Aiden had no idea what was unfolding in Galar—nor that a certain dark-skinned challenger had already quietly locked onto him as his next target.
After his victory over Leon and a quick post-match review, he swiftly jumped into a few more ranked matches.
Perhaps because Double Battles were less saturated at the high tiers, most of his subsequent opponents turned out to be familiar regulars from his stream.
And the matches quickly grew absurd.
First came a Trick Room team paired with Amoonguss to counter his Gravity Sleep strategy. Then a few clever youngsters tried to blitz Espathra with priority moves like Brave Bird.
But…
Aiden had already prepared counter-solutions for every possible team composition when building his own.
"You like Amoonguss, huh? You love charging in with Talonflame Brave Bird, right?!"
"Time to turn the tide—Tsareena!"
When Aiden finally sent out this previously overlooked Pokémon—one so quietly sitting on his bench that viewers had almost forgotten she existed—his audience suddenly realized something shocking:
[WTF?! So Teacher Azure only used three Pokémon to beat Leon?! He literally benched Tsareena the whole time!]
[What even is this Pokémon? I've never seen it in Kanto!]
[It was first discovered in Alola, but also exists in Galar and Paldea. Apparently, some high-end beauty salons use it as a selling point…]
[…Your "beauty salon"—is it legit?]
For most Trainers, Tsareena was indeed an unfamiliar face.
Even in Galar few had actually seen it in person. The area was notoriously dangerous, teeming with wild Dynamax Pokémon nesting in the vicinity.
But the moment Tsareena stepped onto the field, everyone instantly understood her purpose.
[Wait… why did Talonflame suddenly fail to use Brave Bird just because Tsareena looked at it?!]
[As a Tsareena simp who just popped in: it's simple! One of her common abilities is "Queenly Majesty"—while she's on the field, opponents cannot use priority moves against her or her allies!]
[Oh my god… Her Majesty!]
[Hss… Why do I feel weirdly thrilled after getting stared down by Tsareena?]
[Sis, you're not okay!]
In fact, this exact scene repeated multiple times throughout the stream.
Whether it was Sableye's Prankster, Talonflame's Gale Wings, or even Dragonite's maxed-out Extreme Speed—every priority move crumbled into helplessness before Tsareena.
"In short," Aiden summarized after easily sweeping several matches and feasting on his regulars' LP, "Tsareena is an incredibly situational counter Pokémon."
"Most of the time, opponents won't fall for it—but if you know they're banking on priority moves, suddenly switching in Tsareena can outright delete their entire strategy and melt their mental state."
"She's perfect for fun teams that fear priority. Her single-target priority lock is also far easier to use than Psychic Terrain."
"Beyond Queenly Majesty's tactical value, Tsareena's offensive power is also excellent. Believe it or not—this Grass-type can even learn Triple Axel! That kind of hidden movepool can completely flip a match at critical moments."
[Teacher Azure… before you said it, that was obscure trivia. But now that you've spilled it, it's gonna spread worldwide in five seconds!]
[Yep! Now the whole planet knows. Your info security is leaking, Teacher!]
[I wanna get hit by Tsareena's Triple Axel… Flying Knee Kick works too!]
Viewers were long accustomed to Aiden suddenly pulling out some obscure Pokémon and dumping pages of meta analysis on them.
So far, Teacher Azure hadn't repeated a single strategy—and the Pokémon he used were wildly diverse, from mainstream picks to deep-cut rarities.
If he kept this pace and uploaded more frequently, he might actually cover every known Pokémon in the Pokédex within a year or two…
Of course, that was clearly impossible.
"By breeding with other Grass-types or using Mimic Herb, Tsareena can also learn the incredibly useful—"
Just as the minute hand struck 6, Aiden—who'd been enthusiastically detailing Tsareena's niche tricks—suddenly froze, then cheerfully waved.
"Clock's out! Off work!"
"See you all next week, students~"
[??? Not even one extra second?! Finish your sentence first, dang it!]
[Respect. Truly the most professional streamer alive.]
[We all know he has Photosynthesis… but Teacher Azure's reflexes are unreal.]
[If streams had review ratings, I'd give you one-star reviews till the servers crash!]
…
Because this week's Gravity Sleep team was purely for entertainment—and Double Battles were less mainstream—Aiden's stream and follow-up video didn't make huge waves.
And honestly, he was perfectly fine with that.
Ever since becoming a Gym Leader, he'd grown to deeply understand his overworked predecessor, Larry.
"Plain and simple is the true essence of life"—such a humble yet profound saying…
As long as nothing unexpected happened, peaceful, unhurried days were truly intoxicating.
So for the next few days, Aiden alternated between enjoying his quiet life and effortlessly crushing waves of overconfident prodigies who dared challenge the Sunshine Gym.
Time flew—and soon it was Friday, April 10.
That morning, the moment the Sunshine Gym doors opened, a distinguished guest arrived.
"Long time no see, Aiden."
When Aiden swung open the entrance and saw the smiling black-haired woman standing before him, his brain short-circuited as if someone had detonated a flash grenade inside his skull.
"President Geeta?!"
Once he recovered, his tone was bewildered—and his mind immediately raced:
Did I do something wrong? Why would President Geeta—who's so swamped with League duties she practically lives at the office—come all the way here?
He couldn't think of anything. Aside from competing in the Psychic Master Tournament, he'd barely left the Gym!
Wait…
Could it be…
The recent Gym trials were too difficult, and students filed a mass complaint?
