With a few days of buffer time before the main Sprout Cup competition began, Silas returned to his dorm and his new part-time job: streaming on PokéTV. He was much more comfortable with the Pokémon: Masters EX interface now.
In his past life, providing custom-built Pokémon had given him a deep understanding of team building—the intricate dance of Natures, IVs, EVs, abilities, and items that most casual players never bothered to learn. Now, it was time to put that knowledge to the test.
He changed his stream title. No more "Dragon Dance Gible" gimmick. He would honestly climb the ranked ladder and let his team-building skill speak for itself. As his rank increased, the viewers would naturally follow.
[Stream Title: Playing the 'Snow Team' Today!]
He began his stream with a lecture. "In the Pokémon metagame, there are four major 'weather teams.' The 'Snow Team' is one of the rarer ones. The top two, of course, are the 'Sunny Day Team' and the 'Rainy Day Team.'"
He explained how those two archetypes were evergreen, with powerful setters like Groudon and Kyogre, and a massive roster of "Sunny Day Brothers" and "Rainy Day Brothers" like Torkoal, Venusaur, Pelipper, and Kingdra. The Sandstorm Team was a solid third, with setters like Tyranitar and Hippowdon and its eternal core attacker, Excadrill.
"But the Snow Team," he continued, "has always been a bit of an underdog." Its first weather setter, Abomasnow, arrived late and wasn't quite top-tier. For generations, it lacked a powerful, popular core like the other weathers.
"Things finally took a turn in the seventh generation, in the Alola region," Silas said, his voice full of passion. "The true soul of the Snow Team was finally revealed: Alolan Ninetales. But it still needed a partner, a core damage dealer to make the strategy whole."
He dragged a Pokémon that looked like a draconic Godzilla onto his virtual lineup.
"And this," he declared dramatically, "is the final piece of the puzzle. The pseudo-legendary discovered in the snowy mountains of Paldea: Baxcalibur!"
"With the perfect support from Alolan Ninetales, the mighty Baxcalibur has everything it needs to restore the glory of the Snow Team. But," he grinned, "talk is cheap."
He clicked the button to start a ranked battle. "Only results are real. Pokémon: Masters EX—let's go!"
Silas's enhanced Snow Team, built around Alolan Ninetales and Baxcalibur, immediately began winning and climbing the ranks. The core strategy was simple: have Ninetales set up both the snow weather and the defensive screen Aurora Veil, then let Baxcalibur sweep.
Soon, his rising score matched him with an international player from the Johto region, with the ID "TheBillardBoyLikeTheWind." So, I guess everyone in this world just speaks the same language, Silas mused, noting the English ID.
The opponent's team was a mix of Johto mainstays like Infernape and Politoed, all with "Taro" added to their nicknames. Before the battle, during team preview, Silas analyzed the matchup. "My Ninetales is fast, but it will lose the weather war if he leads with that Politoed. So, I won't lead with my snow core."
The chat, now steadily growing, approved.
[Good analysis, but I already knew that.]
[Let's get to the battle! I'm hungry!]
On the other side of the world, a carefree trainer in a baseball cap and goggles saw Silas's Ice-heavy team preview. "Whoa, look at all those weaknesses!" he grinned. "My Fiery Taro is gonna cook all of you! It's fun to spit fire! It's fun to always spit fire!"
"Go, Incineroar, Rillaboom!" Silas began the Doubles Battle with the classic "Tiger-Ape Duo."
His opponent, who Silas guessed was the famous Johto trainer Ethan, led with Infernape and Ambipom.
"Bang!" Ambipom immediately slapped Incineroar with a Fake Out, making it flinch. Not to be outdone, Rillaboom promptly used its own Fake Out on Ethan's Infernape.
The first turn was a flurry of slaps. The Grassy Terrain from Rillaboom's ability healed the minor damage.
"They saw my lineup is weak to Fire, so they're expecting a Sunny Day mode from me," Silas deduced. "Time for a pivot. Rillaboom, U-turn! Incineroar, Parting Shot!"
It was a complex psychological game. Rillaboom was knocked out by a combined assault before it could use U-turn, but Incineroar successfully landed its Parting Shot on Infernape, lowering its stats before switching out.
Then, the real protagonists appeared. Silas sent out Alolan Ninetales and Baxcalibur.
"Two fragile Ice-types?" Ethan grinned. "My Fiery Taro will finish this!" He ordered a Heat Wave from Infernape and a Double Slap from Ambipom.
