Iono

Come to think of it, Qingyu found it pretty puzzling too.

At some point in his previous life, entry hazards had seemingly become synonymous with stall teams.

But in the game's early competitive scene, setting Spikes had actually been a common way to counter stall.

The reason was simple-

Ground Spikes dealt percentage-based damage, so they hurt tanks far more than glass cannons. That made them a real nuisance for many defensive Pokémon that relied on Leftovers to recover and stay on the field.

Back then, one major tactical purpose of setting Spikes was to bring targets into KO range.

The hazard strategy Qingyu had just used revolved around that very principle.

Of course, his team wasn't nearly that simple.

What he had shown so far was only an appetizer-phase one of the Boss fight at most. Still, it was already enough for his current rank.

After easily picking up another win, Qingyu queued again.

Since leading with Spikes was so misleading, none of his next few opponents expected him to be running an all-out offensive strategy.

That unconventional approach earned him another easy ten-win streak, taking considerably less time than yesterday.

Three opponents surrendered as soon as they saw him setting Spikes, four went down fighting, and another three disconnected and forfeited.

His efficiency was astonishing.

He had managed to squeeze out an extra ten minutes.

Competitive games generally had a certain feature: the points gained from a win and lost from a defeat were roughly equal, but a winning streak awarded noticeably more points.

With the incredible feat of two consecutive ten-win streaks, Qingyu's Ladder Points easily climbed another tier, taking him into Great Ball rank.

[Seriously, dude, that's twenty wins in a row counting yesterday! How is he this terrifying?]

[The streamer still looks like he's barely trying. Is he seriously going to steamroll all the way to Master Ball?]

[With this many strategies up his sleeve, I wouldn't be surprised if he reached Master Ball. Honestly, I'd rather watch him test how strong these strategies are in high-level matches!]

[Yeah, fair enough.]

After nearly an hour of streaming, Qingyu's viewer count kept rising, quietly passing ten thousand without anyone noticing.

With his goal accomplished, Qingyu had originally planned to end the stream right away.

But seeing that he still had enough time, he quickly decided to play one more match.

From his experience in his previous life, the final match of a satisfying winning streak always came with "smart matchmaking," pairing you with an expert who could end it.

But in truth, he would rather face a genuinely skilled opponent than farm points through a winning streak.

Otherwise, battling was far too boring.

Perhaps his wishes had taken effect. After a short matchmaking wait, the wheel stopped spinning, and his opponent's information appeared.

Trainer ID: Iono.

Official verification appeared in small print below: Levincia Gym Leader, Paldea.

Well, look at that. A fellow streamer.

[Whoa, he actually got matched against Iono! Sorry, but I have to switch sides!]

[Iono's so cute! I watch this guy for fun, but if you want actual cuteness, it has to be Iono!]

[Follow Iono, meow! Follow the Iono Zone, thank you, meow~]

The chat reacted even faster than Qingyu, quickly swinging overwhelmingly in Iono's favor.

Iono, look at these troops of yours!

Seeing his viewers show their true colors, Qingyu's gaze instantly sharpened.

Sure enough, people in the same business really were rivals.

I was going to go a little easy on her, but now I'll have to go all out and show these viewers who the real big-name streamer is!

This is no ordinary provocation anymore. Time to hit back hard!

Levincia, in the Paldea Region.

Iono wasn't in the best mood that day.

It had started when she woke up at noon and came across a tutorial video with an incredibly high view count.

With all the buzz surrounding the launch of Pokémon Champions, that alone wouldn't normally have been a big deal.

After all, almost every trending topic these past few days had been related to the game. She herself had even been lucky enough to top the trending list once.

But the views on today's video were growing at an absurd rate. Even Steven, the Hoenn Champion who rarely appeared online, had taken the initiative to promote it.

Clearly, this was no ordinary video.

Hoping to learn something, Iono clicked on it without hesitation.

But then...

After watching it, she lost her composure.

This guy's here to steal my livelihood, isn't he? How can he be so mean?!

As a new streamer who had gained a sizable following in just half a month, she knew exactly where her advantages lay.

The Pokémon battling category was largely an untapped market, and her looks were pretty competitive too. That was how she had attracted so many viewers.

The professional instructors weren't as good at streaming as she was, while the good streamers might not be able to match her tactics!

Clearly, this category had been tailor-made for the great Iono-sama!

But now, a sense of crisis welled up inside her.

He was another Paldea Gym Leader. Although she had never heard of him before, his tactical explanations were easy to understand, and he clearly knew his stuff. He was on a completely different level from a total newcomer like her.

Doesn't that mean he'll take a huge chunk of the viewers who like watching battles?!

If everyone left is just a fan of my looks, sticking around because I really am super cute...

Then how am I supposed to spread the Levincia Gym's reputation?

That's the one thing I absolutely can't allow!

With the pressure of competition weighing on her, Iono started her stream much earlier than usual that day.

"Today's goal is-Great Ball!"

Hard work pays off. If I start putting in the effort today, there's no way this guy will overtake me!

Two hours later.

"Awesome, another win!"

[Who are you? Where have you hidden our adorable Iono?]

[Do you think I came here to watch you win nonstop? Wait, are you seriously going to reach Great Ball today?!]

[She's made it to her promotion match! Our streamer's way too good!]

Although every match had been a struggle, Iono's all-out effort that day had earned her a rare ten-win streak.

One more match. Just one more win and I'll reach Great Ball and show everyone my real skill!

Her eyes burning as she stared at the nearly full points bar, Iono couldn't help taking a deep breath.

"All right, let's wrap up today's final battle with a perfect victory!"

As long as I can make it there, victory belongs to Iono-sama!

With excitement in her heart, Iono clicked the matchmaking button with a trembling hand, silently praying that her promotion match would pair her with a pushover.

The matchmaking gears began turning slowly. After the metallic grinding sound circled three and a half times, the pointer abruptly stopped.

The instant she saw her opponent's ID, Iono's eyes widened involuntarily.

Trainer ID: Azure Feather!

Just like hers, an official verification appeared in small print below: Paldea Sunshine Gym Leader.

Of all the people to run into! I never thought we'd meet this soon!

Iono was amazed by how quickly this potential rival had climbed the ranks. In just two short days, he had already reached Great Ball.

But I'm improving too!

Besides, if I beat him, wouldn't that mean I'm actually stronger than he is?

Then maybe I could even ride that momentum to gain a whole bunch of followers!

Hmm...

Now I have a reason I can't lose!

It's Monday! Please keep reading tomorrow-the Tuesday readership numbers will determine whether this gets a round of promotion this week qwq