"By the way, New Leaf Meow, where do you want to sleep tonight?"
Holding a turtle-shell-shaped pet bed modeled after Blastoise's shell, Aarav looked around the room and asked casually.
New Leaf Meow had already chosen its spot. With a light leap, it jumped onto the wardrobe more than two meters high and chirped excitedly:
"Meow!"
I want to live here!
Watching New Leaf Meow stand proudly atop the wardrobe like a young lion surveying its territory, Aarav smiled helplessly.
"Alright, then put it up there yourself."
Two vines extended downward from above, and in the next instant, the Blastoise-shell bed appeared on top of the wardrobe.
New Leaf Meow manipulated the vines for a while, carefully adjusting the position. Only after everything was perfectly arranged did it nod in satisfaction.
"Meow!"
Mission accomplished!
The human and Pokémon spent the rest of the afternoon rearranging the room.
By the time they finished organizing everything they had bought earlier, night had already fallen outside.
After preparing a high-level Grass-type nutrition meal that he had learned from Erika's teachings, Aarav checked the time. There were only ten minutes left before his scheduled livestream at seven.
Going out to eat was clearly impossible.
So he calmly ordered a special kind of "adopted-son delivery service"—
Since his "godfather status" was still valid, he sent Chen Zhenze to the cafeteria to bring him dinner.
Then Aarav turned on his computer and began today's livestream.
"Hello, hello? Moshi moshi? Aloha? Can you guys hear me?"
As always, his multilingual opening instantly activated the chat.
"Water-sama is on time today, love it!"
"Still no face cam? Did Water get beaten up offline after yesterday's stream and can't show his face now?"
"Came from Qishu's fanbase—who's the guy who kicked Qishu like a stray dog twice? 😡😡😡"
"Stop it, Water! The ladder is full of Trick Room teams now, all because of you!"
"…"
The advantage of streaming at a fixed time was clear—barely moments after going live, a large number of loyal viewers were already chatting with him.
While opening the login screen of Pokémon: Path to the Champion, Aarav selectively replied to the comments.
"Why no face cam? Uh… mainly because I don't want to put too much pressure on the looks category."
"Can't beat Trick Room teams? That means you didn't pay attention in class yesterday. Prankster Grimmsnarl, Taunt. Next question."
"Streamer, streamer! Qishu didn't go live today—was it because of you? Hey, friend, don't talk nonsense, or I'll punch you so hard your hook will fly off."
But just as Aarav finished speaking, sharp-eyed viewers noticed something strange.
The account he logged into today was named—
Qishu Qishu.
The chat exploded instantly.
"???"
"Water, say one more time that Qishu not streaming today has nothing to do with you."
"Bro~ your face is about to get blasted with firecrackers!"
"Give Qishu back! Give Qishu back! Give Qishu back!"
Facing the furious barrage of comments, Aarav remained calm.
"Since you all saw it anyway, I'll explain. Today I'm helping a certain sponsor climb the ladder with a custom team. The designated Pokémon is Pachirisu."
Without further explanation, the audience immediately understood.
That "sponsor" was obviously Qishu.
And Qishu's intention was equally obvious—she wanted Aarav to embarrass himself on stream.
The chat instantly shifted tone, replacing "???" with waves of laughter.
Aarav watched the crowd's reactions with a faint smile.
You people… are still too naive.
The teammates Aarav chose for Pachirisu were straightforward, without unnecessary gimmicks.
Amoonguss. Garchomp. Sylveon. Incineroar. Rillaboom.
Each of them, taken individually, had once dominated the competitive scene in his previous world.
This was the first time Aarav had built such an outrageously powerful team.
It wasn't just because Qishu's account rank was high.
It was mainly because—
Winning one match meant one Master Ball.
Who could resist that temptation?
However, in this world, these Pokémon weren't nearly as popular in the game as Charizard and other mainstream choices.
So this unfamiliar lineup naturally sparked heated discussion in the chat.
After finishing movesets and stat distribution, Aarav clicked the ranked doubles button.
In this world, doubles battles were treated with about the same level of importance as certain people's obscure fetishes—
Extremely niche.
But Pokémon: Path to the Champion had improved that somewhat.
From a tactical perspective, doubles battles were undeniably more complex and richer than singles.
So it didn't take long before Aarav entered his first match of the day.
Qishu Qishu vs. an unknown trainer from Lumiose City!
Aarav had no impression of the opponent's name, and the chat offered no useful clues either.
"Probably just a strong ladder player. Let's take today's opening win."
After delivering his customary pre-battle declaration, Aarav glanced at the opponent's team and raised an eyebrow.
Hatterene. Grimmsnarl. Mimikyu. Conkeldurr. Rhyperior?
"This lineup looks strangely familiar…"
His deliberate hesitation triggered another round of discussion in the chat.
"Of course it looks familiar—it's literally Water's lineup from yesterday!"
"Hahahaha, I told you the ladder is full of Trick Room teams today."
"Imagine Mimikyu running into Pikachu."
"They replaced Trapinch with Rhyperior? Selling the soul Pokémon for raw stats—shameless!"
"Perfect! Water is about to be devoured by his own cursed strategy!"
Aarav chuckled quietly.
Devoured by Trick Room?
Did they even ask for the opinion of the universe's cutest shell-breaker and the Gorilla of the Tapus?
After quickly locking in Amoonguss, Incineroar, Rillaboom, and Pachirisu, he leaned back in his chair with confidence.
Did he need to search for stream content?
It had delivered itself right to his doorstep.
As the screen transitioned, the battle officially began.
Aarav's two lead Pokémon were the twin stars of Generation 8 and 9 starters: Incineroar and Rillaboom.
The opponent led with Hatterene and Grimmsnarl.
The moment the battle started, the hyper-realistic battlefield appeared, lush green grass spreading across the arena.
Rillaboom's ability activated—
Grassy Surge!
Upon entering battle, it created Grassy Terrain, boosting Grass-type moves and gradually restoring HP to all Pokémon on the field.
Immediately afterward, a terrifying pressure radiated from Incineroar—
Intimidate!
The Attack of both opposing Pokémon dropped by one stage.
Watching the two opposing Pokémon look visibly weakened under Intimidate, Aarav stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Leading with two Trick Room setters right away… interesting."
The advantage of leading with dual Trick Room setters was obvious.
It provided greater fault tolerance when setting up Trick Room.
If the opponent lacked Taunt, Grimmsnarl with Prankster could safely set Trick Room while Hatterene served as the main damage dealer.
But when the opponent did have Taunt—
Like in this match—
The battle would become a mind game over which Pokémon would actually activate Trick Room.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/lucarioTL