But Alolan Ninetales moved first, its incredible speed allowing it to set up an Aurora Veil. The shimmering curtain of light drastically reduced the damage from the incoming Heat Wave. Baxcalibur, being part Dragon-type, resisted the Fire move even further.
More importantly, being hit by the Fire-type move triggered Baxcalibur's unique ability: Thermal Exchange.
"[Thermal Exchange: When hit by a Fire-type move, the Pokémon's Attack stat is raised by one stage. It cannot be burned.]"
"Sizzle!" The ice on Baxcalibur's back seemed to steam, but the massive blade on its spine grew even sharper.
"Now, Baxcalibur," Silas commanded, "use Scale Shot!"
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!" Baxcalibur unleashed a torrent of sharp scales. Thanks to its held item, Loaded Dice, the multi-hit move was guaranteed to hit at least four times. The now Attack-boosted barrage instantly knocked out the frail Infernape.
From there, it was a massacre. Alolan Ninetales controlled the field with Icy Wind, while the empowered Baxcalibur, protected by the Aurora Veil and the snow, ruthlessly harvested the rest of Ethan's team with Icicle Spear, another move guaranteed 4-5 hits by the Loaded Dice.
"YOU---LOSE---"
Staring at the dim words on his screen, Ethan was stunned. Holy crap, that Baxcalibur is cheating, he thought. Why couldn't I damage it? And why did its moves always hit so many times? Bro, your lineup is just broken!
Back in New Bark Town, Johto, the "BillardBoyLikeTheWind," Ethan, stared at his screen, still confused by the swiftness of his defeat. He immediately downloaded the battle video and called over his sharp-witted friend, Silver, to analyze it with him.
"The [Thermal Exchange] ability is unique to the Paldea region's pseudo-legendary, Baxcalibur. After being hit by a Fire-type move, its Attack is boosted," Silver explained, his expression grim. "And the held item, [Loaded Dice], changes multi-hit moves like Scale Shot or Icicle Spear from a random 2-5 hits to a stable 4-5 hits, greatly increasing their power."
While Ethan was a naturally gifted trainer, he was also free-spirited and reckless, often acting on impulse. He had an incredibly high ceiling but a jaw-droppingly low floor, lacking the stable consistency of a true Battle Legend. It was just like him to make a low-level mistake like not knowing the effects of new items and abilities.
"So that's how it is," Ethan said, rubbing his nose. "I get it now."
"Furthermore," Silver continued, "in the snow, Ice-type Pokémon gain a physical defense boost. And Alolan Ninetales's Aurora Veil cuts incoming damage for the whole team. I have to say, the construction of this team is perfect. Even someone like Red or Blue might not be able to optimize it further."
"Is it really that crazy?" Ethan blinked. "It's just a Snow Team. I can do that!"
Silver glanced at him and offered a cold, silent smile. The silence was deafening.
"I wonder who first created this team?" Silver mused. "If it was this trainer, his tactical level must be extraordinary."
Meanwhile, the chat in Silas's stream was exploding.
[Holy crap, that Baxcalibur is so strong! I always thought it was ugly compared to the other pseudo-legendaries!]
[Now it seems... it has a kind of 'beauty of intensity.']
Silas smiled. "There's no need to use a gimmick like 'Dragon Dance Gible' to get attention," he explained to his viewers. "I'm simply standing on the shoulders of giants."
He was using team builds that had been perfected by countless competitive players in his old world. As a former "illegal magician" who custom-built Pokémon for battle enthusiasts, he knew hundreds of popular strategies. He wasn't a master of any single one, but he was a jack-of-all-trades.
"Baxcalibur is just the best attacker for this Snow Team system," he continued. "The true soul of the team is Alolan Ninetales. As the saying goes in gaming: supports are permanent, but the carries change."
The lively discussion further boosted the popularity of his stream. As evening approached, Silas said goodbye to his viewers and ended the broadcast. Just as he did, a notification popped up. It was another friend request, this time from "TheBillardBoyLikeTheWind."
He calmly accepted. A message arrived instantly.
[TheBillardBoyLikeTheWind]: That was a fluke! Let's play two more games! I refuse to accept that loss!]
So, he's one of those 'I don't accept it, let's go again' types, Silas thought with a smirk. He calmly replied: "The anchor doesn't do charity work. Coaching games are 500 Poké Dollars per round. Girls are free."
In New Bark Town, Ethan's teeth started grinding. "This guy! I've never seen someone so shameless!"
Silver looked at the message, then back at Ethan. "This," he commented succinctly, "is the second time I have."
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