May 24th, Sunday
After nearly half a month in Sinnoh, Teacher Azure finally returned to Sunshine Gym.
Truthfully—he'd have loved to linger longer, savoring the tranquil days in Celestic Town—
But he was still Paldea's Gym Leader! Soon possibly promoted to Elite Four. Career came first!
Riding Salamence back to Kettling Town, Aiden spotted Arven and Nemona seated on the Gym's lawn—feeding sandwiches to the six newly adopted Pokémon alongside Mewtwo.
Before leaving, Aiden had worried the little ones might dislike Poké Puffs—so he'd entrusted them with feeding duty.
"You're back, Aiden!"
Arven—hair slightly tousled—grinned and waved upon seeing him.
"Squirtle squir~"
Squirtle, the eldest of the six, mimicked him with tiny flippers.
Watching its earnest expression, Aiden felt he should buy it glasses—somehow it seemed more fitting.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Aiden approached—patting Squirtle's head, then smiling at Arven and Nemona.
"You've been busy lately and still made time for the Gym's Pokémon."
"No no—I find it meaningful to meet diverse Pokémon and bond with them."
Arven shook his head vigorously.
"And me too, Teacher Azure!"
Nemona suddenly raised a hand—eyes gleaming with fervent intensity.
"I contributed plenty these past weeks~"
"So as a reward for this Gym apprentice completing her mission!"
"Battle me again! I've devised so many fun tactics!"
"——Next time."
Aiden smoothly deployed a classic Itachi-style deflection—dousing Nemona's excitement like ice water.
"If you reveal all your new tactics now… won't I just counter them during Victory Road? And risk failing?"
"Save your passion for Pokémon battling until then."
"Fine!"
Nemona sighed.
She was willful—but reasonable.
…Probably.
Recalling how future-Nemona might restart as Champion just for more battles with the protagonist… Aiden suddenly doubted his own reasoning.
After a brief chat, the pair took their leave.
Aiden pondered—then, before heading home, released all his partners from Poké Balls.
After half a month away… let them play freely today.
"Roar!"
Salamence—spotting this—joyfully flapped its wings, soaring skyward to begin today's "aerial acrobatics."
Mewtwo ambled toward the six little ones—glanced once—and sighed in resignation.
"You didn't train at all while I was gone, did you——"
"Squirtle?!"
Squirtle froze—swiveled within its shell, exchanged panicked glances with the others—then shook its head vigorously.
But they were terrible liars. Even Aiden saw through it.
And before Mewtwo—
The scent of deception was unmistakable.
"Ah——"
Mewtwo patted Squirtle and Charmander's heads—then offered a "kind" smile.
"Starting tomorrow—resume training. I will personally supervise."
????
Instantly—the clone Pokémon turned ashen-faced, seemingly petrified by Mewtwo's "Petrify" technique.
Truly… Mewtwo's aura now mirrors a Trainer's.
Aiden watched silently as it herded the six like chicks toward the battlefield for immediate drills.
Still… if given the chance, I should gently guide it.
If it develops into a "Shinji-type" Trainer… correcting that later would be difficult.
"Pon?"
As Aiden pondered, Ogerpon tugged his sleeve.
"What is it, Ogerpon?"
Aiden crouched—meeting the child-sized Pokémon's curious gaze.
For a moment—he was puzzled.
"Ogerpon!!!"
Ogerpon suddenly lifted its head.
It understood! Why Trainer felt different today!
Grabbing Aiden's arm, it dragged him into Sunshine Gym—straight to the washroom mirror.
Aiden glanced—
And nearly lost composure.
Salamence's homeward haste had caused overspeeding—leaving his hair locked in a bizarre, windswept pompadour after battling atmospheric resistance.
Just a hairstyle change… even I barely recognized myself.
Though Aiden wondered more: If Salamence caused this… how does Lance maintain that spiky hair while riding Dragonite at full speed?
He must be using industrial-grade hair gel.
After reporting his safe arrival to Chairwoman Geeta, Aiden finally exhaled.
Sinnoh journey—officially concluded.
Now—he was once more:
Paldea's strictest Naranja Academy teacher, Sunshine Gym's most criticized Leader, Future Victory Road examiner——Teacher Azure!
And today happened to be Sunday.
Haven't taught students in a while. Time for a little "extra course"~
Aiden entered his bedroom—preparing tonight's content.
Having been away from Pokémon Champion updates, he now noticed a new announcement:
Chairwoman Geeta had finalized negotiations with developers. Terastallization would soon launch in-game—replacing Mega Evolution as the new seasonal mechanic.
Aiden's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Mega Evolution was undeniably brilliant—allowing certain Pokémon to transcend their limits and seize the spotlight.
But clear drawbacks existed.
Only a limited pool of Pokémon possessed Mega potential—naturally restricting viable team compositions.
Many unpopular Pokémon remained unused even in the Pokémon world.
