As Aiden instantly deciphered Leon's team strategy, Leon on the other side was also analyzing Aiden's tactic.
Because he'd glanced at the livestream—even though he left quickly to maintain fairness—Leon had still overheard enough to grasp the gist of Aiden's plan.
"So… does that mean many of the viewers who normally queue up to challenge Aiden already know his tactics in advance?"
Leon suddenly realized a blind spot he'd overlooked before.
Initially, he'd assumed Aiden won through superior execution of freshly unveiled strategies, leveraging information asymmetry.
But now, upon reflection… maybe that was only true at the very beginning?
Later on, many ordinary challengers might have deliberately queued specifically to counter his already-exposed team builds.
Just how confident—and how strong—must someone be to openly reveal their entire strategy, face targeted counters, and still maintain a sky-high win rate?
It seemed Aiden was far more formidable than Leon had imagined.
At this thought, Leon's face quickly broke into a smile.
"Shame there's no chance for an offline battle—I'd really love to experience Teacher Azure's genius firsthand."
Of course, if he suggested such a thing, President Rose would probably reject it immediately, citing that "maintaining the undefeated Champion persona is a crucial part of our promotional strategy"…
Although Leon himself never truly believed he was the "strongest" or "undefeated" Champion.
After all, even though he'd won a Master Tournament title, his dominance in international competitions wasn't absolute.
Meanwhile, true legends like Professor Oak and his own master, Mustard, had genuinely dominated entire eras.
But to align with Rose's marketing vision, Leon had no choice but to reluctantly play along—despite the embarrassment.
"Aiden's tactic seems centered around Hypnosis…"
"If he'd brought a Pokémon that could set Electric Terrain, his entire strategy would collapse instantly…"
Slipping into analytical mode, Leon immediately spotted the perfect counter.
Unfortunately, his current team had no Electric Terrain user.
"Well then… I'll have to resort to the old-fashioned way."
After a moment's thought, Leon quickly confirmed his lead pair.
Now both sides were fully prepared.
In an instant, a grand royal battle arena appeared on screen. Opposite Aiden stood Galar Champion Leon, draped in his signature red cape, waving enthusiastically with both hands.
Thanks to his Champion status, Leon—like Cynthia—had a unique in-game avatar with custom animations in Pokémon Champions.
And as Leon gestured dramatically, the back of his cape—completely plastered with sponsor logos—animated vividly before Aiden and his viewers.
[Here it is! The legendary Leon Champion commercial break!]
[No wonder advertising with Leon is said to be super cost-effective—even his in-game cape is a 1:1 replica of this year's custom Champion design! Sponsors are raking it in!]
[Wait, how come Teacher Azure never takes sponsorships? Is he already rich?]
[Hey! Speaking of capes—what should Leon do with last year's retired Champion cape? Why, obviously…]
"…"
Aiden was momentarily speechless.
Even inside the game, he's this dedicated to ads?
Truly worthy of being the most responsible Champion candidate.
As for sponsorships, Aiden had indeed never accepted any—he barely even checked his private messages on Pokémon TV.
Because honestly—he simply didn't need the money!
Even with an entire household of Pokémon to feed, his League stipend was more than enough. Not to mention his real income came from livestreaming, which cost him next to nothing…
But Aiden didn't respond—because the battle had already begun.
Both sides swiftly tossed four Poké Balls.
On Aiden's side: Sableye and Espathra.
Leon's choice, however, was more nuanced.
Theoretically, Leon should've led with Torkoal to set Sunny Day first. Instead, he sent out Rillaboom and Mr. Rime.
The moment Rillaboom stepped onto the field, lush Grass-type energy surged into the ground, rapidly transforming the arena into Grassy Terrain.
Clearly, its ability had already activated.
"Similar to Indeedee's ability, Rillaboom possesses Grassy Surge—it automatically creates Grassy Terrain upon entering battle," Aiden explained briefly.
"Grassy Terrain is full of vitality: it steadily restores HP to grounded Pokémon each turn, boosts the power of Grass-type moves, and significantly reduces damage from Earthquake, Magnitude, and Stomping Tantrum."
Aiden knew Rillaboom inside and out—after all, it was half of the famed "Tiger-Ape Duo" alongside Incineroar, and one of Leon's core team members.
Moreover, as a Grass-type, Rillaboom could likely learn Worry Seed.
Normally, Worry Seed is used to overwrite an opponent's ability with Insomnia.
But given that Aiden had already revealed his Sleep strategy, Leon might use it defensively—to immunize his own Pokémon against Hypnosis.
