Chapter 5: Dominating The World With One Trick

In his past life, Aiden had been a streamer in the Pokémon battle scene, so he was quite familiar with most of the gimmicks and strategies.

Looking back at the history of Pokémon battles, there were very few tactics that relied solely on a single move to form a complete system.

Among these impactful and powerful strategies, there was one brutally simple move that left a deep impression on Aiden.

It was Endeavor, the move Aron had just used.

If used correctly, even a Level 1 Pokémon could potentially sweep an entire opposing team.

[What just happened? Did I see that right—a Level 1 Aron KO'd a Charizard?]

[POG POG POG]

The chat quickly recovered from their shock and began analyzing Aiden's moves.

[I looked up the move Endeavor. It equalizes the opponent's HP with the user's HP, which is why it instantly KO'd the Charizard...]

[Sturdy paired with Endeavor? No wonder he used Level 1 Pokémon—this is interesting!]

[It's not just that. The Hippopotas that set up the sandstorm earlier was also key. Without the sandstorm, Charizard wouldn't have gone down.]

[I get all that, but how did Aron recover full HP?]

"It's Shell Bell—I gave Aron a Shell Bell."

Aiden nodded and volunteered the explanation.

While the audience might not fully grasp his reasoning, they weren't idiots either. With a little thought, they could mostly deconstruct his strategy.

A weak Level 1 Pokémon locks its HP with Sturdy, uses Endeavor to act as a budget, flukey Destiny Bond, and then finishes off the opponent with the Sandstorm weather effect, achieving an instant knockout.

The principle itself wasn't complicated.

But finding a Pokémon that can use Endeavor, has the Sturdy ability, and won't be harmed by its teammate's sandstorm…

You'd only find two such Pokémon in the entire Pokédex: Aron and Donphan.

This was precisely why Aiden had immediately decided to use this strategy upon seeing his randomized lineup.

Of course, if it were just using Endeavor to take out a single Charizard, this tactic wouldn't have shocked the audience as much.

The real brilliance of the Endeavor strategy lay in its ability to be reused repeatedly.

"The Shell Bell restores a small amount of HP after each attack, proportional to the damage dealt."

Aiden continued explaining.

Seeing that his opponent seemed to have been stunned into inaction, failing to send out their next Pokémon, Aiden stretched lazily.

"For a Level 1 Aron, this recovery is more than enough to restore it to full health."

"In that instant, it reactivates the effects of Sturdy and can continue tanking hits while pulling off smooth follow-ups."

As if to confirm Aiden's explanation, the fully healed Aron raised its head high on-screen, its eyes blazing with determination.

[HYPE this strategy is amazing! How did the streamer come up with this?]

[After watching the streamer's play, I can only summarize it in a haiku: Sturdy and Shell Bell, Level 1 Aron is god, Endeavor wipes all!]

(T/N: I tried lol.)

[True Level 1 god-tier Pokémon! This guy's going to dominate ranked matches!]

In the short time since the stream started, the density of the chat had skyrocketed.

Judging by the number of viewers, around a hundred people had witnessed Aiden's seemingly impossible tactic.

In theory, as long as Aron kept spamming Endeavor, it could easily sweep an entire team.

Of course, that was just theory.

There's no such thing as a perfect strategy in Pokémon battles, and it wasn't long before someone pointed out the limitations of the Endeavor tactic.

[Azure, your strategy is impressive, but what if the opponent sends out Aerodactyl? Wouldn't that completely ruin you?]

At the same time this comment appeared, the opponent had also considered the same point.

After a long deliberation, Aerodactyl was sent out.

Though it wasn't a true Dragon-type, as a Rock/Flying dual-type Pokémon, Aerodactyl was unaffected by the sandstorm and even gained increased durability.

However...

"Aron, Endeavor!"

Before Aerodactyl could react, it saw a tiny steel-plated monster charging straight at it.

Even though Aron was still at full HP, the effectiveness of its Endeavor remained devastating, nearly wiping out Aerodactyl's HP bar in an instant.

Taking advantage of Aerodactyl's confusion, Aiden immediately commanded his Trainer's virtual avatar on-screen.

Aron, still performing a mid-air backflip due to the momentum, was recalled, and Gardevoir made a dazzling entrance, elegantly finishing off Aerodactyl with a Psychic before it could counterattack.

Watching the score reach 2-1, Aiden couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"The sandstorm may not be able to finish off certain Pokémon, but Aron isn't alone, is it?"

Finishing off opponents with sandstorm was just a clever trick. As long as you could weaken the opponent, there were countless ways to seal the deal.

Compared to the three types immune to Sandstorm, the Endeavor strategy was probably more vulnerable to Ghost-types that could render it ineffective.

But this opponent clearly didn't have any such concerns.

Despite the vast gap in Pokémon strength, after Aron's dazzling performance, it was the opponent who couldn't hold on any longer and surrendered decisively.

A giant victory icon dominated half the screen.

The chat, which had been filled with skepticism before the battle, fell silent for a moment before snapping back to reality.

[Damn... Now I believe you're a Gym Leader. If a newbie came up with such an OP Level 1 strategy, I'll gift you 50 subs.]

[Even crazier than cheating! Aron Gigachad!]

[You got 3 minutes—I want a full tutorial on this strategy!]

To this, Aiden smiled without responding, immediately returning to the main menu to begin his climb through the ranks again.

He knew well that while the Endeavor strategy was unique, it was far from unbeatable.

Using multi-hit attacks or Ghost-type Pokémon would easily counter it.

But the problem was...

Because this was the real Pokémon world, access to Pokémon wasn't as straightforward as in games. Without a Pokédex, many trainers didn't even know their Pokémon's movesets.

And forget about casual players.

So Aiden simply let Aron dominate in the beginner ranks, quickly racking up a ten-win streak and advancing to the mid-tier of the Poké Ball rank.

In less than an hour, he was already sprinting toward the Great Ball rank.

"Piece of cake~"

After securing yet another easy victory, Aiden leaned back in his chair, stretching comfortably, and noticed that the viewer count in the top-right corner had quietly surpassed four digits.

Donations hadn't been scarce either.

Though everyone was broke, they didn't hesitate to show support, and the combined income was already quite substantial.

It seemed his first livestream was a success.

"Alright, guys, that's enough for today. Let's continue climbing tomorrow!"

"If you haven't followed yet, hit that follow button—it's free! Like and subscribe for more. Tomorrow, I'll be using different Pokémon and new tactics to climb the ranks, aiming to break into the Master Ball rank this season!"

Aiden hadn't streamed for very long, but the single strategy had lasted nearly an hour, and he figured the audience was probably starting to lose interest.

So, after teasing them with future plans, he prepared to end the stream.

His mind was brimming with strategies—he'd never run out. At this rate, it wouldn't take long to build his reputation.

Just as he was about to log off, "Hardworking Joy", who had been silent for a long time, suddenly sent a comment, which Aiden happened to catch.

[Azure, Azure, was this strategy your original creation? I couldn't find it anywhere on PokéTV!]

[If possible, could you make a tutorial video and post it online? I think a lot of people would love this style of strategy!]

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