"Scizor, use Trailblaze."
When hearing Aiden calmly commanding under the pressure of Mega Swampert—even with a hint of laughter in his voice—Wallace's internal alarm bells immediately rang.
Trailblaze—the name alone revealed it was a Grass-type move.
But in reality, most Pokémon that could learn this move didn't actually have Grass-type.
Because the principle of Trailblaze was to mimic wild Pokémon's battle instincts—suddenly jumping out from grass to ambush opponents, and temporarily increasing their speed through light footsteps.
While it had boosting capabilities, its base power was very low—only 50 in the Pokédex.
But the problem was...
Aiden's Scizor's ability was definitely Technician!
With Technician's boost to low-power moves, even though it wasn't STAB, when used by Scizor against the quadruple-weak-to-Grass Mega Swampert, the threat was enormous.
If Aiden was even more unorthodox and gave this Scizor a Choice Band...
It might actually end up in negative HP—simply unable to survive.
Every time Wallace encountered these instant KO scenarios, he wanted to bitterly complain about this battle game.
It was completely unrealistic—who would just fall over from a mere quadruple weakness? Shouldn't they fight fiercely for dozens of rounds despite type disadvantages?
A Swampert that could be one-shot by a tiny Trailblaze move—Wallace had never even heard of such a thing.
But in the game, he had to guard against this move.
"Come back, Swampert!"
At this moment, using Protect was meaningless—better to decisively rotate like Aiden just did, bearing this wave of offense with minimal cost.
And in his pure rain team lineup, he did have a defensive wall that could withstand Grass-type moves.
Toxapex!
Although Hoenn region didn't have Toxapex habitats, during his previous battle with Aiden, Wallace had immediately taken a liking to this uniquely functional little guy.
With excellent durability and the Regenerator ability, plus Recover and Iron Defense, its persistence was maxed out.
Moreover, against troublesome Grass-type Pokémon in rain teams, it also had good counter effects.
As the most solid defensive wall on the team, it was perfect for handling all kinds of dirty work.
So Wallace decisively switched it in.
After taking one Trailblaze from Scizor, Toxapex had only lost about 1/4 of its HP.
As long as it switched out, it would be completely restored upon returning.
Conversely, Scizor as the attacker quickly lost about 10% HP after launching its attack.
"Tch..."
Aiden couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly.
As expected, high-level players had many tricks up their sleeves.
Against average opponents, this sudden Trailblaze might not even give them time to react—Swampert would be one-shot by him.
His Scizor was half a landmine—not choosing to continue enhancing defensive capabilities, but instead carrying a Life Orb to maximize offense.
For such a versatile Pokémon, using a Choice Band would be like cutting off one's own arm—counterproductive. Life Orb could still provide considerable combat enhancement.
Aiden had originally thought that if he encountered any Fairy-types, Scizor's Bullet Punch could heavily damage the opponent and quickly end the match.
Who would have thought he'd catch Wallace exactly like this.
Seeing his setup hadn't worked, Aiden still maintained his mysterious, unfathomable smile.
Not one-shotting was actually fine too.
Because for Scizor with Bug-Steel typing, Toxapex's Toxic posed absolutely no threat.
Since he couldn't break through its defense, why not change tactics—
Just boost directly, right?
"Scizor, Trailblaze!"
Aiden commanded again.
[I know this one—Trailblaze Baton Pass, bug-type passing strategy activated!]
[Teacher Azure's mastery of these strategies is truly impressive. It feels like every Pokémon in his hands has many different functions, and can change at any moment—completely unpreventable, so ridiculous...]
[Wallace seems stuck—Toxapex can't possibly affect Scizor sitting there boosting, right?]
[But switching now won't help either—who can stop Scizor from Baton Passing and running away? Teacher Azure has basically shown his hand...]
[Mega Swampert after Trailblaze boost—who can stop it???]
However, unlike the chat's reaction, Aiden was actually a bit nervous inside.
Because Toxapex actually did have a way to counter him—
If Toxapex's parents were Quagsire, Surskit, or Greninja, it could potentially inherit Haze.
If Wallace knew this, he wouldn't fear Aiden at all—just using Haze to clear the boost effects would bring everyone back to the same starting line.
So this move was a bit of a gamble for Aiden.
He was betting that Wallace, a local who had never left Hoenn, didn't have such detailed knowledge of Toxapex!
If he won the bet, he'd directly Baton Pass and run away, letting the next Pokémon inherit the boost effects to mercilessly sweep the team and end this battle completely.
