The battle began.
The two sides led with Kilowattrel and Mimikyu, respectively.
"Oh, is that Mimikyu, one of the Alola Region's signature Pokémon?"
As Levincia's Gym Leader, Iono knew her Pokémon very well.
"This Pokémon has a powerful Ability that completely blocks the damage from one attack, so there's no rush to trade blows. Kilowattrel, Tailwind!"
She waved a little hand beneath her oversized punk-style sleeve and gave the camera a sweet wink.
"A little tip from Iono: Kilowattrel's Ability, [Electrogenesis], puts it in the [Charge] state after it uses Tailwind~"
The pretty girl's sweet wink undoubtedly dealt tons of damage to the fans in her stream.
Even the trolls who had come over from Xia Chi's stream joined in, spamming "I'm dead" in the chat.
And right after Kilowattrel finished using [Tailwind], Mimikyu's [Trick Room] followed.
"Huh, Trick Room?"
Iono frowned in surprise. "You don't see that move very often. It's a bit of a counter to our Tailwind strategy."
Since battles in Pokémon: Victory Road used real-time commands, Iono didn't have much time to think.
"Whatever, let's just fight like normal!"
Iono continued issuing commands. "Kilowattrel, Air Slash!"
"We need to watch out for Mimikyu's [Disguise] Ability, so we'll break its Disguise with Air Slash first."
With Trick Room in effect, their speeds were reversed.
Before Kilowattrel could approach with its wings glowing white, a pitch-black ball of energy shot out.
"Shadow Ball?"
Iono chuckled. "This guy's finally using some normal moves."
The Shadow Ball hit on-screen, shaving a little off Kilowattrel's health.
Iono paid it no mind. With damage like that, Kilowattrel could hold out for quite a while yet.
Air Slash successfully broke Mimikyu's Disguise.
What followed was Iono's real offensive.
"Kilowattrel, Thunderbolt!"
On-screen, dazzling sparks burst out nonstop.
Although Kilowattrel's speed had been drastically reduced, its [Charge] state was building up a devastating lightning strike.
"Shui Ye, take my Thunderbolt!"
With Iono's spirited cry, the electricity on-screen reached a blinding peak, then erupted.
"Hehe, my Kilowattrel's Special Attack EVs are maxed out! There's no way that little Mimikyu can take this!"
Iono's smug smile vanished as the lightning faded.
It had transferred to the face of a brown, big-headed ant standing firm in the middle of the screen.
"Wh-what's that? Trapinch?"
Iono's gaping mouth said everything about her shock.
"That guy actually sent out a first-stage Pokémon??"
She had noticed the Pokémon in Xia Chi's reserve lineup, but at the time, Iono had assumed Trapinch was just there to fill a slot.
After all, who would actually use Trapinch as a main battler?
So she had never considered that a Ground-type Trapinch could be immune to this [Charge]-boosted Thunderbolt.
At that moment, the chat in Iono's stream surged.
"LMAO, I knew our boy Shui would never let me down."
"My favorite Iono quote: 'What good is Trapinch?'"
"Let's go, giant ant without antennae!"
Iono forced herself to stay calm. "It's fine. Even if it took that Thunderbolt, Trapinch is still Trapinch. It's a Pokémon that can't even compare to Charmander. It poses no threat to our Kilowattrel."
In her panic, Iono completely failed to consider just how terrifying a Trapinch slower than even Torkoal could become...
...under Trick Room.
Meanwhile, in a dorm room at Shanghai University.
"Stone Edge!"
With his setup complete, Xia Chi immediately launched an all-out attack.
An enormous, sharp rock shot up from the ground, stabbing straight at Kilowattrel in midair.
As mentioned earlier, Pokémon: Victory Road wasn't a simple turn-based game.
It simulated real Pokémon battles with remarkable realism.
Whether through tactical commands or miraculous tricks like "Dodge it!", players had plenty of room to show their skills.
And precisely because of this feature, the combined effects of [Trick Room] and [Tailwind] reversed the two Pokémon's speeds even more thoroughly.
All the viewers saw was a brown, big-headed ant racing across the field, dodging Air Slashes.
Kilowattrel, which should have been incredibly agile, hung in the air like a target, mercilessly skewered by Stone Edge.
With every sharp rock that rose, Iono grew more heated in front of her computer.
It wasn't that she didn't want to switch Kilowattrel out, but neither of the two fast Pokémon in reserve, Mismagius and Luxray, could escape this deadly Trick Room.
All Iono could do now was try to stall out her opponent's Trick Room and her own Tailwind.
"He's definitely going to set up another Trick Room once this one ends. The moment he switches Trapinch out will be my best chance!"
Grinding her sharp, sharklike teeth, Iono fumed. "Once I deal with that Mimikyu, just watch how I torment it!"
Harsh words couldn't change the situation on the field.
Kilowattrel wasn't especially durable to begin with, and it was taking repeated hits from the doubly effective Stone Edge.
No matter how well Iono had trained it, Kilowattrel couldn't last until Trick Room ended.
Amid Trapinch's strange cries, it reluctantly crashed to the ground.
Left with no choice, Iono was forced to send out her second Pokémon, Luxray.
She muttered to herself, "Don't panic, don't panic. We still have a chance. Our Luxray's Ability is [Intimidate], so it'll lower that Trapinch's Attack by one stage."
Before she finished speaking, the Trapinch on-screen unleashed an Earthquake.
Iono's vision went dark. "An Earthquake right away? Isn't this guy worried I might send out Mismagius?"
Mismagius's Ability was Levitate, making it completely immune to Ground-type moves.
But whether Xia Chi had guessed blindly or read her play, that preemptive Earthquake caught the newly arrived Luxray squarely.
The bad news was that Trapinch's Ability was [Hyper Cutter], which prevented its Attack from being lowered. This doubly effective, same-type-boosted Earthquake nearly knocked Luxray out in one hit.
The good news was that Trick Room ended right after the Earthquake.
"Our counterattack starts now!"
Spotting her opening, Iono shouted, "Luxray, charge in! Ice Fang!"
Without Trick Room to support it, Trapinch, with nothing going for it but damage output, was no different from a live target.
One Ice Fang would be enough to knock the fragile Trapinch out instantly.
But with a flash of light, Trapinch vanished from the screen.
In its place appeared a slender blue-and-pink figure: Hatterene.
"Switching in another Pokémon that can use Trick Room?"
The sudden switch didn't surprise Iono. She had already figured out the core strategy behind Xia Chi's lineup-
Using Trick Room to give slow Pokémon an opportunity to deal damage.
"Then if I knock you out before you can use Trick Room, you're screwed!"
Iono chuckled. "Luxray, Volt Switch!"
Electricity surged as Luxray instantly rushed up to Hatterene.
The earlier Ice Fang had already dealt Hatterene some damage. As long as this Volt Switch hit, Mismagius could come in afterward and follow up with a doubly effective Shadow Ball.
Iono was confident she could knock Hatterene out before it unleashed Trick Room!
But the light of a Pokémon switch flashed again.
That brown, big-headed ant reappeared on the battlefield.
And so, in the stream titled [Electric Streamer], all that remained was a piercing, drawn-out cry rivaling an Exploud's Hyper Voice.
"I'm done playing!"
Before you continue