[Hell yeah, my favorite streamer finally went live!]
[Ten-year fan of the streamer, showing up uninvited!]
[Hey, you can fool us with that line, but don't fool yourself. He only started streaming yesterday...]
[Streamer, streamer, your Endeavor Aron really is strong, but it takes too much skill to use. Got any simpler, more straightforward teams?]
[Serve up some fun new strategies already! I've been waiting forever!]
A dense flood of chat messages swept across the screen.
Qingyu was stunned.
Yesterday, his stream had been practically deserted, and his viewer count had only barely broken four digits by the time he signed off.
And now?
Within seconds of going live, his viewer count had rocketed to 2,000!
Quite a few people had even been camping out in his channel, waiting for him to start.
Steven's friendly shout-out had worked ridiculously well...
Barring any surprises, he would retain at least a five-digit audience by the end of this stream.
Even at the peak of his popularity in his previous life, had he ever enjoyed treatment like this?
And this was only his second stream!
The sudden surge in popularity left Qingyu floating on cloud nine, but his professionalism as a streamer quickly brought him back down to earth.
"No big deal, no big deal. This is only the beginning."
"My head's full of strategies that Trainers in my previous life spent decades developing. Against this innocent Pokémon world, that's practically an attack from a higher dimension!"
"I'm the chosen one, and Poké TV's one and only future streaming superstar!"
After muttering a few words of encouragement to himself, Qingyu quickly settled down.
"If you can learn today's strategy, I won't promise you Master Ball rank, but reaching Great Ball rank should be more than manageable."
After glancing through a few chat messages and delivering another opening remark, Qingyu launched Pokémon Champions and opened the team editor.
"All right, today we're playing a hazard-stacking team!"
As the name suggested, a hazard-stacking team revolved around entry hazard moves.
"Hazards" was a collective term for field-control moves such as Spikes, Stealth Rock, Toxic Spikes, and even Sticky Web.
Unless removed, these moves remained in effect throughout the battle, effectively wearing down and disrupting opponents in full-team, six-on-six battles.
Just hearing that was enough to tell how delightfully obnoxious this strategy was.
It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to call it the soul of stall teams.
If you didn't set hazards, how was he supposed to know you were playing singles?
As Qingyu added Skarmory as his first team member, the chat quickly started roasting him.
[That's it? That's all? This isn't anywhere near as impressive as Endeavor Aron. Hasn't Steven already played this strategy to death?]
[Forget Steven-even Jasmine, Johto's Steel-type Elite Four member, uses hazard-stacking teams. Can we get something interesting?]
[What if his hazard strategy is different from everyone else's? Let's watch first.]
Qingyu paid no mind to the chat's harsh reviews.
The people in this world were merely a little innocent and behind the times in terms of strategy. They weren't actually stupid.
A simple, effective strategy like entry hazards would naturally have been developed long ago.
Supposedly, Hoenn Champion Steven had ground his way through Victory Road using hazards backed by the terrifying defenses of his steel legion.
Then there was Geeta, the Paldea Region's Top Champion. She had mastered leading with Glimmora, and when she wasn't holding back, those opening Toxic Spikes could give plenty of challengers a miserable time.
With talented people like them setting the standard, bringing out a hazard-stacking team did seem a little like borrowing someone else's ideas.
However...
"Don't get ahead of yourselves. My hazard-stacking team is different."
Qingyu pursed his lips.
A moment's thought should have made it obvious. Why would he teach a strategy everyone already knew?
Ever since hazards debuted in Generation II, this evergreen singles strategy had weathered countless updates and evolved time and again.
There were countless teams built around hazards, too, and every one of them could bring opponents endless delightful surprises!
Now, how should we go about this wonderfully enjoyable torment?
Qingyu soon selected a full lineup.
Skarmory led the team, joined by Forretress, Metagross, Mamoswine, Bronzong, and Magnezone.
[How is this different? Isn't this just Steven's strategy of setting hazards at the start and outlasting the opponent...]
[You might as well keep playing Endeavor teams. I want to see you use Endeavor Donphan!]
[We're doomed. He already can't resist torturing his viewers. With a purely defensive team like this, won't every match take at least half an hour?]
At first glance, his lineup did consist almost entirely of Steel-type Pokémon with excellent resistances, perfectly in line with Steven's philosophy.
But anyone thinking that would be mistaken.
"What are you talking about? Did you read my stream title? I'm trying to climb to Master Ball rank quickly. Who has time to play stall?"
Qingyu clicked into the ranked ladder and queued up while explaining with a smile.
Apparently, the viewers' understanding was still a little behind the times.
The strategic value of hazards had never been about dragging things out and slowly wearing down an opponent. Their core function was controlling the tempo.
Used properly, they could speed up battles, too.
Playing stall right now would certainly make for better entertainment, but he would save the best dishes for a crucial moment.
Right now, he was still just a "formidable newbie" in Poké Ball rank. He couldn't afford stall teams that routinely turned matches into bladder endurance tests, and tormenting random players wasn't all that interesting anyway.
Although most of the Pokémon on this team were Steel-types, it had no shortage of firepower. It was an absolute rank-climbing machine.
With that said, although some viewers still grumbled, most fell silent and waited quietly to see Qingyu perform.
At low ranks, finding an evenly matched opponent was easy.
Soon, Qingyu met the first unlucky soul of the stream.
The opposing lineup appeared in a row.
"Gardevoir, Tsareena, Lopunny, Primarina, Hatterene, Meowscarada."
"The Trainer's ID is... 'I Love Pokémon the Most'???"
"Sorry to ask, but is that love of yours entirely wholesome?"
Qingyu scratched his head.
Low ranks really were something. He could even run into premium members of the wishful-thinking club here.
"I mean, this team does have some strength, sure, but what synergy do these six actually have?"
[Of course they have synergy. There's no talking to a tryhard like you. They're all my wives~]
[Sounds like you want Officer Jenny to teach you a hard lesson with her baton!]
[Perfectly natural human feelings.]
[Not so!]
After they entered the virtual battlefield, both sides sent out their leads.
Skarmory VS Tsareena.
Skarmory was a dual Steel/Flying-type Pokémon with excellent resistances and only two weaknesses: Fire and Electric.
Knowing that Tsareena posed no threat to Skarmory, Qingyu decisively gave his command:
"Skarmory, Stealth Rock!"
Thanks to Big Brother Radish and Yun Backup for the tips~
Before you continue