In his previous life, Qingyu was a streamer in the Pokémon battle category, so he was quite familiar with most common strategies.
Looking back at the history of Pokémon battles, there are actually very few strategies that can form a complete system relying on just a single move.
However, among those influential and powerful strategies, there happened to be one move—simple and brutal—that left an especially deep impression on Qingyu.
That move was Endeavor, which Aron had just used moments ago.
If used properly, even a Level 1 Pokémon could potentially sweep an entire opposing team.
[What just happened? Did I see that right? A Level 1 Aron one-shot a Charizard?!]
[I wouldn't dare say a word.jpg]
The chat quickly snapped out of its shock and began reviewing Qingyu's play.
[I looked up the move Endeavor—its effect is to reduce the opponent's HP to match the user's current HP. That's why Charizard got instantly deleted…]
[Sturdy + Endeavor, huh? No wonder he used a Level 1 Pokémon. That's actually pretty clever!]
[It's not that simple though. That Hippowdon that came out to set up the sandstorm was crucial too. Without sandstorm damage, Charizard wouldn't have gone down.]
[I get all that, but I'm more curious—how did Aron heal back to full HP?]
"It's Shell Bell. I gave Aron a Shell Bell."
Qingyu nodded and revealed the answer himself.
Even if the viewers couldn't fully keep up with his thinking, they weren't stupid. With a bit of thought, they could basically piece together the whole strategy.
A weak Level 1 Pokémon survives with Sturdy, uses Endeavor to deal near 'destiny bond'-level damage, then relies on sandstorm chip damage to finish the opponent—instantly deleting them.
The principle itself wasn't complicated.
But to meet all three conditions at once—being able to learn Endeavor, having the Sturdy ability, and not taking damage from sandstorm—
Across the entire Pokédex, only Aron and Donphan fit the bill.
That was exactly why Qingyu decided on this strategy the moment he saw the team preview.
Of course, if this tactic only worked to take down a single Charizard, it wouldn't have shocked the audience this much.
The true essence of the Endeavor strategy lies in its repeatability.
"The effect of Shell Bell is that it restores a small amount of HP every time you deal damage, and the amount healed depends on how much damage you deal."
Qingyu continued explaining.
Seeing that his opponent seemed mentally stunned by the play and hadn't sent out the next Pokémon yet, Qingyu casually stretched.
"For a Level 1 Aron, that amount of healing is more than enough to fully recover."
"And the moment it's back at full HP, Sturdy activates again—letting it tank another hit and smoothly chain the combo."
As if to validate Qingyu's explanation, the fully healed Aron on screen raised its head high, eyes filled with fighting spirit.
[666, this strategy is actually insane. How did you even come up with this?]
[After watching this, I can only write a haiku:Sturdy, Shell Bell shines—Level 1 Aron ascends,Endeavor clears all]
[A true Level 1 god. I'm queueing ranked right now to massacre people!]
The chat density skyrocketed in the livestream that had only just started.
Judging from the viewer count, over a hundred people had already witnessed Qingyu's completely unscientific strategy.
In theory, as long as Aron kept repeating Endeavor, it could wipe entire teams with ease.
Of course—that was only in theory.
There is no such thing as a perfect strategy in Pokémon battles, and it didn't take long for someone to notice the limitations of the Endeavor tactic.
[Streamer, streamer! Your strategy is really strong, but what if the opponent sends out Aerodactyl? Wouldn't you just explode?]
At the same time this message appeared, the opponent had clearly thought of the same thing.
After a long pause, Aerodactyl was sent out.
Although it wasn't a noble Dragon-type, as a Rock/Flying-type Pokémon, sandstorm had no effect on it—in fact, it even boosted its special defense.
However—
"Aron, Endeavor!"
The moment Aerodactyl hit the field, before it could even react, a steel-plated little monster charged straight at it.
Even though Aron was still at full HP, Endeavor from a Level 1 Pokémon was still brutally effective—almost instantly, Aerodactyl's HP bar performed a vanishing act.
Seizing the moment while Aerodactyl was stunned, Qingyu immediately issued his next command.
Aron, spinning backward through the air from inertia, was recalled, and Gardevoir—his beloved partner Pokémon—made a dazzling entrance, finishing the job elegantly with Psychic before Aerodactyl could retaliate.
Watching the score shift to 2:1, Qingyu couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
"Maybe sandstorm can't finish off every Pokémon—but Aron has teammates, doesn't it?"
Using sandstorm to secure KOs was just a bit of clever trickery anyway. As long as the opponent was brought to critical HP, there were countless ways to deal with them.
Compared to Rock-, Ground-, and Steel-types that ignore sandstorm damage, the Endeavor strategy actually feared Ghost-type Pokémon more—since Endeavor doesn't work on them.
But clearly, this opponent didn't have to worry about that.
Despite the massive power gap between both sides' Pokémon, after watching Aron weave through the battlefield like a dragon, the opponent cracked first and decisively surrendered.
A massive Victory icon filled half the screen.
The chat, which had been full of doubt before the match began, fell completely silent—only snapping back to reality after a long pause.
[Insane… I actually believe you're a Gym Leader now. If a newbie could come up with a Level 1 strategy this ridiculous, I'd eat my words.]
[This is even crazier than cheating. Aron is way too strong!]
[Give the streamer 3 minutes—I want a full tutorial on this strategy!]
Qingyu simply smiled without replying, returned to the main menu, and immediately began climbing the ladder again.
He knew very well that while the Endeavor strategy was flashy, it was far from unbeatable.
Multi-hit moves or Ghost-type Pokémon could counter it with ease.
But the problem was—
This was the real Pokémon world, not a game. Access to Pokémon knowledge wasn't nearly as convenient, and without a Pokédex, many Trainers didn't even know what moves Pokémon could learn.
Let alone the clueless beginners swimming in the low tiers.
So Qingyu directly unleashed Aron in the newbie bracket, tearing through opponents like a dragon in shallow waters, quickly racking up a ten-win streak and smoothly advancing into the middle of the Poké Ball tier.
In less than an hour, he was sprinting full speed toward the Great Ball tier.
"Simple and easy~"
After securing yet another effortless victory, Qingyu leaned back in his chair and stretched comfortably—only then noticing that the viewer count in the top-right corner had quietly climbed into four digits.
The gifts hadn't been few either.
Even though everyone was poor, they didn't hesitate to show support—and when added together, it became quite a respectable income.
Looks like his first stream had been a success.
"Alright brothers, that's about it for today. Let's keep climbing tomorrow!"
"If you haven't followed yet, hit that follow button. Likes and follows don't hurt—and tomorrow I'll be ranking up with different Pokémon and brand-new strategies. The goal this season is to reach Master Ball tier!"
Qingyu's stream hadn't actually lasted very long, but running the same strategy for nearly an hour would probably bore viewers eventually.
So after drawing a small pie in the sky for his audience, he prepared to end the stream.
He had more strategies in his head than he could ever use—at this rate, it wouldn't take long to build a name for himself.
Just then, the long-silent user "Hardworking Joey" suddenly sent a message, which Qingyu happened to catch right before going offline.
[Streamer, streamer—was tonight's strategy your original creation? I couldn't find anything like it even on Poké TV!]
[If possible, could you make it into a tutorial video and upload it online? I think a lot of people would really like this style of strategy!]
patreon.com/Hoshino_Sora
for Advance Chapter