Though using Worry Seed on one's own Pokémon was a bit of a troll move, Aiden doubted Leon would go that far…
But… just in case?
Since the possibility couldn't be ruled out, he had to respect it.
As for Leon's other lead, Mr. Rime—Aiden quickly deduced his intent.
"He's leading with Mr. Rime… so he plans to open with Trick Room and flip priority?"
Trick Room would indeed disrupt Espathra, whose Speed kept increasing turn after turn. Either way, Aiden's momentum would be broken.
So he couldn't let Leon execute this so easily.
"Sableye—Fake Out on Mr. Rime."
"Espathra—Protect."
Having anticipated Leon's counterplay, Aiden made his move immediately.
Use Sableye to flinch Mr. Rime, then stall with Protect to safely trigger Espathra's Speed boost.
Leon, however, opted for an even more aggressive approach—
The instant Sableye vanished and reappeared to slap Mr. Rime, Rillaboom simultaneously slid across the grassy field at lightning speed, drumsticks raised, charging straight toward Espathra.
Clearly, Leon had also chosen Fake Out.
When Rillaboom's strike slammed into Espathra's already-raised Protect barrier, Aiden breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Sableye's Fake Out did negligible damage—barely a scratch on Mr. Rime.
But Rillaboom's power was no joke. Even its Fake Out packed serious punch—and if it had used Wood Hammer instead, Espathra might've been OHKO'd.
That's precisely why Aiden played it safe in the opening turn, prioritizing survival.
[Nothing happened—basically a wasted turn…]
[Fair enough. Neither side lost anything. Even Teacher Azure plays conservatively against Champion-level opponents!]
[Actually, Teacher Azure gained more! Even if it was a "pass," Espathra still got a free Speed boost from its ability—now it's even faster!~]
Judging by the results, Aiden's call was correct.
After both sides used their moves, only Mr. Rime took minor damage—and quickly healed it thanks to Grassy Terrain.
So while it seemed like both wasted a turn, Aiden had already achieved his initial goal.
Actually, the Speed boost from Protect wasn't even critical. Even without it, Espathra was already the fastest on field—guaranteed to act before Mr. Rime's Trick Room could activate.
The real key lay in the moves both sides just used.
Because both Pokémon had already been hit by Fake Out, they were now immune to flinching from it again.
That meant Leon could no longer interrupt Aiden's combo.
"Sableye—Gravity."
"Espathra—Hypnosis on Rillaboom!"
Without hesitation, Aiden executed the plan he'd prepared before the match.
Gravity Sleep!
Leading with Sableye and Espathra wasn't random.
Countless battles in his past life had proven this duo was the optimal core for this strategy.
What's most important for Hypnosis?
Speed—and guaranteed accuracy.
And this pair solved both problems perfectly.
Espathra already had an excellent base Speed, which only grew scarier over time thanks to its ability.
Sableye, meanwhile, handled priority through its Prankster ability—allowing it to move before Espathra and, crucially, set up Gravity first.
Once Gravity was active, Espathra's Hypnosis would almost certainly hit.
This was also where Hypnosis held an edge over Spore in a Gravity-based system.
Spore usually guarantees accuracy—but the Mushroom Pokémon that use it are generally slow. Aside from Amoonguss, most need Trick Room just to land sleep reliably.
Plus, spore-based moves have clear weaknesses: Grass-types like Rillaboom are immune, and abilities like Overcoat or items like Safety Goggles completely block their effect.
Hypnosis, however, is different.
As a status move, it generally ignores type immunities—even Dark-types will fall asleep if hit.
Combined with Espathra's naturally high Speed and ever-increasing acceleration, almost no Pokémon could outspeed it.
This was the Scientific Gravity Sleep Team!
(Of course, the ideal option would've been the unreworked Dark Void from a certain Nightmare Pokémon—Dark-type means no immunities, and it could sleep both opponents at once.
But as Ditto's biggest victim, Aiden remembered all too well how Dark Void got nerfed before he could even enjoy it properly—now, even with Gravity, it couldn't guarantee 100% accuracy…)
Ditto—truly heinous!
Just as Aiden's thoughts began to drift, Leon's command snapped him back to reality.
"Rillaboom—Grassy Glide!"
"Mr. Rime—Trick Room!"
A solid play, Aiden noted.
Knowing Aiden would prioritize Hypnosis, Leon wisely avoided risking Wood Hammer and instead used Grassy Glide to safely chip Espathra's HP.
