Pokémon, Inkaros, my starter Pokémon

His face was somewhat pale, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, and he exuded a sense of exhaustion, as if he had been drained dry by life.

Aoki is an employee of the Pokémon League, and also... a Gym Leader who has to deal with Gym challenges, as well as one of the newly appointed Elite Four of the Paladin.

"The usual, grilled rice ball set meal, please."

Aoki's voice was weak and listless, as if saying even one more word would drain his precious energy.

While waiting for his meal, Aoki rubbed his throbbing temples. His 9-to-5 job as a league employee was already tedious enough, but he hadn't expected to also have to manage gym battles, and now, Chief Yaji was demanding he serve as one of the Elite Four, upholding the league's reputation…

Aoki felt like a rubber band stretched to its limit, about to snap at any moment.

Steaming hot grilled rice balls were served, emitting the aroma of caramelized rice and soy sauce. Aoki ate quietly, taking small bites, savoring this brief and pure moment of tranquility.

"This is so good..."

Aoki sighed inwardly.

He genuinely likes Normal-type Pokémon, feeling that they, like himself, pursue a simple and genuine life. However, both his duties as a Gym Leader and his status as one of the Elite Four require him to change his style and use a wider variety of Pokémon, which puts him under immense pressure.

It's worth mentioning that Aoki will give TM25 (Power Instinct) to any trainer who defeats him in a gym challenge.

This is probably a reflection of his inner state.

Aoki longed to resign from these burdensome positions, but the alliance's regulations and the chief's expectations were like mountains he couldn't shirk.

"There's no other way... I can only grit my teeth and bear it."

After finishing his last rice ball, Aoki paid the bill and left to handle several more dojo challenge matches scheduled for that evening.

It wasn't until late at night that Aoki dragged his even more exhausted body home. Slumped onto the sofa, he was still pondering the second attribute that Yaji had requested, the attribute that needed to be determined for the Four Heavenly Kings.

"There is."

Aoki had a sudden inspiration, but his tone was still listless. "Many Normal-type Pokémon are related to the Flying type. Pidgeot, Swellow, Staraptor are all... So I might as well save myself the trouble and choose Flying as my second type."

This way, he can satisfy the requirements while retaining his own preferences to some extent, although it's a rather far-fetched approach.

Having solved one problem, Aoki remembered another request from Yaji: as the face of the league, these Elite Four members had to reach the "Ultra Ball" rank in a short period of time in the globally popular online battle game, Pokémon Masters.

"Ugh……"

Aoki sighed, resignedly opened the game, and all he wanted to do now was play a few rounds to complete the mission and then go to sleep.

Once you've mastered the art of ranked matches and selected doubles mode, the system will begin matching you with an opponent.

【Successful match! 】

Opponent ID: Speaker Shopper Fan ag

Aoki's eyelids twitched as he looked at his opponent's strange ID.

"What a weird name... Oh well, whatever, let's finish this game and go to sleep."

Aoki muttered something and pressed the ready button.

However, Aoki had no idea that this match would become a haunting nightmare in his gaming career.

The display screens for both teams unfold.

Aoki's team consisted entirely of Flying-type Pokémon that he had carefully selected, or rather, made do with for convenience, including Swellow (Normal + Flying), Staraptor (Normal + Flying), Crobat (Poison + Flying), and Altaria (Dragon + Flying), among others.

The team has a solid roster with complementary attributes, which perfectly matches his "plain and steady" style.

On Shidou's side, it was the four core units that seemed rather random: Coal Mountain, Draco Balto, Indeedee (male), and Incineroar.

"The starting lineup is Giant Coal Mountain and Dorronbarto?"

Aoki frowned slightly. One was extremely slow, and the other was extremely fast. There was no apparent synergy between their attributes. "What on earth is this guy doing?"

The live stream chat was also full of questions:

[Giant Coal Mountain + Dragapult? I've never seen this combination before!]

One is incredibly fast, the other is as slow as a snail—how can they coordinate?

[The streamer is destined for a disaster!]

The battle begins!

Following his usual strategy, Aoki sent out Staraptor and Altaria as his first picks, intending to use their speed and high attack power to suppress the enemy. Then, in his habitually listless voice, he directed into the microphone, "Staraptor, use Brave Bird Attack to target Dragapult. Altaria, use Dragon Swarm."

However, Tokito's Draco Balto was faster. Instead of attacking his opponent, he spun around and created a wave of surf.

The surging water swept across, and although its power was greatly reduced because it was a teammate move, causing negligible damage to the two Flying-type Pokémon, it still managed to affect Mt. Coalossal on the field.

Everyone was confused.

Coalossal is a Rock/Fire type Pokémon, four times weak to Water. Your Surf not only failed to wake up the opponent, but also caused huge damage to your teammates. What were you thinking?

However, just as the waves touched the massive body of the giant coal mountain...

boom!

A sudden change occurred!

Inside the massive body of Giant Coal Mountain, it was as if a steam boiler had been ignited, emitting a dull rumble, and scorching white steam gushed wildly from the cracks in its rocks.

With its Steam Engine ability activated and affected by Water-type moves, its Speed ​​instantly boosts to its peak (+6 levels)!

But it's not over yet.

The impact of the surf also shook an unstable energy core within Coalossal. A dangerous red light flashed, and the item [Weakness Policy] was triggered, injecting a surge of energy into Coalossal. Affected by the exceptionally effective move, its Attack and Special Attack levels skyrocketed again, equivalent to +2 stages!

The giant Coalossal, which was originally moving as slowly as a tortoise, suddenly became faster than all the Pokémon on the field, transforming into a destructive steam fortress ready to unleash its power.

Aoki's two Flying-type Pokémon hadn't even had a chance to unleash their moves.

"Now, Giant Coal Mountain, use... the Big Bang."

Art is Patrick!

In the battle space, the massive body of the giant coal mountain suddenly shone with a blinding white light that was impossible to look at directly, like a second sun bursting on the battlefield. Then, a destructive energy shockwave spread wildly in all directions from it in a sphere, devouring everything!

"Varied……?!"

Aoki's sleepy eyes widened instantly, his mouth opened unconsciously, and he froze completely.

“Rumble——!!!”

The deafening explosion sounded as if it were coming through the screen.

As the intense light faded, Aoki's Staraptor and Altaria lay dead on the battlefield, incapacitated. Meanwhile, on Tokito's side, Dragapult, immune to explosion damage due to its Ghost attribute, hovered unharmed in mid-air, as if the recent destruction was merely a firework display beneath its feet.

The entire live stream fell into a brief silence.

Immediately afterwards, the barrage of comments exploded like a tsunami:

【I'll knock!!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! 】

[Holy crap!!! You can do that?!]

[One shot, one kill! A clean sweep?!]

[Dude, are you a poet? This is fucking artistic!]

[Steam engine + Weakness Policy + Big Bang, I'm totally dumbfounded! One Coalossal traded for two of my opponent's Pokémon?!]

[This teamwork, this creativity—even the speaker beetle would call you a hero!]

[Opponent: The sky has fallen! What happened?! ...

[Steam engine weakness policy explosion! I've played for three years and never seen anything like this!]

Shi Dou looked at the boiling barrage of comments and smiled slightly, "Basic stuff, don't be silly, sit down, sit down."

In front of the screen, Aoki stared blankly at the team that had been half destroyed by a moving volcano, then looked at the still calm and collected Dorambaruto and the already "heroically sacrificed" Coal Mountain on the other side, his mind completely blank.

Aoki felt as if not the sky had fallen, but that his understanding of the game and his belief in "ordinariness" had been shattered in that moment.

This...this is completely unpredictable!

"I've been tricked..."

Aoki sighed helplessly, rubbing his throbbing temples, and could only console himself: at least, that giant coal mountain is gone.

Aoki could only muster his strength and send out his remaining two Pokémon: Swellow and Crobat.

On Shi Dou's side, he casually deployed a round and mischievous lightning bolt.

"Still trying to seize the initiative?" Aoki took a deep breath, attempting to turn the tide, and quickly commanded, "Swellow, use Sonic Wave, Crobat, and Toxic Blade. Take out that ball first!"

However, just as Aoki's orders were forming in his mind, reality dealt him an even heavier blow.

The mischievous Raikou that had just entered the fray was equipped with a special bandana to increase its attack power, and after entering the fray, it didn't even finish a single frame of its idle animation before it unhesitatingly completed its sole mission in life...

It exploded with a bang!

"boom--!!!"

Another deafening roar erupted, even more abrupt and unreasonable than before. In the blink of an eye, blinding white light once again engulfed half the area!

Art is a double explosion!

Swellow and Crobat, these two Pokémon known for their speed but fragile builds, couldn't withstand such a close-up "enthusiastic greeting." Their health bars plummeted like punctured balloons!

But this is not over yet!

Before the intense light of the explosion had completely dissipated, and before Aoki could even react to the second sudden destruction, Draco Balto, which had been hovering in mid-air, had already gathered a raging dragon-type energy.

Dragon Star Group!

The dazzling yet deadly dragon-type energy rained down from the sky like a meteor shower, precisely striking the Swellow and Crobat, who were already on the verge of collapse after enduring the explosive attack.

"Boom--!"

The aftershocks of the explosion mingled with the roar of the dragon star cluster.

When everything calmed down, the last two Pokémon on Aoki Field were eliminated without any surprise.

Since the start of the battle, Aoki has not been able to issue a single effective attack command.

The entire live stream fell into an eerie silence once again, followed by an even more frenzied torrent of comments flooding the screen:

[6666666666666! ! ! 】

[Dude, are you here to take revenge on society?!]

[This is the first time I've seen tactics played like this, starting with two Big Bangs?!]

[Wait...is this right? The opponent didn't even get a chance to attack, and they've already lost??]

[Is this some kind of supernatural lineup even conceived by a human?!]

[You're causing explosions every day, and your Pokémon are crying!! (Heartbreaking.jpg)]

[I've reported you! You're not allowed to play Pokémon battles!! (doge)]

Looking at these comments, Shi Tou calmly reassured everyone, "Everyone, calm down. This is just a game, for the sake of the show. In reality, I cherish Pokémon very much and would never let them use such self-destructive moves."

However, upon seeing the last comment, Shidou silently complained to himself.

No Pokémon allowed?

It's okay, he plays the Seer Online Pokémon Battle game in real life anyway!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, in an apartment in the Padiya region.

Aoki stared blankly at the "You Lost!" sign on the screen, as if his soul had been ripped away.

"What's going on...? It's over in just one round... before I even made a move?" Aoki muttered to himself, his voice hoarse.

After a long day of hard work, I dragged my tired body home and just wanted to relax by playing a couple of games and completing my League of Legends missions, but instead I was met with such a brutal and inhumane "massacre".

What exactly is that "speaker scissor fan ag" doing?

Is he trying to ruin Pokémon battles?

This is not a war, this is a terrorist attack!

An indescribable sense of frustration and irritability welled up inside me, mixed with the fatigue and pressure accumulated from a day's work.

Aoki suddenly reached out and switched off the computer power.

The screen went black instantly, revealing his face, which was filled with utter despair.

"It's boring..."

Aoki spoke in a low voice, then his voice gradually rose, filled with a sorrow and indignation that only working-class people could understand: