The chat was still reeling from the sheer amount of money the viewer had just spent.
[NightOwl99: WHAT THE HELL?
Bro, you donated AGAIN?!]
[KeyboardWarrior: RedPikachu says nothing.
He simply continues throwing money at the streamer.]
[RentIsDue: RedPikachu, next time you want to say something, just WARN US.
We’ll all shut up so you can post a normal message.
Why are you paying a thousand just to type?!
Give ME the money!]
[DownBadAgain: If you looked that much like Cynthia, maybe he’d throw money at you too.]
…
While the viewers continued marveling at the donation, Cynthia had quietly moved Mightyena into the lead slot and started the battle again.
Her fourth attempt against Brawly began.
Mightyena entered the field.
Brawly once again led with Combusken.
[Mightyena’s Intimidate activated!]
[Combusken’s Attack fell!]
The viewers were immediately confused.
[MechanicsGeek: Didn’t you already try leading Mightyena once?
Growl can’t keep up with Swords Dance.]
[GuideReader: Yeah, I’m not seeing the plan here.]
…
Cynthia did not use Growl.
She switched.
As expected, Brawly’s Combusken used Swords Dance, sharply raising its Attack by two stages.
Cynthia recalled Mightyena and sent out Dottler.
[Combusken’s Speed Boost activated!]
[Combusken’s Speed rose!]
The chat hesitated.
[DamageCalcNerd: She’s setting Reflect again?
I don’t get it.]
[OldSaveFile: We already watched this line fail.
Even with Reflect, Hariyama still deletes her whole team.]
[TrollFace87: I think the Gym has finally broken her.]
…
But when the next turn began, Cynthia did not select Reflect.
She opened her party menu again.
And switched straight back to Mightyena.
Combusken had gained a Speed boost at the end of the previous turn, meaning it would normally move first.
Switching, however, happened before either active Pokémon selected and executed an attack.
Dottler disappeared.
Mightyena returned to the field.
Another notification appeared.
[Mightyena’s Intimidate activated!]
[Combusken’s Attack fell!]
At the same moment, the familiar Baton Pass icon appeared over Combusken.
White light enveloped it.
[Combusken used Baton Pass!]
[Gym Leader Brawly sent out Hariyama!]
But this time, the situation was completely different.
The single Swords Dance boost had been erased by two separate activations of Intimidate.
Instead of inheriting a massive offensive boost, Hariyama received only the one stage of increased Speed from Speed Boost.
The next turn began with Cynthia and Brawly effectively back on even footing.
Cynthia’s eyes sharpened.
Exactly as she thought.
The opponents in this game could certainly evaluate battle conditions, but they were not truly making flexible decisions the way a real Trainer would.
Their choices were still being made through calculations and predetermined logic.
As long as Combusken had even one stage of increased Attack left, passing its boosts to Hariyama created enough offensive power to sweep Cynthia’s team.
So the AI had considered Baton Pass worthwhile and committed to it.
Now it had handed Hariyama nothing but Speed.
It was Cynthia’s turn to take advantage.
She immediately switched Pokémon.
Hariyama’s Flame Orb activated, burning it, and the Guts-boosted Pokémon slammed Force Palm into the Pokémon Cynthia had just sent in.
Feebas.
Its HP bar disappeared instantly.
Cynthia looked at the fainted Feebas with a genuinely apologetic expression.
“Sorry.
I know that wasn’t fair to you…
but we’re going to win this.”
Then she sent Mightyena back out.
[Mightyena’s Intimidate activated!]
[Hariyama’s Attack fell!]
By this point, the viewers had finally understood what she was doing.
She was repeatedly cycling Mightyena in and out to trigger Intimidate, using Feebas as the necessary sacrifice to create another safe entry.
[MechanicsGeek: Ohhh.
She sacked Feebas so she could cycle Mightyena back in and stack Intimidates.
She understands pivoting now…
sort of.]
[MetaSlave: Someone hide Volt Switch, U-turn, and Parting Shot from her.
I’m genuinely afraid of what she’ll become once she discovers actual pivot moves.]
[SoftHeartedGamer: She actually apologized to Feebas.
Meanwhile I send Sturdy Geodude in and click Explosion without hesitation.]
[EthicsCommittee: Does your Geodude WANT to explode?!
Look at him!
He’s crying!]
[SoftHeartedGamer: He doesn’t get a vote.]
…
The next turn began.
Cynthia selected Crunch.
Hariyama’s Attack had now been lowered by one stage.
Even with Guts active, Mightyena finally had enough breathing room to fight it directly.
If she could eliminate Hariyama first, deal with Combusken afterward, and then adapt to whatever Brawly’s final Pokémon turned out to be, the battle was still very winnable.
Hariyama moved first.
[Hariyama used Force Palm!]
The blow landed.
Mightyena survived with a little over one-third of its HP.
Its Oran Berry immediately activated, restoring its health to slightly above two-thirds.
Then Mightyena retaliated with Crunch.
Hariyama’s HP fell below half.
Burn damage triggered at the end of the turn, pushing it firmly into the yellow.
The next turn began.
Hariyama used Force Palm again.
Mightyena’s HP dropped to the tiniest sliver.
But it survived.
Crunch landed.
Hariyama finally went down!
[Hariyama fainted!]
Cynthia released a small breath when she saw the knockout animation.
That had to be the most dangerous individual Pokémon on Brawly’s team.
Now that Hariyama was gone, surely the rest of the battle would be more manageable.
Then Brawly sent out another Pokémon.
It was another broad, muscular Fighting-type, though unlike Hariyama, this one resembled a construction worker carrying a steel beam over its shoulder.
[Gym Leader Brawly sent out Gurdurr!
Lv.
23]
Cynthia studied it.
She was familiar with Gurdurr.
In several ways, its battle profile resembled Hariyama’s: strong physical offense, respectable durability, but comparatively poor speed and mobility.
Without Baton Pass giving it a Speed boost, it should be far less threatening.
Even if Mightyena failed to move first and was knocked out, Cynthia could simply send in Combusken and use Aerial Ace.
She got this!
Feeling that victory was finally within reach, Cynthia selected Crunch and prepared to see which Pokémon was faster.
Gurdurr moved first.
[Gurdurr used Mach Punch!]
Cynthia frowned slightly as Mightyena finally went down.
A priority move.
Unfortunate, but Mightyena had already accomplished more than enough.
Now Combusken could finish the job.
Then Cynthia noticed something.
As Gurdurr completed its punch, a brief flicker of red flame appeared around its body.
Cynthia paused.
‘Why does that look…
familiar?’
The notifications appeared.
[Gurdurr’s Flame Orb activated!]
[Gurdurr was burned!]
Cynthia stared at the screen.
“…???”
Wait.
Hadn’t Norman explicitly told her that duplicate held items were forbidden in official battles?
So that rule only applied to the challenger?!
And more importantly—
Did every Fighting-type Pokémon in this game have exactly one strategy?!
Flame Orb.
Guts.
Flame Orb.
Guts.
How many times were they going to pull the same trick?!
Cynthia’s eye twitched.
‘Can you people do something else?!’