Of course, even if he lost the bet, it wouldn't affect him much either.
Even if the boost effects were cleared, Scizor with wings could use Tailwind to indirectly help teammates.
Even having lost its Flying-type, it could still learn Roost—even enduring 500 rounds against Toxapex wouldn't be a problem.
"Toxapex, come back first."
After brief consideration, Wallace still commanded, choosing to recall Toxapex first.
It had originally come in to block one Trailblaze for Swampert—since the effect had been achieved and staying on the field served no purpose, better to rotate early.
From his previous battle with Aiden, Wallace had deeply experienced the importance of rotation in singles battles.
Minimizing losses while seizing advantageous matchups, forcing the opponent into difficult choices and continuously wearing down their overall HP until near collapse.
Theoretically not difficult, but in practice it was another matter entirely.
At least from what he could see now, he seemed to be gradually being oppressed by Aiden until he could barely breathe, only able to passively seek opportunities.
And this switch might very well be his last chance.
Through Trailblaze and Trailblaze, Scizor's combat power was now extremely exaggerated, and it could use Baton Pass at any time to transfer this power to more suitable teammates.
It was basically locked to be Mega Swampert.
So he had to send out a Pokémon that threatened both Scizor and Swampert, while also being a conservative choice that could block them.
"I choose you, Milotic!"
Milotic—one of Wallace's signature Pokémon, and also his greatest contributor to his Contest championship victories.
Just for this reason alone, even if he optimized his rain team by replacing Toxicroak, he could never let Milotic disappear from his team.
Moreover... he had also found inspiration from Aiden's previous videos, developing a unique strategy centered around Milotic's "Marvel Scale" ability.
Taking advantage of Scizor's boosting opportunity, the Milotic Wallace sent out stood tall in the rain.
But strangely, even though it hadn't been affected by any moves, its body quickly showed burn marks identical to the previous Will-O-Wisp move.
"Oh?"
Aiden immediately narrowed his eyes.
He instantly understood Wallace's intention.
Using Flame Orb to trigger Marvel Scale, thus giving Milotic enhanced durability immediately upon entry—even boosted Swampert's Earthquake couldn't take it down, and Haze would directly clear the boost effects.
"Not bad."
Aiden muttered under his breath, inwardly relieved.
As expected, Wallace's understanding of Toxapex wasn't that comprehensive—he instinctively chose to trust his ace.
And this gave Aiden an opportunity to operate.
"Since you switched early, why don't I just not Baton Pass?"
"Scizor, Trailblaze again!"
Scizor's base attack power was already excellent, and after one Trailblaze boost, its combat power became even more exaggerated. So even Milotic with Marvel Scale enhancing its defense would be heavily damaged by this attack.
"Milotic, Haze!"
Wallace gritted his teeth as he commanded.
Before switching, he had already prepared for the possibility of Milotic being broken through head-on—even so, he had to clear Scizor's boost effects.
Otherwise, the monster he raised would truly sweep the team.
Due to the speed boost from Trailblaze, before Milotic could exhale Haze, Scizor had already leaped up, swinging its claws fiercely toward it.
The effect of one hit was terrifying—it directly dealt over 70% damage to Milotic.
Combined with burn damage, its HP had already entered a very dangerous range.
Milotic painfully exhaled a cloud of Haze, instantly clearing all the boost effects Scizor had accumulated.
At this point, Wallace finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Milotic, Recover!"
Due to Haze's effect, Milotic's speed would easily surpass Scizor's—using Recover to forcefully restore HP would leave Aiden powerless against it.
Through Recover, Milotic would soon be restored to full health again.
So in this mental battle, he had won!
However, before Wallace could even be happy, Aiden immediately commanded again—the sound of his voice even carrying a hint of laughter.
"Scizor, Bullet Punch!"
It had to be said—Wallace did have some quick thinking, and Milotic as emergency relief worked well too.
But Flame Orb also had side effects.
Continuous burn damage plus that extremely lethal Trailblaze had already brought Milotic's HP almost to zero.
It had even quietly reached Scizor's kill threshold.
Not fast enough? Go tell that to my Bullet Punch!
Scizor could shine in many singles strategies not just because of its pivot capabilities.
Being able to finish off opponents with Bullet Punch—which had decent damage and priority—was actually its most classic and effective tactical function.
