Chapter 13: My Tactics Are Different

Throughout the history of Pokémon battles, starting from Gen II, the choice of spike setters has been as varied as the proverb "Each has their own merits".

Among these, Skarmory was an explosively powerful contender.

Not only could it set down Stealth Rock and Spikes simultaneously, but its combination of strong resistances and high physical defense made it exceptionally durable on the field.

And if you added in Roost's terrifying healing ability…

After laying down three layers of Spikes and one layer of Stealth Rock, the opponent's Tsareena could do nothing but stare helplessly.

"Skarmory, Roost!"

Under Aiden's command, Skarmory landed on the virtual battlefield to rest, restoring its health to full strength.

[You've laid all the Spikes—stop the cap, are you really saying this isn't a stall team?]

[The opponent is just sitting there taking hits lmaooo]

[This is what our Poké Ball tier is like.]

[Streamer, stop messing with us low-tier folks—hurry up and climb to Great Ball so you can fight Gym Leaders!]

Aiden's opening move was the standard formula for Spikes tactics, so it came as no surprise to the chat.

Thus, while enjoying the opponent's hilariously bad plays, they didn't forget to send in their snarky comments.

So far, everything seemed normal.

No one in the entire live chat noticed that Aiden was barely suppressing his laughter, which was about to burst out uncontrollably.

If he were following Steven's strategy, Skarmory would now start being annoying.

It would blow away the opponent with Whirlwind, trapping them in an endless loop of switching Pokémon, slowly being worn down by the spikes underfoot.

Even Elite Four members would struggle to counter it.

But for Aiden, this Spike-and-Whirlwind tactic was still too inefficient.

"Skarmory, Brave Bird!"

Skarmory soared into the sky and dove down at incredible speed. The power of this Flying-type move was absolutely not to be underestimated.

The opponent's "waifu squad" had no way to counter this move. They had no choice but to try and withdraw Tsareena and send out Lopunny, hoping its High Jump Kick would save the day.

Then, as expected, it promptly fainted.

[??? Where's your Whirlwind? Why aren't you playing by the rules?!]

[You hacking again? Skarmory shouldn't be able to OHKO Tsareena…]

[Wait, don't tell me you're running an offensive Skarmory?!]

The chat quickly realized something was off.

In response, Aiden merely smiled faintly and ignored them.

When the opponent recalled their defeated Tsareena and sent out another Pokémon, Aiden immediately issued his next command:

"Skarmory, Brave Bird again!"

Lopunny entered the fray.

The moment it landed, the Spikes covering the opponent's field took effect.

Spikes dug into Lopunny's soft feet, and Stealth Rock caused additional chip damage. Combined, they instantly drained nearly half of its HP.

Before the opponent could react, Skarmory's Brave Bird descended from the sky!

Lopunny didn't even have time to retaliate before collapsing unconscious on the ground.

The audience in the live chat was utterly stunned.

[Holy crap, Skarmory can be this brutal?!]

[Tanky as hell and still dealing massive damage—how can a Pokémon be this cool!]

Three layers of Spikes put immense pressure on Pokémon unable to levitate, and Stealth Rock further increased the damage output.

With the addition of Flying-type's signature move Brave Bird, the opponent was completely helpless.

[Though Brave Bird deals high damage, the recoil is real painful—even Skarmory can't handle much more of this.]

As the chat pointed out, powerful moves often came with risks.

While Brave Bird was devastating, it inflicted recoil damage on the user due to its backdraft.

After taking a full-powered kick from Tsareena and suffering recoil from two Brave Birds, Skarmory's HP was dangerously low.

That said, for Skarmory, this was still relatively healthy.

Because it could heal itself with Roost while the opponent switched Pokémon.

This was Skarmory's infuriating trait.

However, Aiden didn't give any commands right away. He waited until the opponent sent out their third Pokémon before commanding Skarmory to use Brave Bird once more.

Same recipe.

This time, Primarina took the full brunt of the spikes and fell victim to Skarmory's relentless assault, going down alongside it in mutual destruction.

[Huh? What are you doing, streamer? Did you just sacrifice your Skarmory as cannon fodder?!]

[Although trading one for three is already a huge win, it clearly could've lasted longer—did Azure panic or something?]

Skarmory's dominance was undeniable—it dealt three KO's with three Brave Birds, aided by the spikes. If the match ended here, it would've been a solid MVP performance.

But the chat still couldn't understand why Aiden decisively sacrificed it.

Aiden didn't bother explaining. Seizing the opportunity, he and the opponent simultaneously sent out their next Pokémon.

His next Pokémon was Metagross, the pseudo-legendary from Hoenn. Facing Hatterene, the "Witch," it held a clear advantage.

The current score was 3:1.

Both the number of Pokémon left and the state of the battlefield were heavily in Aiden's favor. As long as he didn't mess up, victory was practically guaranteed.

Just like its teammates before it, Hatterene suffered heavy damage from the spikes the moment it landed, losing a significant chunk of its HP before the battle even began.

"Metagross, Meteor Mash!"

Aiden shouted confidently, giving his command with vigor.

Metagross accelerated using Magnet Rise, its iron fists carving dazzling silver arcs through the air.

Steel beats Fairy—a type matchup even elementary school students in this world could recite backward.

Add in Metagross's terrifying damage output, and this punch would leave Hatterene with no chance, even if it had ten thousand lives.

"Let's…Fucking…Go!"

Seeing victory within reach, Aiden clenched his fist and let out a low growl.

However, just as Metagross's attack was about to land, Hatterene suddenly vanished on the spot.

"NANI?!?"

Even a 90% accuracy Meteor Mash missed?

[LOLOL using cheap tactics comes at a cost—looks like the streamer's luck has completely disappeared!]

[From the looks of it, the opponent must be a Psychic-type Trainer—their Teleport speed is clearly much faster than the previous Pokémon.]

[Where's the facecam—his expression right now must be priceless!]

Aiden paused momentarily but quickly regained his composure.

"It missed, but it doesn't matter."

"If one punch doesn't hit, I'll just throw another one!"

When quality wasn't enough, quantity would make up for it.

"My Metagross can't miss Meteor Mash forever—if it lands even once, Hatterene won't survive!"

Under Metagross's relentless barrage of punches, even the little witch's best efforts to dodge ultimately couldn't save her from being knocked out.

The next Pokémon, Gardevoir, met the same fate—one elbow strike later, it was down.

The desperate struggles of these two Psychic-types were nothing more than a minor annoyance to Metagross.

The score quickly reached 5:1.

By this point, the opponent's morale had completely collapsed. Their final Pokémon, Meowscarada, gave up on defense entirely and recklessly engaged Metagross in close combat.

Predictably, it ended with a GG.

The final score was 6:1—a total crush.

Had Aiden's tactics been less aggressive, he might have even achieved a clean sweep.

Only when the large victory banner appeared on the live screen did the previously amused chat finally snap out of their daze.

They quickly realized what Aiden meant when he said, "My tactics are different."

[Holy crap, so spikes can also grind down HP while going for aggressive attacks?]

[Can we calculate the psychological damage inflicted on the opponent? Bro's gonna need a psychologist.]

[Though setting up Spikes at the start felt like constipation, the match ended faster than yesterday's game.]

[In this match, the Spikes laid at the start probably accounted for about a third of the total damage—Spikes the real MVP…]

[This is legit, it feels pretty efficient for climbing ranks, no?]

[Time for my unranked to Master Ball climb too]

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