the surface, neither side could do anything to the other.
However...
"No problem—if the situation is awkward, then just boost on the spot."
As Aiden smiled slightly, his expression gradually became serious.
Sending Swampert to switch in was originally to lock down the opponent's Rotom.
Facing an opponent who couldn't threaten it at all, Swampert could not only safely boost itself, but also take this opportunity to show its most ferocious power.
"Swampert, break through your limits!"
Aiden suddenly shouted.
With his voice, the trainer avatar on screen quickly extended its left hand, revealing the brilliantly shining Mega Key Stone on its glove.
"Mega Evolution!"
A sky-piercing light column formed by evolution glow instantly engulfed Swampert.
Swampert, who had already completed three-stage evolution and theoretically had no more evolution potential, now underwent another peculiar evolution phenomenon.
Seeing this, Wallace opposite him couldn't help but frown slightly.
As expected, Aiden's understanding aligned highly with his own—in the new version, they had both tacitly chosen Mega Swampert as the big brother of Rain teams.
The reason was simple—
High power, Swift Swim ability, and very wide coverage.
In singles battles, Mega Swampert's pressure was indeed terrifyingly strong.
However...
Under Steven's gaze, Wallace suddenly revealed a somewhat dark smile.
"This time, it seems I have the upper hand, Teacher Azure!"
Swampert's combat power was indeed terrifying, but it wasn't without countermeasures.
"Rotom, use Will-O-Wisp!"
Wallace's command immediately made Steven raise an eyebrow.
Good grief, so unorthodox?
Rotom was a very special Pokémon—they were electronic ghosts that could enter appliances and show different forms.
And as ghosts, even when residing in washing machines, they could normally use the Fire-type move Will-O-Wisp.
After all, this move had quite a relationship with ghosts.
And once a Pokémon like Swampert was burned, continuous HP loss was a minor issue—even after Mega Evolution, its offensive power would be greatly reduced.
It would be like disabling one of Aiden's aces, basically clearing his offensive firepower.
As for how small flames could appear in rain without being extinguished by the rain...
If it can be used, then it's reasonable!
But... would Aiden fall for this so easily?
While Steven was thinking, Swampert on screen had already completed its Mega Evolution.
Muscles bursting on both arms, its powerful fists raised in front as if preparing a defensive stance in advance.
"As expected... this kid Wallace is completely corrupted too."
Aiden sighed.
This move couldn't possibly be something I taught him again, right?
Although it was indeed standard play, that someone in the Pokémon world would use it was somewhat unexpected for Aiden.
But no problem.
The Mega Evolution animation wasn't very long—in strict terms, it wasn't even a complete action, so he still had the opportunity to make commands.
Facing the ghost fire floating toward Swampert, Aiden smiled calmly and spoke:
"Swampert, use Protect!"
A barrier formed by transparent energy instantly blocked the way, allowing Swampert to resist the negative effects of Will-O-Wisp and preserve its full strength.
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