"..."
Su Yuan put his phone on the table with a helpless expression, then looked at the bookshelf. A neat row of various Poké Balls was displayed there, from the most common red-and-white Poké Balls, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls, to the unique Apricorn Balls, and...
"A Master Ball..."
This Master Ball, which boasts a 100% capture rate, was a gift from his parents for the Chinese New Year this year. If Su Yuan wanted to, he could have his first Pokémon right now. But he didn't want to use it. He couldn't.
A Master Ball isn't a brainwashing device. Even if he forcefully captures a Pokémon this way, it doesn't guarantee it will listen to his commands.
His gaze shifted again to a photo hanging on the wall. It was a picture his mother had taken of him with Torracat right after it evolved into Incineroar. Looking at himself from two years ago, barely reaching Incineroar's chest, Su Yuan couldn't help but smile.
But speaking of Incineroar, Su Yuan also felt a bit of a headache, not because of Incineroar, but because of himself. Due to their years of constant closeness, Su Yuan didn't know how it happened, but he had learned Incineroar's ability—Intimidate. Because of this, when he faced other Pokémon, he would unconsciously unleash this ability. In the games from his past life, this would just lower a Pokémon's Attack stat by one stage. But in this world, it doesn't just lower Attack. If the target is a weaker Pokémon, Su Yuan can even scare it into losing the will to fight and fleeing.
This is also why Su Yuan was never recognized by a Pokémon. How could a newborn Pokémon withstand the Intimidate that it learned from Incineroar?
And it wasn't just the Intimidate ability. Su Yuan had also learned Incineroar's other moves—Fake Out, Parting Shot, Knock Off, Darkest Lariat, and more. It made him wonder if he wasn't human after all, but a humanoid Pokémon? Could he have an Egg with a Gardevoir, who is also in the Human-Like egg group?
Ahem...
Such impractical thoughts were just for fun; at the very least, Su Yuan knew for sure he was human. He figured that the reason he could learn Pokémon moves and abilities was likely due to that "goddess." He knew the cause, but controlling "Intimidate" was far from simple. Su Yuan had tried many times, and it was only in the past few days that he could barely manage to suppress the "Intimidate" aura.
Thump, thump, thump...
The dull sound of wings flapping against his window pulled Su Yuan's thoughts back to reality. His food had arrived. The speed of a delivery carried by a trained Pokémon was much faster than in his past life.
While getting his food, he unconsciously used Intimidate on the delivery Pidgeot. Su Yuan then sat down at his desk and searched for some funny videos to watch while he ate. Although his terrible luck often led to him creating his own hilarious videos, no one would use their own videos as dinner entertainment, right?
"Hmm...?"
Clicking on his Bilibili feed, Su Yuan suddenly noticed a live stream notification from someone he had specially followed.
"Doing a Double Battle?"
With that, Su Yuan entered the live stream. He had encountered this streamer before in the Master Ball tier of Pokémon Battles. He wasn't streaming at the time; he just felt bored and wanted to play a few matches. After their match, Su Yuan thought the player was interesting and liked to use unique strategies. Later, he accidentally learned the person was a Bilibili streamer and followed him. They were acquaintances, so to speak.
Su Yuan took out his BBQ, put the meat in a wrap, and watched the live stream. They were still in the stage of choosing their lead Pokémon and the rest of their team. The rules were still the traditional 6-on-4. However, it was worth noting that this streamer was playing in the new Dynamax and Gigantamax mode, which was exclusive to the Galar region.
Since Dynamaxing could only be done at specific energy spots in Galar, the introduction of a game mode that allowed Pokémon to Dynamax was met with widespread praise from most players.
Su Yuan had used the streamer's team lineup a few times himself, but not on stream. The team was composed of Dragapult, Magnezone, Rapid Strike Urshifu, Togekiss, Amoonguss, and Incineroar.
In the Dynamax mode, this team is excellent in both its offensive capabilities and its ability to provide support and cover. It's a classic example of a lineup where the better the player's reading is, the higher the ceiling for the team.
The opponent's team was a popular Sun/Sandstorm team. They used Torkoal with the "Drought" ability and Tyranitar with the "Sand Stream" ability as their weather setters. Venusaur, Charizard, and Excadrill were the attackers, with Indeedee as support.
Even before the team selection was over, comments in the streamer's chat were full of criticism.
"Opponent has the classic Sun/Sandstorm system. How are you going to beat that?"
"Looking at the opponent's ID, they seem to be a pro at weather teams. I heard they've been trying to find a new team to climb the ranks."
"Listen to me, just forfeit this one."
Su Yuan's opinion of these comments was simple: no comment.
He picked up a napkin to wipe the grease from his hands and typed on his keyboard.
Luyou: "This team can win. And it'll be easy."
The Sun/Sandstorm team system was popular in Dynamax mode for a reason—its strength was undeniable. But precisely because it was so popular, most players at the Master Ball rank were familiar with its strategy. There were many ways to counter the Sun/Sandstorm team.
Su Yuan's simple message caused a huge stir in the chat.
"Holy cow?! Is that Luyou-sensei himself???"
"Master Ball, go!"
The chat was spammed. Some people were surprised by the sudden appearance of Luyou-sensei, while others fell into deep thought because of what he had said.
Can it win?
And it'll be easy?
Don't mess with me just because I'm a casual player!
A minute and a half passed. The teams were selected, and the streamer's starting Pokémon were Incineroar and Togekiss.
Looking at his lineup, Su Yuan's lips curled into a smile. This streamer was about to make a big play!
The battle began. The opponent's starting lineup was exactly what Su Yuan expected—a Sun team centered around Torkoal's "Drought" ability. But the attacker wasn't Venusaur; it was Charizard, a Pokémon with even stronger attacks under a sunny condition! Its ability was almost certainly "Solar Power"!
"He really doesn't want Excadrill to get hit by Incineroar's Intimidate, huh?" Su Yuan said to himself, taking a bite of his crispy wrap.
The Intimidate ability immediately lowers the opponent's Pokémon's Attack stat by one stage upon entering the battle, making it an extremely troublesome ability for physical attackers. Special attackers, however, don't have to worry about it. The opponent likely chose Charizard as their starter because they were afraid that under the sunny conditions, Venusaur would be instantly taken out by Incineroar's Flare Blitz. After all, the intense sun greatly increases the power of Fire-type moves. No matter how much bulk Venusaur has, it would never be able to survive a sunny Flare Blitz!
Charizard and Torkoal were pretty much the opponent's best choice.
"He could also be betting that Incineroar won't be sent out," Su Yuan said casually.