The battle began.
Both sides sent out their lead Pokémon: Kilowattrel and Mimikyu.
"Oh? Mimikyu—the Alola Pokémon, right?"
As the Levincia Gym Leader, Iono was extremely familiar with Pokémon.
"This one has a very strong Ability. It can completely block one hit of damage from us, so we won't rush into a direct trade. Kilowattrel—Tailwind!"
From beneath the wide sleeves of her punk-styled hoodie, she made a light flicking gesture, then gave the camera a sweet wink.
"Iono's little tip~ Kilowattrel's Ability, Wind Power, lets it enter a Charged state after using Tailwind, okay~?"
That adorable wink hit her viewers like a truck.
Even a few trolls who had run over from Aarav's stream started spamming "I'm dead" in the chat, following the hype.
And just as Kilowattrel finished using Tailwind, Trick Room went up on Aarav's side right after.
"Huh? Trick Room?"
Iono frowned in surprise. "That's a rare move… and it kind of counters our Tailwind playstyle."
Because Pokémon: Champion's Path used real-time commands, Iono didn't have the luxury of thinking for long.
"Whatever—let's play normally!"
She kept commanding. "Kilowattrel—Air Slash!"
"We have to respect Mimikyu's Disguise, so we'll use Air Slash first to break it."
With Trick Room active, the speed order flipped.
Before Kilowattrel could sweep in with its glowing, white-lit wings, a pitch-black sphere of energy shot out first.
"Shadow Ball?"
Iono snorted. "He's finally using something normal."
The Shadow Ball struck, shaving off a small chunk of Kilowattrel's HP.
Iono didn't care. With damage like that, Kilowattrel could still hang in comfortably.
Air Slash landed cleanly, breaking Mimikyu's Disguise.
And then came Iono's real offense.
"Kilowattrel—Thunderbolt!"
Lightning erupted across the battlefield, crackling with dazzling intensity.
Kilowattrel's speed had been heavily cut by Trick Room's inversion, but in its Charged state, it was clearly brewing a vicious electric strike.
"Aarav—take this Thunderbolt!"
With Iono's sharp cry, the electricity flared to its peak and detonated in a blinding flash.
"Hehe. My Kilowattrel is fully trained for Special Attack. A tiny Mimikyu can't possibly take this!"
Her smug smile disappeared the moment the light faded.
Because standing in the center of the screen wasn't Mimikyu anymore.
It was a brown, big-headed ant-like Pokémon—solid as a rock.
"W-What is that… Trapinch?"
Iono's mouth fell open in shock.
"He actually sent out a first-stage Pokémon?!"
She had noticed Trapinch in the selection screen, but she'd assumed it was filler.
Because who in their right mind treated Trapinch as a main battler?
So she never even considered that Ground-type Trapinch would be immune to a Thunderbolt boosted by Charge.
At that moment, the chat in Iono's stream exploded.
"I'M CRYING. I KNEW SHUI WOULD NEVER LET ME DOWN."
"Really love Iono's line: 'What can Trapinch even do?'"
"Go, antenna-less big ant!"
Iono forced herself to stay calm.
"It's fine. Even if it blocked Thunderbolt, it's still Trapinch. A Pokémon that can't even compare to a Charmander isn't going to threaten my Kilowattrel."
What she didn't realize—because her mind was already starting to tilt—was just how terrifying Trapinch could become under Trick Room.
Meanwhile, in a dorm room at Shanghai University…
"Stone Edge!"
With the setup complete, Aarav went straight on the offensive.
A massive jagged boulder burst up from the ground, stabbing viciously toward Kilowattrel in midair.
Like he'd said before, Pokémon: Champion's Path wasn't a simple turn-based system.
It was built to mimic real Pokémon battles—positioning, timing, even those infamous "Dodge it!" miracles—players had room to flex.
And because of that, with both Trick Room and Tailwind affecting the field, the speed reversal between the two Pokémon became absurdly extreme.
To the viewers, it looked like a brown, big-headed "ant" was sprinting across the battlefield like a blur—slipping past Air Slashes with shocking agility.
Meanwhile the supposedly nimble Kilowattrel hung in the air like a target dummy, getting brutally skewered again and again by Stone Edge.
And with every new spike of rock that erupted, Iono's face grew redder.
It wasn't that she didn't want to switch out Kilowattrel.
But whether it was her backline Mismagius or Luxray, both were fast Pokémon—and both would be crippled under this deadly Trick Room.
Right now, all Iono could do was drag out Aarav's Trick Room… and wait for her own Tailwind to expire.
"He's definitely going to reset Trick Room once it ends. The moment he switches Trapinch out—that's my chance!"
Iono ground her sharp little shark teeth. "Once I deal with that Mimikyu, I'm going to make him suffer!"
Trash talk didn't change the battlefield.
Kilowattrel wasn't bulky to begin with, and it kept getting slammed by super-effective Stone Edges.
No matter how well Iono had trained it, Kilowattrel couldn't outlast Trick Room's duration.
With a frustrated cry, it crashed to the ground.
Left with no choice, Iono sent out her second Pokémon—Luxray.
"Don't panic, don't panic… we still have a chance. Luxray has Intimidate, so it'll lower Trapinch's Attack by one stage—"
Before she could finish, Trapinch slammed the ground.
"Earthquake!"
Iono's vision went dark.
"He just Earthquaked immediately? What if I switched into Mismagius?!"
Mismagius had Levitate, which would make it completely immune to Ground-type moves.
But whether Aarav was predicting… or simply daring her to call his bluff—
that early Earthquake hit Luxray the instant it stepped onto the field.
The bad news: Trapinch had Hyper Cutter, meaning Intimidate couldn't lower its Attack at all.
The worse news: that STAB Earthquake nearly took Luxray out on the spot.
The good news—finally—was that Trick Room ended right after.
"Counterattack starts now!"
Iono seized the opening instantly. "Luxray, get in there—Ice Fang!"
Without Trick Room, Trapinch was basically a sitting duck.
One Ice Fang should be enough to delete a frail Trapinch cleanly.
But then—flash!
Trapinch vanished from the screen.
In its place stood a slender figure, blue and pink—Hatterene.
"He switched into another Pokémon that can use Trick Room?"
The sudden swap didn't shock Iono. She'd already figured out the core of Aarav's strategy—
using Trick Room to create an attack window for slow Pokémon.
"Then I'll just KO you before you can set Trick Room again, and your whole plan collapses!"
Iono smirked. "Luxray—Volt Switch!"
Electricity surged as Luxray lunged straight toward Hatterene.
Ice Fang had already chipped Hatterene a little. If Volt Switch landed, then the Pokémon she brought in—Mismagius—could finish it with a super-effective Shadow Ball.
Iono was confident she could knock Hatterene out before it ever got Trick Room up.
But then the switch-light flashed again.
That brown, big-headed "ant" reappeared.
And in the streamer room labeled [Iono Live], there was only one sound left—
a shriek sharp enough to rival an Exploud's Hyper Voice.
"I'M DONE PLAYING!!!"
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/lucarioTL