Kanto, Vermilion City.
As the ship's whistle sounded, a cruise liner slowly departed. A burly man with blonde hair, dressed in military camouflage, leaned back in the harbor's captain's lounge, sipping a cola contentedly.
Turning on the large LCD screen in front of him, Lt. Surge rubbed his controller with a grin.
"Ah... now this is the life!"
Suddenly, the cola on the table began to levitate, and the clock's second hand froze in place.
Lt. Surge narrowed his eyes and silently slipped a knife out of his sleeve.
Creaaak—
The door opened, and in a flash, Lt. Surge hurled the knife at the visitor.
Swish!
The blade sliced through the air, but was halted by an invisible force, dropping to the floor with a metallic clatter.
A slender woman with black hair walked straight to the sofa, sat down, and gave Lt. Surge a glance.
"Is this how you welcome an old friend?"
Lt. Surge froze, then scratched his head with an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry, force of habit."
Noticing her shoulder-length black hair, he raised an eyebrow.
"You dyed your hair back?"
"The role didn't require it, so I changed it back," Sabrina shrugged.
"Looks like you've been living the easy life."
"Not bad," Lt. Surge yawned. "Just playing games and dealing with rookie Trainers who challenge my Gym."
"Nothing too exciting."
"I wish I could be as carefree as you," Sabrina sighed.
Lt. Surge grinned and handed her a controller. "Wanna give it a try?"
"No thanks."
Sabrina pushed the controller away.
"I came to tell you that Giovanni seems to be scouting for new executives again."
"That's got nothing to do with me anymore," Lt. Surge replied calmly.
"My advice? Focus on your acting career. Being a celebrity is way better than being a hunted fugitive."
"Maybe," Sabrina sighed, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her hand. She gestured toward Lt. Surge.
"Is the game fun?"
"Yeah, crushing noobs is great, and there's no Gym repair fees," Lt. Surge chuckled.
"Want to try? You can import teams and customize your avatar."
Sabrina paused, intrigued.
Custom outfits and avatars?
She nodded seriously.
After an hour of customizing outfits, she finally entered the matchmaking screen.
Lt. Surge stroked his chin. "A Trainer from the Donghuang Region?"
Sabrina's eyes narrowed slightly. "That new recruit Giovanni invited seems to be from Donghuang, too."
Lt. Surge's expression shifted. "You mean... that kid who wiped out the Elite Four in the Master Group?"
"Is he strong?" Sabrina asked.
"Not sure," Lt. Surge shook his head.
"His command and team composition are top-notch. But who knows how he'll do in a real fight."
By "real fight," Lt. Surge meant no-holds-barred battles where lives were on the line. In that domain, the only ones he respected were Giovanni and Red.
"Command skills, huh..." Sabrina murmured, a glint of nostalgia in her dark eyes. She smiled faintly.
"Alright, I'll give it a shot."
A 6v4 Double Battle—Sabrina led with Hatterene and Indeedee.
Lu Ye mirrored the same lineup. The audience was stunned.
"Is Teacher Lu really challenging a Psychic Gym Leader in strategy?"
"Brothers, Teacher Lu is about to embarrass himself again!"
"We've got a solid backup team, no worries."
Teacher Lu said calmly, "Besides... our move set has a strategy!"
The black-haired girl stretched out her hand. Hatterene shimmered with magical light, spreading its battlefield control across the arena.
Lu Ye shouted,
"Indeedee, use Imprison!"
[Imprison: Seals the opponent's moves if they match any of the user's moves.]
"???"
"Imprison in a mirror match? Are you even human, Teacher Lu?!"
But Sabrina was ready. Her Hatterene, with the Magic Bounce ability, reflected the Imprison back at Indeedee.
"Whoa! Teacher Lu's Imprison failed!"
"Hahaha, classic Teacher Lu—he even misses Imprison!"
With the reflected Imprison, the situation flipped.
"Teacher Lu's in trouble now!"
"Sabrina's too good; she read Teacher Lu's Imprison!"
Just then, Lu Ye smiled faintly.
"Indeedee, use Ally Switch!"
As the incoming light streaked toward Indeedee, it swapped places with Hatterene. A reflective shield spread over Lu Ye's Hatterene.
Magic Bounce triggered!
Imprison bounced back onto Sabrina's Pokémon!
"What?! He predicted her prediction of his prediction?"
"Teacher Lu's on another level!"
The tide turned instantly.
Lu Ye sent out Dusknoir, twisting the battlefield with a Trick Room.
Speed flipped. Rhyperior, eyes glowing red, stomped the ground with crushing force. An Earthquake consumed Sabrina's Pokémon!
"OMG, it's a massacre!"
"Rhyperior's taking out his own team too!"
"To avoid Rock Slide missing, he's using Earthquake to KO his own team. Genius!"
Sabrina's backup, Wobbuffet and Mr. Mime, set up defensive walls, but even that couldn't withstand Rhyperior's onslaught.
After a missed Rock Slide, Dusknoir fell to Destiny Bond.
In the end, Lu Ye won 4-2.
"That was brutal! Trick Room is amazing!"
"Teacher Lu, stop! Mom's scared!"
"Same team, but he crushed a Gym Leader. I'd believe it if you said he was an Elite Four!"
"Well, he is ranked seventh in the world. Did you think he was just a casual streamer?!"
Lu Ye stayed calm.
Sabrina's abnormality lay in her ability to command with psychic powers. That was a cheat in both competitions and wild battles. In virtual battles, she was at a disadvantage.
"Thanks to 'Challenging Viridian Gym Tomorrow' for the Rocket Gift." Lu Ye's expression turned odd.
"Just don't say I taught you..."
Using Trick Room against Blue? That was suicidal.
But maybe Blue, impressed by the strategy, would toss out a few badges.
The stream's viewership soared past 3 million.
The BP count hit 5000. Lu Ye considered getting a Water Stone for Squirtle.
Glancing at the screen, Lu Ye coughed.
"Thanks to 'BLUE' for the Super Rocket. Much appreciated..."
He froze.
Wait, that ID looks familiar.
"Whoa! Blue just gifted Teacher Lu!"
"Looks like it works. I'm challenging tomorrow!"
"Run away! We're doomed!"
A cold sweat dripped down Lu Ye's forehead.
I'm here talking about Viridian Gym strategies... and the Gym Leader shows up?