As the three Elite Four members of Sinnoh watched Aiden's live stream and were shocked by the opponent he encountered, Aiden's expression at this moment was equally intriguing.
"Miss... Lorelei?"
After hastily retracting an unintentional remark, Aiden raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing a thought-provoking smile.
The early season indeed was a chaotic mix, and he hadn't expected to encounter this Ice-type Elite Four from Kanto at the Ultra Ball rank.
Judging from her trainer avatar in the game, Lorelei's appearance looked barely over thirty.
But in reality...
Aiden didn't delve into this topic much, but living on the icy Seven Islands for years and being an Ice-type Elite Four certainly gave her a significant advantage in "age preservation."
Though he had gradually grown accustomed to facing Gym Leaders or even Elite Four-level opponents, this match clearly brought a sharp increase in difficulty.
This was Lorelei after all—the fierce character from Kanto's Elite Four who relentlessly chased Lance around, leaving him with psychological scars.
Each member of Kanto's Elite Four individually had the potential to become a champion, their combat power ridiculously exaggerated. Just look at their rankings in international tournaments to gauge their skill levels.
Although they excelled more in unrestricted wild battles where trainers could physically join the fight, under master rules, they still maintained their ruthless style, often seen in attribute-specific tournaments.
In the Dragon-type Master Tournament, Lance showcased his prowess, though narrowly losing to Cynthia, it was enough to prove his immense strength.
[Teacher Azure has matched up with another "worthy opponent." Don't underestimate Auntie Lorelei's combat abilities...]
[Previous chat: Better not sleep too soundly tonight!]
[Kanto's Elite Four are indeed all monsters, but is our Teacher Azure just an ordinary person? Didn't Lance lose to Teacher Azure's Bug Baton team before?!]
[I'll avoid her sharp edge. Bring me my Sunny Day team!]
[Elite forces? Our Teacher Azure fights elites. Call Professor Oak to battle!]
"…Stop exaggerating. These seniors are all very powerful, and it's normal to have wins and losses in battles. Don't give Teacher Azure unnecessary trouble!"
After glancing at chat, Aiden immediately broke out in cold sweat.
In this world, Professor Oak was one of only two holders of the "Battle Legend" title. Comparing himself, a junior, to such a legend would be like putting himself on the grill!
However—
"Relatively speaking, encountering Lorelei is actually a better outcome because the Sunny Day team significantly counters her Ice-type lineup."
Aiden narrowed his eyes, and soon the opponent's trainer avatar disappeared, revealing the lineup on the screen.
"Dewgong, Jynx, Cloyster, Slowking, Lapras, Mamoswine..."
Like most Elite Four lineups, it was purely single-attribute.
But unfortunately, in Aiden's view, Ice-type wasn't a particularly strong attribute.
While it dealt heavy damage to many powerful Pokémon, especially countering Dragon and Flying types, its defensive performance was rather lackluster.
This led to the previous life's battles where many mainstream Pokémon carried Ice-type moves, but Ice-type Pokémon themselves were rarely seen.
Everyone wanted to learn an Ice-type move to cover blind spots, but no one wanted to be dragged down by its weak defense.
Of course, unless you're a stat monster, then defense isn't necessary.
Its role in battles was indeed somewhat awkward.
However, since Ice-type was often paired with Water-type, Aiden's Sunny Day team wasn't as overpowering against her lineup.
Thus, the decisive factor would ultimately return to strategy and command.
And coincidentally, Aiden was extremely confident in this aspect.
"I've heard that both Lorelei and Grandma Agatha from Kanto are masters of Perish Song. I wonder if I'll have the chance to witness it today?"
With a smile on his lips, Aiden decisively locked in his starting Pokémon—
Torkoal!
"On our side, there's no need for hesitation. Start with Torkoal directly. You can always trust turtles."
"Under Sunny Day conditions, the power of Water-type moves will be greatly reduced, so they can almost be ignored. On the other hand, Miss Lorelei needs to carefully consider her starter."
[Didn't Teacher Azure always predict the opponent's starter? I thought we'd see Teacher Azure use "Future Sight" again.]
[Sorry, my subscription for "Future Sight" expired. Forgot to renew it for Teacher Azure]
[Since the opponent is Lorelei, known for her strong battling skills among the Elite Four, Teacher Azure couldn't read her moves accurately, so he opted for a conventional approach?]
"Don't make assumptions. Since today's lesson is about teaching you how to play the Sunny Day team system, I'll play more formulaically."
In fact, it wasn't that Aiden couldn't predict the opponent; it was simply unnecessary.
Even if he guessed correctly, what difference would it make? With a clear Sunny Day team setup, wouldn't Torkoal naturally be the starter?
Sometimes, such counter-strategies worked well, but if these students who couldn't even grasp rotations saw it and started experimenting blindly…
He estimated that the "positive review rate" of his Sunlight Gym still had room for improvement.
