Chapter 47 Steven, Even You, a Thick-Eyebrowed Honest Guy, Play Dirty?

Xia Chi and Iono's opening Pokémon were Rillaboom and Kilowattrel, respectively.

Given that the opponents clearly lacked a Pokémon capable of using [Trick Room], Kilowattrel's Tailwind speed-boosting strategy had virtually no natural counters.

Meanwhile, the starting Pokémon of the Hoenn Champion duo were Skarmory and Whiscash.

The former needed no introduction—it was one of Steven Stone's most iconic Pokémon, second only to his ace Metagross.

As for Wallace starting with Whiscash, it was most likely included in the team as a counter to Iono's Electric-type Pokémon due to its dual Water and Ground typing.

However, this Pokémon had one fatal flaw: a quadruple weakness to Grass.

As it happened, Xia Chi had brought Rillaboom along.

Wallace could not possibly be unaware of this, so it all depended on how he would handle it.

As Rillaboom entered the battlefield, its Ability, [Grassy Surge], spread a lush lawn across the field, and the battle officially began.

Iono and Xia Chi immediately issued their commands.

"Kilowattrel, Tailwind!"

"Rillaboom, use Fake Out on Skarmory!"

A textbook opening needed no further explanation.

Whiscash posed little offensive threat, so there was no need to pressure its HP with Grassy Glide.

Instead, prioritizing getting Tailwind up for Iono's Kilowattrel took precedence.

Clap—

With a crisp slapping sound, even someone as formidable as Steven's Skarmory could not evade the overwhelming suppression of the Grass-type primate.

Afterward, a strange and powerful gale swept up from behind Kilowattrel—Tailwind initiated!

Only then did Whiscash sluggishly release its move.

A layer of sharp, diamond-shaped energy fragments scattered beneath the feet of Kilowattrel and Rillaboom, unmistakably [Spikes].

Xia Chi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Had the hazard-stacking team meta already emerged in the ladder environment of this innocent Pokémon world?

Who on earth had been spreading this?!

Oh, right, it was me. Never mind then...

Xia Chi had indeed played around with hazard-stacking strategies when he first started live streaming two months ago.

Back then, he wasn't very popular yet, and his influence was limited, so only a small group of people had started picking it up.

However, after that god-slaying battle against Raihan, numerous players realized the importance of defensive synergy and pivoting in Pokémon battles.

Official data showed that over the past half-week, the number of Pokémon carrying U-turn, Volt Switch, and Parting Shot had increased by several hundred percent.

Naturally, the hazard-stacking strategy—an essential countermeasure against high-frequency pivoting—had also quickly surged in popularity.

Yet, he hadn't expected Wallace, someone usually so upright and refined, to start playing dirty tactics as well!

But then again, wasn't Steven's Skarmory an absolute expert at laying hazards?

Wait, was that guy just trying to set up [Stealth Rock] a moment ago?

***

Xia Chi felt as though the current ladder environment had been polluted into a dark forest.

Players of every archetype were holding guns and aiming at unseen enemies.

How terrifying.

Fortunately, all these dirty tactics were spread by me in the first place.

Xia Chi silently reflected in his heart.

***

Returning to the battle.

Although their side of the field was now littered with a layer of spikes, Kilowattrel had successfully set up Tailwind, achieving their tactical objective. It was entirely acceptable.

Iono shouted loudly, "Kilowattrel, take to the air and use Electro Ball on Skarmory!"

Xia Chi commanded simultaneously, "Rillaboom, target Whiscash, Grassy Glide!"

With the orders given, the two Pokémon immediately sprang into action with lightning speed.

The essence of the Tailwind speed-boosting strategy manifested at this very moment.

The effect of [Electro Ball] was that its damage was determined by the speed difference between the attacker and the target.

The greater the speed difference between the two, the higher the damage of Electro Ball.

Furthermore, Kilowattrel's [Wind Power] Ability allowed it to enter a [Charged] state after using Tailwind, doubling the power of its next Electric-type move.

Tailwind, Charge, Same-Type Attack Bonus, plus a double-effectiveness multiplier against Flying-types.

The terrifying damage this [Electro Ball] was about to deal could easily be foreseen.

On the game screen's sky and ground, one yellow and one green lightning-like figure crossed paths and charged toward their respective targets.

Skarmory and Whiscash remained unbothered, each clearing another layer of proper Spikes to continue their setup.

In previous-life Pokémon games, [Spikes] did not take effect in Double Battles.

But in this world, reality seemed to be respected, and they were unaffected by such restrictions.

The disgusting part of the dirty move [Spikes] was that its layers could stack.

The higher the layers, the higher the damage.

With three layers of Spikes like this, even Groudon would lose a layer of skin if it came out.

Xia Chi now vaguely sensed that something was wrong; this completely didn't match the battle styles of those two.

Unless their accounts were being piloted by someone else... were these two bros here in the game just to run tactical experiments?

Xia Chi guessed inwardly.

So, what was the price of the experiment?

A flash of electric light passed, and Skarmory's HP bar directly performed a vanishing act.

Only a sliver of red HP remained.

It wasn't that Electro Ball's damage was lacking, but rather that Skarmory's Ability [Sturdy] had triggered—

***

It could retain its last bit of health upon taking fatal damage for the first time.

(Due to the setting adjustments making Pokémon HP bars thicker, the Sturdy Ability was buffed accordingly, functioning similarly to Endure.)

Whiscash on the other side wasn't doing much better either.

Although the power of Grassy Glide was a far cry from Electro Ball, this was a quadruple-effectiveness hit, augmented by the Grassy Terrain!

With one massive flying kick from Rillaboom, Whiscash's whiskers were practically sent flying off its face.

In an instant, the starting Pokémon of the Hoenn double champions were both brought down to absolute scraps!

The price paid for this was that their own side's field was now suffering from three full layers of [Spikes].

Xia Chi finally couldn't help but complain, "Wait a minute, who on earth is the dirty-tactics streamer here?!"

The live stream chat instantly exploded with laughter.

"Lmao, standing right before you is Steven (mentor Wallace, corrupted edition)."

"Bro Wallace, you have the nerve to say that? Guess who ruined this once-pure environment in the first place?"

"Griefing others makes me happy, but getting griefed makes me go mmp."

"I support Teacher Wallace. Isn't it great right now? All kinds of strategies are blossoming, and even Champion-level trainers like Steven are trying new things in the game. Isn't that the greatest meaning of this game's existence? (Fifteen cents per post, delete the parentheses)"

"The Wallace fanboy upstairs can give me... wait, my sixty-meter-long blade almost accidentally struck an ally."

"......"

***

Compared to the lively atmosphere of the chat, the mood on the battlefield was extremely tense.

Xia Chi and Iono had intended to finish off the near-death Skarmory and Whiscash in one fell swoop.

However, the simultaneous activation of Protect directly shattered this intention.

"They're stalling out our Tailwind duration! What should we do?"

Iono couldn't help asking.

Xia Chi replied, "Keep attacking! What else can we do? If you get greedy for setup moves, what are you going to do when Skarmory just uses Whirlwind?"

Iono felt this made total sense, so Electro Ball accompanied by Grassy Glide roared out once again.

Lights flashed, but Steven's side swapped out the heavily battered Skarmory.

A sudden sense of foreboding gripped Xia Chi's heart.

Using the precious HP of a backline Metagross to shield an already nearly defeated Skarmory?

Steven would never do something like unless his backline wasn't Metagross at all, but rather...

The white light of a Pokémon substitution flashed, and the Pokémon appearing on the battlefield was none other than Steelix!