Chapter 30 Psyduck: I have no idea, I thought it was a speed bump.

When Psyduck—the fastest on the field with physical attack and accuracy both boosted by 200%—appeared on the battlefield, let’s see what interesting things would unfold.

First, it used Confusion Headbutt to knock out the frail and crippled Gulpin with ease.

Next came the arrival of the Torracat. Despite sharing the ability Unburden, it was no match for Psyduck, whose Speed was boosted by Tailwind and Unburden combined.

The moment Torracat entered, it was hit by Hypnosis and immediately fell into a baby-like slumber.

But this time, Psyduck wasn’t attacking with its big head. Instead, it swung its short, bald tail.

Torracat, a Water/Rock type, was vulnerable to Water moves, so Psyduck naturally chose its specialty move, Waterfall, which also gained a power boost in the rain.

Admittedly, Torracat’s physical defense and HP were much sturdier than the fragile Gulpin. But the difference was essentially between two heads and three tails.

During this, Torracat was lucky enough to wake up. But don’t forget, Psyduck’s boosts weren’t just physical attack and accuracy; its four layers of increased physical defense made even a pure physical attacker like Torracat despair.

When the second Torracat also fell to Psyduck’s tail strikes, the battle was effectively over.

The last Pokémon, Pelipper, came out merely to pad Psyduck’s stats.

Whether it was Cynthia’s graciousness allowing Psyduck to take on three opponents or sheer stubbornness refusing to forfeit, she didn’t quit.

Only when Pelipper’s last sliver of health vanished in its sleep did the match finally end.

Psyduck, clutching its head with a dazed and silly expression, stood alone as the final victor on the screen, like a lone wolf in the wind—the show’s effect was maximized.

No need to look; the chat was already ablaze.

“Congrats to Cynthia for joining the ‘Shadow Water Tactics Victims Club’!”

“Forget Cynthia, I get so mad just facing her! From the moment Mudsdale appeared, every second afterward was pure torture!”

“Who understands the redemption of a sleeping Pelipper being knocked out by Psyduck’s Confusion Headbutt?”

“To come up with a tactic that uses Unburden to boost accuracy, then pass the baton to Psyduck for guaranteed Hypnosis—Cynthia’s camp really needs a master strategist.”

“Master strategists need master strategists!”

“Years from now, when Kyogre meets the Water-type deity, the deity says, ‘You’re now the strongest Water-type Pokémon.’ Kyogre asks, ‘What about Psyduck?’ The deity smiles faintly and replies, ‘Psyduck? No one's called me that in ages.’”

“Psyduck: Dunno, I thought those speed bumps could just be trampled.”

“Duck God! Duck God! Duck God!”

“Everyone, quickly bring Taunt to clear the dense fog or blow them away! I can already imagine a flood of baton pass teams appearing on the ladder!”

“A flood of baton pass teams? Where?”

“...”

——————

Cynthia’s comprehensive victory earned Summer another wave of gifts. Summer thought that even Kishiki, who wasn’t in the livestream, popped up to send a Master Ball as congratulations.

Summer found it odd. Last time, Kishiki was enthusiastically hyping up Kiban, and now, for Cynthia, she inexplicably sent a Master Ball too.

Does she have a grudge against Galarians?

During a break before the next match, Summer quietly messaged Kishiki, “You and Cynthia don’t get along?”

Kishiki replied, “Nope.”

Summer scratched her head. Okay, maybe she was just suspicious without cause.

Kishiki added, “I just don’t get along with the Galar Gym Leaders.”

Summer: “...”

Wow, girl, you just spilled the tea!

Good thing this was a private chat on Piplup; if this had been asked live, the drama would have exploded all over the next day.

Kishiki continued venting.

“Don’t you think they’re all so fake from top to bottom? Leon’s never even won the Champion Cup, but he always markets himself as the world’s number one champion. Has he asked Cynthia? Or Caitlin?”

“Kiban is even more conniving—he says there are many Gym Leaders better than him, but secretly likes comments on Twitter praising ‘Kiban as champion in other regions.’”

“Cynthia isn’t any better, always marketing the ‘beautiful Gym Leader’ persona. Last year, she lost to Misty in the Water-type Gym Leader rankings, and her fans spread rumors like ‘Misty was always last before, who knows how she got so strong this year?’”

Summer: “...”

Turns out the factional rivalries and intrigues among top trainers are just as fierce.

I thought everyone was friends.

But in this relatively peaceful world, Pokémon battles hold far more significance than all the football, basketball, baseball, and badminton combined from the past life.

You have to know those football hooligans were as bad as gangsters.

Here, viewers from different regions only insult each other online—that’s already quite mild.

Summer definitely sided with her friends.

She helped diss two of them with “If my Psyduck can beat her, I don’t think Cynthia’s that strong!”

Kishiki was so pleased she forgot Summer had humiliated her with a Pinsir just a week ago...

——————

While chatting with Kishiki, Summer kept playing in-game.

Tonight’s remaining opponents were much weaker than Cynthia.

But one player, probably suffering too much from shadow tactics recently, brought three Pokémon all equipped with Taunt.

With baton passing and buffs blocked, and without a Garchomp, Summer was ultimately wiped out.

This rare loss caused more buzz than the match against Cynthia.

It showed that Summer had already become a game battle streamer with a decent following who didn’t need the support of other star trainers.

Before ending the stream, Summer announced she might miss some live broadcasts in the next few days due to going out into the wild.

Unsurprisingly, the chat exploded with strong opinions.

“Fine, fine, today you dare to ask for a leave, tomorrow you’ll be dodging fans!”

“Did we ask you to? Did we ask you to? Did we ask you to?”

“Just do outdoor streams! We love that too!”

“Agreed! Haven’t seen Water Trainer’s real face in ages. The motivation’s been low these days.”

“Is Water Trainer even a trainer? What Pokémon do they raise?”

“Obviously, Water Trainer is a trainer! At least professional level, maybe even gym leader level—otherwise how could they beat Kiban and Cynthia?”

“...”

Summer was a bit embarrassed. So that’s how strong they think she is?

If they knew she was just a rookie trainer, would that ruin her image?

But the outdoor streaming suggestion was worth considering.

First, to dispel rumors that she was some powerful trainer, so they wouldn’t be too disappointed.

Second... Summer really needed money. If she skipped streaming for several days, it would severely hurt her growing channel.

Besides, if something happened while outdoors, viewers could help report it to the authorities—a win-win.

With that in mind, Summer made her decision.

Outdoor streaming, let’s do it!

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