"However, I can still analyze the opponent's strategy for you."
Without any hesitation, he chose his starter, while Lorelei was still deliberating.
Thus, during the wait for the battle to begin, Aiden quickly spoke again, his tone light and cheerful.
"It's known that Lorelei's Ice-type is already difficult to counter the Sunny Day team, and her team doesn't have Pokémon that can cause harassment. So…"
"The core of victory—will it revolve around weather control?"
"Compared to snow, which doesn't help much in battles, perhaps rain might be more effective?"
As soon as Aiden finished speaking, the familiar white arena appeared on the screen. The virtual avatars of Aiden and Lorelei walked out from their respective tunnels, stood on the battlefield, focused on their opponents, and quickly revealed battle-ready smiles.
Soon, two Poké Balls were instantly thrown.
"Oh? It's Slowking?"
Looking at the red creature emerging from the red light, with a giant shell on its head and eyes filled with wisdom, Aiden immediately raised an eyebrow.
As possibly the only Pokémon in the team capable of holding the field, it was no surprise to Aiden that Lorelei would choose to send it out at the start.
And almost instantly, he understood Lorelei's thoughts.
[Dayum, rare af Slowking? Isn't Slowking supposed to be the intelligent evolution of Slowpoke? Why does it still look so slow]
[Don't let its silly appearance fool you. Slowking's intelligence is extremely high, almost comparable to Oranguru, and it holds the title of "Sage of the Sea."]
[I understand, but why do our Galarian Slowkings look even stranger, like they're full of mischief?]
As Aiden's Torkoal landed quickly, the battle was about to begin, leaving him no time to check the chat.
The start of this battle was quite interesting. Both sides opted against speed-focused starters, instead choosing two Pokémon with ridiculously slow speeds.
It truly was a clash between formidable forces.
After Torkoal appeared, the cyber sun in the screen became noticeably blinding, indicating that its Drought ability had quietly activated, already affecting the weather.
"Slowking, Chilly Reception!"
Noticing the change in weather, Lorelei quickly issued a command, while Aiden immediately countered—
"Torkoal, Sunny Day!"
The two goofy Pokémon stared at each other, and with Slowking delivering a lame Chilly Reception first, the atmosphere in the field suddenly dropped, even causing the sun in the sky to lose its color due to the chill.
Soon, a few snowflakes began to fall from the sky. The culprit, Slowking, revealed a triumphant smile, waved at the still unresponsive Torkoal, and was quickly recalled by Lorelei.
After it disappeared, when a few snowflakes landed on Torkoal's scorching shell and quickly turned into steam, it finally realized what happened.
A surge of fiery energy erupted from Torkoal's mouth, and soon a warm current enveloped the battlefield again.
"As expected, the opponent chose to seize the weather at the start."
Aiden revealed a knowing smile.
Though it wasn't the rain covering the sunny day he imagined, it was still a successful prediction, seeing through the opponent's entire strategy.
"But unfortunately, when it comes to who's slower, no Pokémon can compare with Torkoal."
"Speaking of which, didn't Flint ask how to counter Trick Room teams with the Sunny Day team?"
"Just look at Torkoal's goofy demeanor and know that no one in the Trick Room team can be faster than it."
"It can trigger Sunny Day with its ability at the start, easily maneuver within Trick Room teams, and even its firepower is substantial. The power of a single Flamethrower shouldn't be underestimated."
"Isn't this a perfect choice?"
"If all else fails, Mega Camerupt is also a great option. Both of them are powerful hitters that can fit into Trick Room teams."
Aiden smoothly began promoting, and soon countless gift effects appeared on the screen.
There was no need to guess who it was.
However, his attention was now mainly focused on the ongoing battle, ready to counter the opponent's moves at any time, so he temporarily didn't have time to thank Flint for the gifts.
Slowking's retreat didn't successfully seize the weather, so Lorelei obviously pondered for a long time when choosing her replacement Pokémon.
Taking this opportunity, Aiden finally had a moment to glance at the chat.
[Didn't Teacher Azure do it again? I don't even know what move the opponent used, but Teacher Azure already predicted it successfully and took back the weather. Unreal!]
[Slowking's Chilly Reception was indeed very cold, triggering snowfall...]
[That's reasonable!]
"Chilly Reception is Slowking's signature move, itself very obscure. It's normal for people not to know it."
"But..."
"Is Teacher Azure just an ordinary person? Such trivial tricks won't stump me!"
Aiden smiled, making a small jest, and Lorelei finally made her decision.
With another Poké Ball thrown, a Pokémon with a pair of extremely long tusks, looking very formidable, made a dazzling entrance.
One of the prominent Ice-types, the terrifyingly powerful Mamoswine appeared on the field, emitting a deafening roar.
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