My Psyduck god only plays high-level matches!

"Let's goooo! Blaziken rules!"

"Wasn't our Garchomp god carrying? Blaziken and Grimmsnarl did zero damage. Just lie back and enjoy the carry, and stop yapping!"

"Seriously, why are you so obsessed with your damn damage numbers? You're devaluing the Pokémon's contributions!"

"Sure is quick when you just plug everything into a formula."

"Holy shit, this strategy is so strong! Light Screen and Reflect cover Blaziken while it sets up, then it passes everything to Garchomp to sweep. Literally unbeatable!"

"Clearly you haven't watched enough of that menace Nessa's streams. Against a dirty player like her, what are you going to do when she hits you with a Taunt?"

"."

Today's battles weren't particularly demanding, so Xia Chi had time to join the chat's discussion.

"[Miss Iono's Boltund] is clearly a good student who's been paying attention. They know all about the excellent moves we often mention on stream."

As he commanded his Pokémon in the game, Xia Chi said, "Baton Pass teams are way less versatile than Trick Room teams. Forget Taunt-Encore, Haze, Defog, Whirlwind... there are a million ways to counter [Baton Pass]."

That was also why Baton Pass strategies weren't popular in this world-

Real battles had no four-move limit. Wouldn't one casual Taunt just wreck you?

That ingrained mindset led people to overlook all these different strategies in the game, opting for straightforward slugfests instead.

"Still, it's fun to bring it out once in a while."

Xia Chi said, "The metagame goes in cycles. Once more people on the ladder start bringing moves like [Taunt] and [Whirlwind], Baton Pass won't have much room to work."

Amid the banter, Xia Chi took down another Sandstorm team.

Then he kept right on queuing for ranked matches while shooting the breeze with his viewers.

At first, the viewers had watched closely, studying his setup-and-Baton-Pass strategy.

But after win upon win without Psyduck making an appearance, other voices gradually began to emerge in chat.

"Did you put Psyduck on the team just to be a mascot? What a scam!"

"Fuck this! Refund the Admiral-tier subscribers!"

The half-joking flood of messages was clearly urging Xia Chi to send out Psyduck, then crash and burn under their duck god's leadership.

Naturally, Xia Chi couldn't ignore the issue, so he dressed it up nicely. "We're still too low on the ladder to need Psyduck. My Psyduck god only plays high-level matches!"

At last, without making the viewers wait too long, a high-level match arrived after a four-win streak.

Kanto's Most Devoted Lover VS Hulbury Stadium · Nessa!

Xia Chi sounded a little wistful. "Matched against another Gym Leader, huh."

Really, it wasn't all that much of a coincidence.

The game had an astonishing number of players to begin with. Most Trainers and Pokémon battle enthusiasts played a little to relax in their spare time.

It was a high-rated account, after all. Going a whole week after facing Raihan before meeting another Gym Leader was already something of a rarity for Xia Chi.

In short, whenever he faced a popular Trainer, regardless of whether he won or lost, Xia Chi would definitely choose the most crowd-pleasing approach-

Scratch that. He would definitely take the match seriously.

They entered the match.

Nessa's lineup consisted entirely of Water-type Pokémon-Drednaw, Pelipper, Barraskewda, Golisopod, Mareanie, and Milotic. It was a fairly standard rain team.

Xia Chi didn't have much to think about and selected his three Pokémon at lightning speed.

Whimsicott, Dudunsparce, and the long-awaited Psyduck!

In an instant, cheers filled the chat.

After waiting all evening, they were finally getting to see their duck god take the field!

Both sides chose their Pokémon, and the battle officially began!

As expected, Nessa led with her weather setter, Pelipper, while Xia Chi sent out his adorable Whimsicott.

The [Drizzle] Ability activated!

Rain poured down, bringing rainy weather to the field!

The moment the battle began, Xia Chi quickly commanded, "Whimsicott, Taunt!"

A ball of Dark-type energy shot out instantly.

Pelipper, who had been about to set up Tailwind, took a direct hit. No matter how hard Pelipper flapped, [Tailwind] wouldn't stir.

This is the confidence Prankster gives me!

Xia Chi continued, "Next, Reflect!"

Although Pelipper was a Special Attack-oriented Pokémon, there was no rush to set up Light Screen.

Pelipper's primary role was a weather setter who could provide Tailwind, not deal much damage.

The truly terrifying threats were Barraskewda and Drednaw in the back.

Yet before Reflect could go up, Pelipper withdrew in a flash of red light.

The Pokémon who took Pelipper's place was none other than the one Xia Chi had been worried about-Barraskewda!

That decisive?

Xia Chi's gaze sharpened, and his guard went up.

Nessa hadn't agonized over whether Tailwind was active. She had switched straight to Barraskewda, a clear sign that she intended to pick up the pace.

With [Swift Swim] doubling Barraskewda's Speed in the rain anyway, there was more than enough speed to work with.

Reflect had only just risen in front of Whimsicott when Barraskewda used the first move after entering the field-Swords Dance!

Nessa was simply letting Whimsicott act, knowing Whimsicott posed no threat, and preparing to set up for a sweep.

Left with no choice, Xia Chi abandoned his plan to set up Tailwind and commanded instead, "Whimsicott, Taunt!"

If he didn't shut down Barraskewda's [Swords Dance], Barraskewda could recreate Garchomp's earlier three-Pokémon sweep in no time.

There was no doubt about it. With stats poured entirely into Attack and Speed, Barraskewda really did have that terrifying level of offensive power!

Whether Nessa was satisfied with a single Swords Dance boost or had predicted Whimsicott's Taunt, it was hard to say.

Barraskewda didn't go for a second Swords Dance, instead lunging in with Ice Fang.

Seeing that Ice Fang actually made Xia Chi breathe a sigh of relief-

Fortunately, few people in this world liked setting up screens. Nessa hadn't brought screen-breaking moves like [Psychic Fangs] or [Brick Break], choosing [Ice Fang] for its broader coverage instead.

Otherwise, the pressure on Xia Chi's remaining Pokémon would have been far too great.

After Swords Dance, Barraskewda was every bit as terrifying as a top-tier attacker like Garchomp.

One Ice Fang knocked Whimsicott below half health!

That was only because Xia Chi had set up Reflect in advance. Otherwise, the super-effective Ice Fang would have knocked that devious cotton puff out in one hit!

"Whimsicott, Tailwind!"

With Prankster's help, Whimsicott finally set up Tailwind before Barraskewda's second Ice Fang landed.

Take it! This is my final Ripple!

Icy fangs crossed, a cry rang out, and Whimsicott became the battle's first casualty.

Xia Chi immediately sent out his second Pokémon, Dudunsparce.

Nessa was visibly startled for a moment by Dudunsparce's appearance.

Dudunsparce?

What the heck is that? Is that Pokémon even in the Pokédex?

That was a joke, of course. As a Gym Leader, Nessa couldn't possibly fail to recognize every Pokémon in the Pokédex.

Still, this Pokémon really was obscure.

Without a timely command, Barraskewda visibly froze for a moment before suddenly attacking.

Against Dudunsparce, a Normal-type Pokémon with no relevant type matchup, there wasn't much to consider.

All she had to do was have Barraskewda slam into Dudunsparce with a same-type move.

Take my Liquidation!