Chapter 595

Time quickly arrived at 6:30 PM on Sunday.

This time slot is exactly when PokéTV users are most active.

The reason is also very simple.

It's the broadcast time for a certain "sunny and cheerful big boy."

Countless viewers flooded into the stream early, holding their rice bowls and waiting in the pitch-black broadcast room, just waiting for the command to start eating.

【Great, today is my favorite double battle; I can watch Teacher Yu play all sorts of outrageous tactics again!】

【To be fair, indeed, the rain team civil war last episode left me stunned; I really didn't know what happened. Entertainment lineups are more suitable for ordinary trainers like us...】

【I actually feel a bit uncomfortable when Teacher Yu plays serious lineups; he should just use some underhanded tactics!】

【Shut up, do you want to ruin Pokémon battling!】

Just as the viewers were chatting happily, a bright light suddenly flashed across the pitch-black screen, followed by Qingyu appearing in front of the screen, smiling and waving to the audience.

【Brothers, get ready to eat!】

【I must start taking notes immediately; what kind of torturous tactics has Teacher Yu prepared today?】

【I feel like there aren't many underhanded ways to play rain teams. Didn't Teacher Yu play very serious tactics last week? At most, that slightly underhanded Ferrothorn was a bit disgusting.】

【What are you babbling about? Go tell that to my Mega Swampert's Ice Punch!】

"Hello, everyone."

Qingyu spoke simply, glancing at the viewer count in the top right corner.

Just seconds after the broadcast started, the room was already packed with tens of thousands of people, and it was climbing at rocket speed.

For him, already the "only big streamer on PokéTV," these figures were long since routine.

"Last week, Teacher Yu introduced the main ideas of rain teams to everyone, and also previewed this week's tactics—"

"It's still a rain team, but today we will expand the concept to double battle rankings to show more flexible gameplay."

After a simple opening, Qingyu quickly began his explanation:

"In singles, the rain team's approach is relatively flexible. Various Pokémon can integrate into the rain system to exert their unique functions, and tactics mainly revolve around rotating to grab advantageous matchups, letting the opponent reveal flaws during defense."

"As for double battle rain teams, the approach isn't actually that different."

"However, due to the wonderful chemical reactions between teammates, some special Pokémon can also take the field."

"So, today we're going to play with some Pokémon we didn't use last week~"

Last week was a very serious rain team; standard rain team players like Mega Swampert and Pelipper had already appeared.

If one had to say, these two rain brothers still have decent dominance in double battles; after all, their combat power is right there.

However, Qingyu considers his stream to be mainly about popularizing knowledge and helping trainers expand their thinking, so today's lineup will undergo a major overhaul.

【Teacher Yu isn't playing Mega Swampert? Then are there any other Pokémon that can Mega Evolve in the rain?】

【Gyarados? Blastoise? Or... Sharpedo?】

【Sharpedo? That's really living on the edge; might as well use Mega Slowbro!】

【It doesn't necessarily have to be a Water-type Pokémon, right? Maybe Teacher Yu will pull out something weird?】

"Today we won't be playing Mega Swampert. We covered it pretty well last week; if we keep using it, wouldn't we just be winning purely on strength?"

Qingyu smiled and quickly revealed the answer.

"Our Mega choice for today is—"

"Manectric!"

(Manectric, I feel like its presence has always been low)

【Manectric? Isn't it a non-Water-type Pokémon?】

【Electric-types are also a routine choice for rain teams; after all, there's Thunder, which is guaranteed to hit in the rain, and its power is still quite good.】

【However... I haven't seen Mega Manectric in ranked battles yet. I even feel like you rarely see Electric-type Pokémon in ranked singles?】

【Because the Electric-type's piercing ability is very poor, and I can't think of any Electric-type players with very powerful output off the top of my head...】

【I know this one, Vikavolt!】

Regarding the curiosity in the comments, Qingyu just smiled faintly.

"If it were singles, this Manectric really wouldn't be able to take the field."

"However, double battles and singles are very different environments. It's very normal for Pokémon to have vastly different strengths in different environments."

"I'm adding Manectric to the team naturally because it fits the tactics I'm going to use this time."

There are many reasons for Qingyu choosing Manectric, including, naturally, the consideration of showing the audience more Mega Evolutions and the tactics they are suitable for.

Of course, more importantly, it really fits his tactics.

Since the double battle lineup with Palafin as the main force has already been decided, rotating is essential if one wants to exert all its power.

Manectric comes with Volt Switch, has Lightning Rod before Mega Evolving to help teammates avoid Electric-type output, and its Intimidate ability after Mega Evolving can repeatedly enter the field to lower the combat power of opposing physical attackers, making it very suitable for tactics that require frequent rotation.

Abilities like Lightning Rod and Storm Drain basically only have a deterrent effect in singles, but their effects in double battle mode are surprisingly good.

The Water-type itself only has two weaknesses, Electric and Grass. With Manectric and its Lightning Rod ability on the field, it can also greatly improve the team's defensive synergy.

While thinking to himself, Qingyu opened "Pokémon Champion" and entered the team editor.

"We already used Kyogre as a weather setter last week; today let's use another one with the Drizzle ability, Politoed!"