Terastallization differed fundamentally.
A universal mechanic applicable to any Pokémon—plus strategic type-switching during critical moments——
Even relatively weaker Pokémon could carve niche roles.
Excitement stirred.
Next season's theme: Using "non-meta" Pokémon to execute creative tactics.
But tonight's tactic?
Aiden pondered—then recalled a famously underused Pokémon.
One with base stats lower than Smeargle… perfectly fitting his theme. And tactics built around it would be delightfully unconventional~
—
6:30 PM arrived.
After sharing a long-awaited "Paldean-style sandwich" dinner with his Pokémon, Aiden prepared to go live.
Peak user activity hours on PokéTV—yet despite over two weeks absent from tactics streaming, loyal viewers still gathered punctually.
[Has Teacher Azure forgotten he's a tactics streamer? Feels like his audience is vanishing——]
[To be honest—if this continues, he'll truly become a Sinnoh son-in-law! Teacher Azure, don't drown in romance's warmth!!!]
[Tragic news from battling circles: The One True King Teacher Azure ascends to "having a life" planet——]
As students vented in the pitch-black stream—suddenly a white flash erupted. Aiden's pompadour-adorned face materialized before them.
"Hello everyone~ Long time no see!"
Aiden's cheerful greeting opened tonight's broadcast.
[??? HOLY—Teacher Azure actually went live?!]
[Background confirms—he's back in Paldea! You've done it, Teacher Azure!]
[NO!!! Sinnoh needs Teacher Azure too!]
Due to the unexpected stream, viewer count surged—but danmaku remained sparse. Aiden spotted several comments and smiled.
"You always surprise me with new antics."
"I was sent to Sinnoh on official business! Ancient language translation has concluded—I must return to Paldea for work."
"There is but one sun in my heart: Chairwoman Geeta!"
[Ancient language translation——does that mean learning foreign tongues directly from Sinnoh Legendaries?]
[Teacher Azure: As everyone knows, I'm a jack-of-all-trades. Mythologist? Ancient linguist? I casually chat with divine beings too!]
[Oh really? Why do I feel Teacher Azure enjoyed Sinnoh too much? Just apply to develop there permanently~]
[Chairwoman Geeta—stop using alt accounts to test him! Teacher Azure's face just changed!]
Aiden's expression did shift—but not for their assumed reason.
He'd just spotted Cynthia entering his stream.
Better maintain professionalism.
"Ahem—let's skip irrelevant topics."
"Half a month without proper tactics lessons… it seems some students have forgotten the terror of being dominated by Teacher Azure on the ranked ladder."
"Pokémon Champions—launch!"
Aiden opened the pre-prepared game interface—navigating to the familiar team editor.
"Today—to give the Mega Evolution season a grand finale—I'll present something unconventional."
"Our tactic uses zero Mega-capable Pokémon."
"Let your opponents bring Mega Evolution—we'll still win effortlessly!"
Selecting the first Pokémon, Aiden declared:
"Today's core—this one!"
Viewers instantly chuckled upon seeing it.
[Teacher Azure—I thought this was a new tactic? Just Shedinja with Wonder Guard?]
[Didn't someone challenge Sunshine Gym with this before… and get utterly crushed by Teacher Azure?]
[We're not beginners. Seeing Shedinja instantly reveals the counter~]
[Wait—what if Teacher Azure does have a twist?]
[I can't wait! Bring out the new tactic, Teacher Azure!]
As danmaku noted—Shedinja's usage was indeed straightforward.
Shedinja.
A Bug/Ghost-type Pokémon with uniquely rare emergence:
When a Nincada gains sufficient strength to evolve, it rapidly sheds its exoskeleton during evolution's glow—becoming the swift Ninjask.
But in rare cases—if a Trainer immediately captures the discarded shell before evolution completes——
A profoundly special Pokémon is born.
Shedinja.
Its Bug/Ghost typing hints at a soul-like essence.
Truly—a Pokémon whose mere discovery qualifies as a miracle.
Yet its traits ran deeper.
In battle, Shedinja possessed sharply defined identity.
No matter how powerful—it couldn't withstand any damage. Yet it held a unique defense mechanic: attacks that are not super-effective against it dealt no damage whatsoever.
A trait seemingly tied to its soul-like nature—recorded in early Pokédex entries as the Ability Wonder Guard.
Unique… yet easily countered.
Shedinja had numerous weaknesses. Any super-effective move instantly defeated it.
Hence Aiden's "high recognition, low usage" remark.
Still—Shedinja was perfectly suited for Terastallization.
Change its type to Electric via Tera Orb while holding Air Balloon…and Shedinja suddenly becomes notoriously difficult to handle.
Aiden once faced a student using this tactic—requiring Sandstorm to finally resolve it.
Alas—this remained the Mega Evolution era.
No matter!
Aiden had devised a special tactic making it unbreakable, uncounterable—and utterly formidable!
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