Chapter 62: The Influence of the Tactics of Scattering Diamonds
The dinner time was calm and quiet.
Eevee buried its head in the food bowl, chewing away with a soft rustling sound. Suddenly, it perked up its ears, glanced sideways at Lu Ye, grabbed the bowl, and trotted into the next room to eat.
Lu Ye chuckled, shook his head, and returned to his computer to edit a video about the Spikes Team tactics.
Perhaps due to her busy schedule, Cynthia hadn't been online for a while, which made Lu Ye feel a bit disappointed.
He still needed more footage. It was easy to ask Gold to record some clips, but he couldn't always rely on milking the same source.
There were still plenty of people online in the group.
For example, the Grass-type Gym Leader of Sinnoh, Sai So from Eterna City.
Sai So, with a learning mindset, had consulted Lu Ye on several Spikes Team strategies and sincerely said:
"Teacher Lu, your tactical understanding is as impressive as ever."
Lu Ye nodded. "It's alright."
"Teacher Lu, are you going to participate in the Type Specialist Tournament in the second half of the year?"
Sai So hesitated.
She never knew which type Teacher Lu was truly good at.
Grass, Poison, Ghost, Steel... Teacher Lu was proficient in all of them, which made Sai So feel increasingly hopeless.
A master who could excel in so many types wouldn't restrict himself to a Type Specialist Tournament, right?
"Nope," Lu Ye replied honestly.
As if! With Lu Ye's skills, joining the Type Specialist Tournament?
Winning the Viewer Challenge was the real priority!
"I thought so," Sai So sighed with admiration.
With Teacher Lu's strength, there was no need to consider participating in such a tournament.
...
After recording the footage, Lu Ye began editing this new strategy video.
"Teacher Lu Teaches You Battle 06: The Spikes Team"
As always, it was filled with Lu Ye's witty banter and sneaky strategies. The video shot to the top of the category rankings almost immediately after being uploaded.
"Here early to grab a seat!"
"Is there seriously someone who bought a house on Bilibili?"
"Live from the scene, the opponent's almost crying from all the sneakiness!"
The challenge of the Spikes strategy lay in managing the battlefield and timing Whirlwind or Roar.
In real battles, planning where to set up Spikes was crucial.
If your own Pokémon stepped on the Spikes by accident, they'd take the same damage. That's why Flying-type Pokémon made the best Spikes setters; restricting your opponent's mobility was the key to this strategy.
"Wow, this strategy is way too hard!"
"Dirty or not, this is definitely advanced-level tactics!"
"He's really willing to share this stuff?"
Though Spikes was a basic tactic in Master League, it was hard for average players to utilize. Teacher Lu's video gave them a chance to understand the essence of the Spikes strategy.
Their tactical knowledge expanded once again.
"So this is what the world of the strong looks like?"
"I give up! Is Teacher Lu secretly a member of the Elite Four?!"
"This is what true generosity looks like!"
"Getting emotional here!"
Many of Teacher Lu's viewers started focusing on battle strategies and team composition after following him.
Before this, many rookie Trainers thought a Pokémon's strength determined victory. But in reality, level wasn't the only factor.
The ability to turn the tide through commands and tactics was part of what made Pokémon battles so captivating!
Unlike his usual sneaky strategies, Teacher Lu's Spikes Team video was the closest yet to a Master League-level strategy.
Substitute-Protect-Toxic could be countered with brute-force moves, Minimize Teams were crushed by Earthquake, and even Perish Song was rarely used by Lorelei...
But Spikes was a widely used strategy in the Master League, with entire tactics built around it.
In short, Teacher Lu's video once again raised the bar for quality guides in the gaming category. Calling it a milestone in Pokémon: Battle content wasn't an exaggeration!
"Teacher Lu, the god of sneaky tactics!"
"Don't stop me, I need to shower Teacher Lu with gifts!"
"Wait, the real streamer isn't Eevee?"
...
Johto Region, Violet City.
Prosecutor Eusine took a break to watch the Spikes Team video that Whitney mentioned. Sitting in his office, Eusine clasped his hands in front of his nose and fell into deep thought.
"An expert in Spikes tactics... from the Donghuang Region..."
"He's already made 3 other instructional videos, each good enough for Master League battles."
"Truly impressive!"
Eusine had heard of the legendary Confucius of Donghuang.
Education without discrimination—whether good or evil, even Pokémon could receive his teaching.
Teacher Lu embodied this spirit.
Even remnants of Team Rocket had recently started organizing Substitute-Protect-Toxic and Minimize Teams.
What changes would this Spikes strategy bring?
"This is giving me a headache," Eusine muttered, wiping cold sweat.
"So this is the quirky nature of a Master?"
As an International Police officer, Eusine considered contacting Modu City for an investigation on Teacher Lu. But his hand froze over the phone.
"I can't risk disturbing Teacher Lu."
Wiping his sweat again, he murmured, "If he really is allied with Team Rocket, that'd be a disaster..."
...
"Huh? The response to this Spikes Team video is even better than the previous ones?"
Lu Ye stared at the backend data, baffled.
Before uploading the new video, Teacher Lu had 1.2 million followers. But now, within just one day, he had gained another 200,000 followers, bringing the count to 1.4 million.
The video "Teacher Lu Teaches You Battle 06: The Spikes Team" had shot to the top 3 on the daily charts, with its popularity still climbing.
From the comments, it seemed the reason was that Spikes tactics were common in the Master League, and Teacher Lu's breakdown was incredibly thorough.
Most of his fans were amateur enthusiasts and regular Trainers. Getting a glimpse of Master-level tactics, paired with Teacher Lu's constant witty commentary, naturally earned the video high praise.
"Seriously? Oh... that's why..."
Lu Ye nodded thoughtfully.
Spikes tactics happened to be popular in this world.
Although he didn't invent them, his video balanced entertainment and expertise, earning universal acclaim.
As Teacher Lu's fourth strategy tutorial, his image as the Master of Sneaky Tactics was already deeply ingrained!
His BP points suddenly surged past 5000.
Lu Ye didn't hesitate, using 5000 BP to exchange for a long-desired item.
[Dusk Stone (Small): A mysterious stone that evolves certain Pokémon. As dark as the night. (Enhances Ghost-type energy to some extent.)]
The cold, dark purple stone shimmered with a captivating, eerie beauty.
For Ghost-types like Misdreavus or Lampent, the Dusk Stone could trigger evolution. It also served as a potent supplement for Ghost-type energy.
This small Dusk Stone, worth at least 100,000 on the market, was practically priceless. But since it came from the system, Lu Ye happily tossed it to Haunter.
"Here, your midnight snack," Lu Ye grinned.
"Good luck in tomorrow's viewer challenge. Eevee's Soothe Bell is counting on you!"
Haunter extended its crimson tongue, nimbly catching the Dusk Stone and giving Lu Ye a playful glance.
"Gengarrr! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧"