“By the way, Sprigatito, where do you want to sleep tonight?” Xia Chi asked, holding a Blastoise-shell-shaped cat bed and scanning the empty spaces in the room.
Sprigatito had already picked its spot.
It leaped onto the wardrobe, which was over two meters high, and cried out excitedly, “Meowphee!” *I want to live here!* Looking at Sprigatito as it surveyed its territory like a lion cub, Xia Chi smiled helplessly.
“Alright, take it up yourself then.” Two vines extended downward from above, and the Blastoise-shell cat bed disappeared onto the wardrobe the next second.
Sprigatito manipulated the vines to adjust its position for a while before nodding in satisfaction.
“Meowphee!” *Mission accomplished!* The trainer and Pokémon busied themselves arranging the room for the rest of the afternoon.
By the time the sky outside turned dark, they had barely finished setting up the things they bought.
After preparing a premium Grass-type Pokémon nutritional meal for Sprigatito using what he had learned from Erika, Xia Chi checked the time.
There were only ten minutes left before his scheduled stream at seven o’clock.
Going out to eat was definitely out of the question, so Xia Chi calmly ordered a “filial delivery”— Taking advantage of his current “godfather” status before the expiration date, he had Chen Zhenze bring him a meal from the cafeteria.
Then, Xia Chi turned on his computer and started today’s live stream.
“Hello hello?
Moshi moshi?
Aloha?
Can you guys hear me?” After his usual multi-regional language opening, the bullet chat in the stream became active.
“Mr.
Shui is so punctual today.
Love to see it.” “Still no facecam?
Did Old Shui actually get tracked down and beaten up in real life after yesterday’s stream, and now he’s too ashamed to show his face?” “Reporting in from Iono’s fan community!
Who’s this Shui Ye who kicked poor Iono aside like a stray dog twice?
[Angry][Angry][Angry]” “Give it a rest, Mr.
Shui.
The ladder is filled with Trick Room teams now.
You’re the one who started this bad trend!” “…” This was the benefit of streaming punctually every day.
Just as the stream started, many loyal fans were already interacting with Xia Chi.
Xia Chi opened the login interface of *Pokémon: Path of Champions* while selectively replying to the bullet comments.
“Why doesn’t the streamer turn on the facecam?
Er, mainly because I don’t want to put too much pressure on the handsome streamers out there.” “Can’t beat Trick Room teams?
Then that student didn’t pay attention in class yesterday.
Prankster Whimsicott with Taunt.
Next.” “Streamer, streamer, is Iono not streaming today because of you?
Hey friend, don’t talk nonsense, or I’ll plant a fist as big as a flatbread straight on your jaw.” However, just as Xia Chi said this, sharp-eyed viewers noticed that the account he logged into today was actually named “IonoZone.” The chat exploded instantly.
“???” “Old Shui, try saying one more time that Iono not streaming today has nothing to do with you?” “My friend~ I’m about to plant a firecracker right on your chin!” “Hand over Iono now!
Hand over Iono now!
Hand over Iono now!” Facing the angry mob in the chat, Xia Chi calmly said, “Since you’ve all seen it, I might as well say it.
Today, I’m helping a client push up her rank with a custom team.
The restricted Pokémon is Pachirisu.” Without Xia Chi needing to explain in detail, the viewers had already guessed that the client was Iono.
And Iono’s intention in letting Xia Chi use Pachirisu to climb the ranks was also obvious—she wanted to see him make a fool of himself on stream.
The direction of the chat instantly changed, with the “???” replacing themselves with “hahaha.” Xia Chi looked at the crowd of viewers waiting for a good show and smiled without saying a word.
*You guys are still too naive!* *** The teammates Xia Chi paired with Pachirisu didn’t feature any gimmicks.
Amoonguss, Garchomp, Sylveon, Incineroar, and Rillaboom.
Each one, when singled out, was a legendary figure that had dominated the Pokémon competitive scene in his past life.
This was the first time Xia Chi had built a team with such absurdly high strength.
It wasn’t just because Iono’s account was at a high rank.
The main reason was that winning a match would net him a Master Ball.
Who could refuse such a temptation?
However, these Pokémon weren’t highly popular in this world’s game—at least, they were far less popular than Charizard.
So this slightly unfamiliar lineup still sparked a lot of discussion in the chat.
After editing the movesets and stat distributions, Xia Chi clicked the Double Battle matchmaking button.
The level of importance this world placed on Pokémon Double Battles was about the same as some people’s niche fetishes—very small.
Fortunately, this situation was much better in *Pokémon: Path of Champions*.
Because in terms of tactical depth, Double Battles were indeed much richer than Single Battles.
So after a short queue, Xia Chi entered his first match of the day.
[IonoZone VS Some Unknown Lumiose Trainer!] Xia Chi had no impression of this nickname, and he didn’t find any key information after glancing at the chat.
“Should be a regular high-tier player.
Watch me secure today’s first win.” After dropping his bold claim, Xia Chi glanced at the opponent’s lineup and raised an eyebrow.
Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Mimikyu, Conkeldurr, and Rhyperior?
“Why does this lineup look so familiar?” Xia Chi’s feigned thoughtfulness triggered a new round of discussion in the chat.
“Isn’t it familiar?
Isn’t this just a replica of Mr.
Shui’s team from yesterday?” “Hahaha, I told you the ladder is filled with Trick Room teams today!” “Lmao, this is a classic case of the copycat meeting the original.” “He actually swapped out Trapinch for Rhyperior?
Selling out his signature Pokémon just for some raw stats—how shameful!” “Love to see it.
Old Shui is about to get humbled by his own underhanded tactics!” Xia Chi smiled playfully.
*Humbled by a Trick Room team?* *Have you asked for the opinions of the universe’s absolute number one Pokémon and Tapu Rilla?* After swiftly selecting Amoonguss, Incineroar, Rillaboom, and Pachirisu, he leaned back in his chair.
Who needed to look for entertainment value when it literally delivered itself to his doorstep?
As the computer screen transitioned, the battle officially began.
Xia Chi’s two leading Pokémon were the superstar starter duo of the eighth and ninth generations: Incineroar and Rillaboom.
The opponent’s lead Pokémon were Hatterene and Grimmsnarl.
At the start of the battle, the highly realistic game screen displayed a lush green field.
Rillaboom’s ability activated: Grassy Surge— Upon entering the field, it created a Grassy Terrain that boosted the power of Grass-type moves and continuously restored the HP of all Pokémon on the field!
Immediately following that was the terrifying pressure radiating from Incineroar—Intimidate!
The Attack stats of the opponent’s two Pokémon dropped by one stage.
Looking at the two opposing Pokémon whose spirits had withered slightly under the Intimidate, Xia Chi rubbed his chin.
“Leading with dual Trick Room setters.
They have some understanding of the game.” The benefit of leading with dual Trick Room setters was obvious: it offered more room for error to set up Trick Room.
If the opponent didn’t carry a Pokémon with Taunt, Grimmsnarl, with its Prankster ability, would set up screens as usual, while Hatterene would act as the Trick Room attacker.
But when the opponent did have a Pokémon capable of using Taunt—like in this match— Then, it became a battle of wits to see which of the two Pokémon would actually cast Trick Room.