"Don't worry—it has nothing to do with the students," Geeta said, instantly reading his panicked expression and chuckling. "Although the Sunshine Gym's 'dislike rate' has always been… uniquely outstanding, your unconventional evaluation style is noted and respected. The League won't interfere with your methods."
"In fact—aside from the complaints—your Gym is surprisingly popular among students. Hassel mentions it often."
"As a rookie Gym Leader, maintaining high engagement while earning student trust? You're already exceeding expectations."
"…"
Aiden knew she was complimenting him—but he couldn't shake the feeling he'd just been gracefully roasted.
"Aside from the complaints"?! What kind of backhanded praise was that?!
Of course, standing before Paldea's one and only "sun," Aiden kept all complaints strictly internal.
"I'm here for three reasons," Geeta continued, swiftly turning serious.
The moment Aiden heard that, he snapped to attention like a disciplined cadet.
"First—to officially congratulate you on your outstanding performance at the Psychic Master Tournament."
"When you first said you'd join an Attribute Master event, I assumed you just wanted exposure. I never expected you'd actually bring home the championship trophy on your first try…"
Her voice carried surprise—but more than that, genuine pride.
"As a reward for this achievement, I've granted the Sunshine Gym account the highest League clearance level—and transferred enough points to redeem a Master Ball."
"We hope you'll keep rising… and grow into the kind of Trainer who can carry Paldea's future on your shoulders."
Upon hearing this, Aiden's first thought was:
The League went ALL OUT this time!
LP (League Points) was Paldea's exclusive in-game currency—used like real money for daily transactions.
And a Master Ball?
Any Pokémon fan knew its legendary status.
Produced by Silph Co.—the world's premier Poké Ball manufacturer—this black-tech marvel boasted a theoretical 100% capture rate on any Pokémon. Advertisements even claimed it could catch Legendary Pokémon.
But its sheer confidence spoke volumes about its power.
Unfortunately, Master Balls required extremely rare materials—making mass production impossible. They were astronomically precious.
Rumor had it that redeeming one inside the League required not only top-tier clearance but also over a year's worth of LP earned by an Elite Four member.
Paldea probably had fewer than a dozen in stock…
For Geeta to gift one so generously stunned Aiden.
(Though… part of it might be because she feared Cynthia would poach him back to Sinnoh.)
Aiden had never considered that.
Sinnoh already had its full roster of 8 Gyms and 4 Elite Fours—whereas Paldea needed him now. Bailing would be… ungrateful.
Besides, he was practically an Elite Four already—and had formed "deep bonds" with Naranja Academy's students. He couldn't possibly abandon the Sunshine Gym, his cozy home full of memories.
There's only one sun in my sky—and her name is Geeta!
"Second," Geeta continued as Aiden's thoughts spiraled, "this relates to what Rika already discussed with you."
"During this summer's Victory Road trials, you'll serve as a temporary Elite Four member—the students' very first examiner."
She paused, then added with a complicated expression:
"…Just a gentle reminder: don't go too hard and wipe out all the rookies before they even reach the real Elite Fours. Let the others have some fun, too."
"We have high standards for this year's Champion, but if accessing Area Zero proves too difficult, we can delay it. With Larry stationed in Medali, the area should remain stable short-term."
"If you eliminate every student, it'll severely disrupt next semester's curriculum—and crush their motivation to attempt Victory Road next year."
"…Understood," Aiden nodded, his expression equally strained.
Where did this "sadistic examiner" stereotype even come from?!
He wasn't a demon! Of course he knew to go easy!
The problem wasn't that he refused to throw matches—he had been dropping obvious openings. Students just… never noticed!
Especially with the new "Elite Four Teacher Azure" trial: even talented students like Nemona still lacked the strength to truly challenge him for the title.
As for others?
Well… let's just say their growth potential was vast.
"I'm just warning you," Geeta chuckled. "The students already see you as a 'demon teacher,' you know?"
"In fact, Naranja Academy recently formed a student group called the 'Team Star'—dedicated to studying your Gym's strategies to help more classmates pass."
"Their campus atmosphere has actually improved because of it."
"In a way, you've reignited their passion for battling. Appointing you as Gym Leader was clearly the right call."
"…"
Aiden fell silent.
Truth be told… Team Star's formation was indirectly his fault.
After all, it was after battling him that Penny decided to return to school and found the group.
Who could've guessed that an organization born from bullying would, after his arrival, transform into… this?
"Finally—the most important matter," Geeta said, pausing for several seconds before continuing in a low voice.
"A few days ago, Galar's President Rose contacted me. He proposed a 'Gym Leader exchange program'—and plans to send their star Gym Leader, Raihan, to Paldea for friendly sparring matches."
"The excuse sounds perfectly reasonable… but his real target is almost certainly you."
"After all, you just won an international title. Sending Raihan to 'visit' right now is… suspiciously convenient."
"But clearly, President Rose didn't consider one possibility—"
Geeta's lips curled into a faintly icy smile.
"What if Galar's strongest Gym Leader, Raihan… loses to you?"
"Wouldn't that just give you another massive publicity boost?"
"So—do you have the confidence to beat him?"
Aiden paused to think.
Was Raihan strong?
In Galar—absolutely. He'd traded wins with Leon and held a solid global rank of #10.
But his core strategy revolved around Gigantamax Duraludon—a Pokémon that, against Aiden, might not be so threatening.
Besides… hadn't Archaludon not even been discovered yet at this point in time?
After a moment's reflection, Aiden gave a calm nod.
"Should be fine."
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