【Kyogre is here? Then is Torkoal known as little Groudon?】

【You got it backward, right? What virtue does Groudon have to be mentioned in the same breath as our Team Sky's big brother Torkoal!】

【That's really turning the world upside down...】

There are only three Pokémon with the Drizzle ability. Excluding the real Kyogre that couldn't possibly appear in the game, he will have introduced the other two by the end of today.

Politoed is clearly suppressed by Pelipper in every aspect in singles, but it's slightly better in doubles, and the positioning distinction between the two Pokémon is very clear.

Pelipper can bring powerful Hurricane moves to the team for coverage, its own combat power is decent, and it has Tailwind to help teammates speed up, so its role in doubles is also significant;

As for Politoed, its playstyle is more underhanded.

Underhanded sleep moves and Encore are its specialties. It leans more toward support than offense, and besides that, it also has Perish Song, which comes with its own special system.

However, the rain Perish Song system is a bit too brain-burning.

Truly, don't learn it unless you're playing professionally.

Even if Qingyu brought out this set of tactics now, he feels the students would find it hard to understand.

So it's better to keep it simple.

With a weather setter, Qingyu quickly added three more Pokémon to the team.

Manectric, which was just mentioned; Palafin, which looks a bit cute and doesn't look like it has any combat power; and...

Amoonguss, whose appearance feels like it's from a different art style than other Pokémon.

【Palafin? What's the relationship with Kricketune?】

【No, Palafin is a real "Hero of the Sea," okay? What are you, Kricketune, daring to come and touch porcelain!】

【Compared to Palafin, am I the only one who thinks the other Amoonguss's expression is very lewd... How can there be such an ugly Pokémon? Get it off the screen!】

【Speaking of which, Teacher Yu seemed to have mentioned this Pokémon before, saying it can learn Rage Powder, which has an effect similar to "Follow Me," so its support effect in doubles is very good?】

"... How many times do I have to say it, don't judge a book by its cover, and that goes for Pokémon too!"

Qingyu sighed helplessly.

"I'll just give a brief introduction to Amoonguss. Whether you use it after listening is your business; Teacher Yu has no right to interfere, right~"

To be fair, Amoonguss does look a bit... unique.

However, Arceus, the creator of the Pokémon world, is generally quite fair. Amoonguss traded its looks for a unique and special status.

"Because it's a mushroom-type Pokémon, besides the standard Grass-type powder moves like Rage Powder and Stun Spore, Amoonguss's move pool can also learn the very rare Spore."

"Besides that, its durability is quite good, and it has Regenerator and Synthesis to provide sustainability, making it a very difficult shield to deal with."

As soon as Qingyu said this, the comments indeed began to change instantly.

【... But then again, my Pokémon are always facing away from me anyway, so it doesn't matter if I can't see this face!】

【To be fair, it does look quite ugly at first glance, but after Teacher Yu said that, I suddenly feel Amoonguss has become much more pleasing to the eye. Isn't this quite cute~】

【Yes, I've been a die-hard Amoonguss fan since birth; don't question the bond between me and it!】

【6666, the person above is indeed a standard strength-chaser; I acknowledge your purity!】

Regarding the "linguistic charm" unfolding in the comments, Qingyu just smiled slightly.

Those who watch his stream are basically people who quite like Pokémon battling.

Therefore, Amoonguss has an extraordinary attraction for them.

After all, who would refuse an Amoonguss that faces away from you and is full of a sense of security?

Even in his past life, Amoonguss was basically a regular at every Masters Tournament and one of the very few powerful Pokémon to earn the title of "Triple Crown Winner."

Pokémon gratitude essay: My Triple Crown teammate Amoonguss!

One crown might be a coincidence, two crowns might involve some luck, but three crowns definitely have a lot to do with its own strength.

Even the ancient form corresponding to Amoonguss, "Brute Bonnet," also performed brilliantly in later Masters Tournaments, joining the ranks of champions.

(New champion Brute Bonnet)

The positioning of the four Pokémon is very clear. Qingyu thought for a moment and added a Salamence and Whimsicott to the team.

As the second Mega player, Salamence's Aerilate-boosted STAB moves give it terrifying suppression power against Grass-types, similar to the choice of Manectric.

Of course, Salamence's combat power is already exaggerated enough on its own; it doesn't need to rely on the rain system at all.

As for Whimsicott... those who know, know.

As a jack-of-all-trades support, it's never wrong to use Whimsicott to fill a spot when you don't know who to bring.

【Teacher Yu still can't forget his black-hearted cotton; I suggest you two lock it down immediately!】

【When I heard Manectric, I originally thought Teacher Yu would use a very orthodox offensive lineup, but looking at the finished product, why is it so underhanded...】

【Whoever wants to play this ranked, go ahead; if you run into Teacher Yu, your mentality will probably explode!】

【The person above, wake up. Is it still a bit difficult for your ladder score to match Teacher Yu?】

With the lineup built, Qingyu adjusted the held items and abilities of the Pokémon, then clicked into double battle ranked at light speed.

A qualified lineup must always be tested in actual combat.

I wonder if I can run into any high-quality opponents today to replicate the high-quality match with Wallace from last episode.

However, thinking about it, the difficulty feels quite high.

After all, the mainstream of the Pokémon world is definitely singles. Even champion-level players like Wallace or Steven will have their strength greatly discounted when coming to doubles.

But he doesn't have such concerns; or rather, he is actually better at doubles, and now he is in his complete form?