As for Mr. Rime…
Aiden wouldn't waste Hypnosis on it anyway—Rillaboom posed a far greater threat.
Even if Trick Room went up, with its partner asleep, Mr. Rime alone couldn't pressure Aiden much.
So Leon's plan was clear: sacrifice Rillaboom to sleep in exchange for damaging Espathra.
Thanks to Grassy Terrain granting Grassy Glide +1 priority, Rillaboom struck before Sableye could act—sliding in with another powerful hit that took over half of Espathra's HP.
One more hit like that, and Espathra would be done for.
But…
It might not get another chance.
Right after Rillaboom's attack, Sableye—empowered by Prankster—immediately activated Gravity. A heavy force pressed down on all grounded Pokémon, slowing their movements.
Then, Espathra—already poised to strike—finally acted.
Its eyes glowed faint blue as a wave of hypnotic psychic energy silently seeped into Rillaboom's mind.
The once-energetic Rillaboom instantly slumped, falling into deep slumber, unresponsive to its Trainer's calls.
Only after all other actions concluded did Mr. Rime finally release its long-charged Trick Room, blanketing the field in strange psychic energy.
Speed effects reversed—and Espathra, now doubly accelerated, became the sole victim, struggling to move.
[I don't know why, but I've developed a condition where I burst out laughing whenever Teacher Azure uses status moves…]
[Doesn't seem that profitable—went through all this just to guarantee Hypnosis accuracy? Why not just gamble on 100% Spore and blow up?]
[Honestly, using Will-O-Wisp to cripple Rillaboom's offense might've been better?]
At first glance, Aiden didn't seem to gain much.
Leon hadn't lost any meaningful resources—he could just switch out sleeping Rillaboom, Mr. Rime had set Trick Room, and Espathra's Speed boost was now a liability.
But… this scenario was exactly what Aiden had anticipated.
"What Leon will do next—our viewers seem to have already guessed," Aiden said calmly.
"Exactly. Since Rillaboom clearly isn't holding a Chesto Berry to wake up, he'll almost certainly switch it out."
From the earlier exchange, it was clear Leon played cautiously—he wouldn't gamble on Rillaboom waking up randomly.
That meant the switch-in window was Aiden's moment to strike.
And he had plenty of ways to handle Trick Room.
The simplest?
Fight fire with fire!
"Rillaboom—come back."
"Mr. Rime—Hypnosis on Espathra!"
As Leon spoke, Aiden gave his own command simultaneously:
"Sableye—Encore on Mr. Rime."
"Espathra—Baton Pass."
Only after Aiden's decisive order did viewers suddenly realize what was happening.
[WTF?! Teacher Azure, have some mercy! Locking Trick Room with Encore is just evil…]
[Since consecutive Trick Rooms cancel each other, if Encore lands, Mr. Rime wastes two turns!]
[Gotta admit, Leon's not simple either—he planned to use Aiden's own Gravity to sleep Espathra back!]
[Is this Champion-level mind games? Feels like a nightmare matchup—my eyes are going dark!]
[Still not as sneaky as Teacher Azure—Leon clearly doesn't watch streams much. Teacher Azure abuses Encore all the time to troll people!]
Admittedly, Leon's Hypnosis play caught Aiden slightly off guard.
But Trick Room doesn't affect priority moves—and Sableye's Prankster ensured it moved first.
As expected, Leon recalled Rillaboom and sent in Torkoal, the weather setter for his Sunny Day core.
The moment Torkoal appeared, sunlight intensified overhead—its Drought ability activating instantly.
But just as Mr. Rime prepared to unleash Hypnosis, it suddenly locked eyes with Sableye—then, under some inexplicable force, it involuntarily repeated its previous move: Trick Room.
The two Trick Room fields clashed—and instantly canceled each other out. The psychic distortion enveloping the arena vanished in a flash.
Espathra's Speed snapped back to normal. It quickly used Baton Pass, then was recalled by Aiden, replaced by the adorable purple ghost—Gengar—who inherited all of Espathra's accumulated Speed boosts.
The moment Gengar appeared, Aiden's avatar raised his hand, revealing the Mega Stone on his wristband.
Leon instantly understood what was coming—and a chill ran down his spine. But there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Like Leon's ace Charizard, Gengar could Mega Evolve.
And its post-Mega ability…
Was Shadow Tag—locking Leon's team in place, preventing any switches!
Just as Leon feared, Aiden's next words rang out immediately:
"Time to end this match."
"Gengar—Mega Evolve!"
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