As soon as Aiden finished speaking, Scizor on screen had already flapped its wings and launched, transforming into a red lightning bolt. Before Milotic could use Recover to restore HP, it swung its claws, directly knocking out the already exhausted Milotic until stars appeared before its eyes.
"..."
Wallace hadn't even had time to be happy before his mouth began twitching uncontrollably.
"Pfft—"
Steven beside him couldn't help but quietly laugh, then quickly covered his mouth to prevent laughing out loud again.
To be fair, he actually felt Wallace's performance this time had been very good—even feeling like his seriousness might not be inferior to that battle with him back then.
But in terms of understanding Pokémon, it seemed Aiden still surpassed him by more than a level.
Throughout the entire battle, Aiden had steadily controlled the pace, gradually eroding Wallace's operational space through advantageous matchups created by manipulation.
Until just now, all his setups finally reaped rewards.
Although it seemed like after all that operation, Wallace had only lost one Milotic...
In reality, singles battle teams were a complete unit—after Milotic fell, the defensive synergy it provided had already become a breakthrough point.
Previously, Scizor's boosts could still be barely defended against by Milotic.
But now?
Where would Wallace find a second Milotic to watch over Scizor, preventing it from completing its boosts and directly Baton Passing to retreat, switching in a terrifying monster Swampert to recklessly sweep the team?
This was going too far...
Not just Steven as a spectator—even Wallace could intuitively feel this.
But at this point, he could only try to reverse the unfavorable situation.
Even in defeat, he would stand tall—there was still operational space!
"Scizor, Trailblaze."
Taking advantage of Wallace's thinking about which Pokémon to send in, Aiden commanded again, simultaneously applying invisible pressure on him.
If he didn't send out a Pokémon quickly, his disadvantage would undoubtedly only grow larger.
So he made the safest choice.
Ludicolo quickly reappeared on the field, and at the same time, Aiden revealed a smile.
It seemed he had already won.
"Baton Pass!"
"Ludicolo, Energy Ball!"
Wallace almost didn't hesitate—this was the only opportunity he could think of.
If he could successfully predict Aiden's move, one Energy Ball could definitely instantly KO the quadruple-weak-to-Grass Swampert, bringing both sides back to the same starting line.
No—even his side would gain a slight advantage.
Because if Aiden's strongest firepower point was one-shot by him, there wouldn't be such great threat in rotation or wearing down—he could instead slowly win through Swampert's pressure.
But such a simple thought—Wallace could think of it, and Aiden, as an experienced battler, had obviously seen through it long ago.
Switching in Ludicolo early—the intention was too obvious!
This couldn't even be called a landmine anymore—it was already a visible mine.
So his choice was naturally—
"Go, Ferrothorn!"
Compared to Swampert, Ferrothorn obviously provided greater pressure.
Wallace's team was already in the awkward position of being unable to get past just this one Pokémon—and Ferrothorn had also received the Trailblaze boost via Baton Pass, perfectly offsetting the previous burn debuff.
Capable of both offense and defense, with various harassment moves, Ludicolo's Energy Ball was like an itch to it.
The finishing Energy Ball Wallace had pinned his hopes on ultimately only caused a "minor wound" to Ferrothorn's HP bar that was almost imperceptible to the naked eye—even less than the HP loss from burn damage...
"..."
Seeing this, Wallace couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
Aiden was indeed extremely sinister cough, cough, unorthodox...
What was there to fight for.
First, Garganacl's Salt Cure heavily tormented Water-type teams, now there was the rain team mirror match god Ferrothorn that his entire team couldn't get past—picking on him alone as a trainer, was it?
It seemed he would most likely appear in Aiden's video update tonight, becoming material and a negative example for his Rain team explanation.
...
Five minutes later.
Even though Wallace showed astonishing patience, Pokémon battles were objective—they wouldn't turn defeat into victory through delay.
Until the battle ended, Wallace still couldn't get past Ferrothorn, the despairing wall of the Rain weather system—not even his entire team's combined strength could break through its defense.
Instead, his Pokémon were all seeded by Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, their HP rapidly converting into Ferrothorn's abundant blood bank.
If he had sent out Swampert from the start to go all out, using Fighting-type moves before Ferrothorn completed its Iron Defense boost, there might have been a chance to reverse-kill.
But unfortunately, Wallace had sent out Ludicolo—Focus Blast seemed powerful, but Ludicolo's power was actually quite limited, and in reality didn't pose much effective threat to Ferrothorn at all.
In the end, Aiden won this great battle with a 6:0 score.
A complete shutout.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)