Chapter 344: Chapter 344

Teacher Lu was still analyzing Mustard’s new lineup.

Something’s off… this doesn’t add up.

Master Mustard’s specialty is Fighting-types.

Charizard might be usable, but it’s not his style!

There was only one possibility.

Lu Ye noticed a string of green wins on Mustard’s record and raised an eyebrow.

Don’t tell me… that’s Leon playing for him!?

“With Master Mustard’s personality, that wouldn’t be surprising…”

Lu Ye muttered, diving into a detailed study of the opponent’s lead duo.

And Cinderace—with its signature move, Pyro Ball.

This was an incredibly powerful and meta-relevant lineup.

Whether in games or real life.

Only one Trainer had mastered this lead to perfection.

The strongest Champion of Galar—Leon.

These two Pokémon had terrifying speed tiers, even capable of scoring a double knockout in a flash.

Not to mention, Leon still had his ace—Charizard—in the back.

Even for Teacher Lu, this was going to be a tough fight!

However, Lu Ye smirked slightly, his eyes sharp.

My cutie is watching my stream right now!

Even if it’s Leon playing—I’ll still sweep him live!

“Oh no, Master Mustard’s pulling out his ranked-climbing team!”

“They’re way too fast… even Chlorophyll Venusaur can’t catch up!”

If Dynamax mechanics were added to the mix,

Cinderace’s Max Airstream could boost the whole team’s speed.

And a boosted Dragapult would be ghostly fast—unstoppable.

Even Chlorophyll Venusaur would stand no chance.

But simple, honest battles made the Trainers’ fundamentals stand out even more.

At this moment, both sides were fully focused.

On-screen, Tyranitar roared in fury, kicking up a sandstorm.

Mummy-like Dusclops stood firm beside Tyranitar, its single eye glowing red.

The battle officially began!

With an absolute speed advantage, Dragapult took to the skies first,

A black Shadow Ball blasted toward Dusclops’ position.

Meanwhile, Cinderace leapt through the swirling sandstorm, aiming a flying knee straight at Tyranitar’s chin!

The viewers gulped in unison.

If both attacks landed, Teacher Lu’s Pokémon might go down instantly!

At that moment, Lu Ye’s command rang out:

“Teacher Lu’s classic move!”

“Starting dirty right from turn one?”

“It’s not about being dirty—this just neutralized the opponent’s entire offense!”

What was supposed to be a double knockout,

Under Ally Switch, the Flying Knee passed harmlessly through Dusclops, dealing no damage.

And under Sandstorm, Tyranitar’s boosted defenses easily tanked the Shadow Ball.

Dust clouded the field as Tyranitar’s eyes flared red, roaring: “ROAR—!”

“Rock Slide!” Lu Ye commanded.

Dull yellow energy surged around Tyranitar.

A second later, sharp rocks came crashing down!

Dragapult narrowly evaded the Rock Slide with incredible reflexes.

But Cinderace, reeling from its own High Jump Kick recoil, was instantly knocked out by the Rock Slide!

Leon frowned slightly: “Didn’t use Trick Room right away, huh…”

“What kind of person…”

Leon rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, “Would use Ally Switch on turn one!?”

The chat exploded instantly.

“D*mn, Tyranitar’s too cool!”

“That’s not a Pokémon, that’s a Warlord!”

“But the thing is, the opponent also predicted Teacher Lu!”

After taking out Cinderace,

Lu Ye let out a breath of relief and had Dusclops cast Trick Room.

But Dragapult’s Shadow Ball came crashing in, blasting Dusclops to near-fainting!

“This guy… didn’t fall for the bait?” Lu Ye was slightly stunned.

Logically, after a failed opening turn, most would switch focus to the low-HP target.

But Leon only had one target—Dusclops the Trick Room setter.

“Tch!” Leon clicked his tongue.

Failing to KO Dusclops right away had set a trap for himself.

Lu Ye roared: “Trick Room!”

A strange light washed over the entire green battlefield.

Lu Ye followed up with Venusaur, preparing to begin a proper Sleep Powder lesson.

Tyranitar, eyes still glowing red, went for another Rock Slide,

But Dragapult blocked it with Protect.

At the same time, the newly sent-out Kommo-o with its clubbed tail tanked the rocks,

Then suddenly unleashed a deadly Close Combat!

Tyranitar—4x weak to Fighting!

Close Combat—one-shot KO!

This time, Teacher Lu didn’t use Ally Switch.

Or rather, Leon predicted that Teacher Lu wouldn’t use it again… or maybe…

The mind games between kings were always this intricate.

Far more complex than the warm “you Q me, I Q you” vibe of bronze-tier battles…

Lu Ye: “Ally Switch—hurts both sides!”

The sandstorm cleared, and the once-invincible Tyranitar had been launched by the Close Combat.

Though it was hanging on by a thread, Kommo-o had singlehandedly reversed Leon’s losing momentum!

Master… your Kommo-o really came through!!

Behind Leon, Mustard raised an eyebrow high.

First, he hadn’t expected that even a tactician like Leon would be pushed this far.

(Note: Leon’s movesets and team are classic competitive builds.)

Second, he didn’t expect that the MVP just now… was his Kommo-o!

“Why do I feel like…” Mustard muttered, “Leon-boy uses Kommo-o better than I do…”

The battle kept shifting back and forth.

“Venusaur, Sleep Powder on Dragapult’s position!” Lu Ye commanded. “Dusclops, Night Shade to finish it off!”

Dusclops swung its massive hand—ghastly shadows rushed toward Kommo-o, silencing its counterattack.

Venusaur wobbled its bulky body and scattered Sleep Powder—

But it landed right on Dragapult’s Protect barrier.

In that instant, Lu Ye’s eyes widened.

“Holy sh**, double Protect!?”

I thought only luck-based players like Ash would use double Protect.

But you too, thick-browed and righteous-looking Leon—you're this kind of player!?

The showmanship exploded—an endless stream of comments flew by.

“No wonder it’s you!”

“Hahaha, classic Teacher Lu bad luck moment!”

Cynthia rested her chin in her hands, frowning unconsciously.

This wasn’t just a matter of probability.

After the double Protect, Trick Room was about to expire.

When that moment came, Dragapult with boosted speed and Charizard together…

That’s not something Teacher Lu’s Trick Room-based team could compete with!

At that moment, Leon and Teacher Lu,

Both silently counted down the seconds until Trick Room ended…

And the moment the timer hit zero—

Both issued their commands at the same time.

“Dragapult, Shadow Ball!”

In a blur, Leon stood tall on the battlefield and sent out his undefeated ace.

Leon swiftly threw his Poké Ball:

“I’m counting on you, Charizard—use Heat Wave!!”

“Roar!” Charizard flapped its wings and circled above the field.

Dragapult’s narrow eyes glowed cold as an inky black Shadow Ball gathered in its mouth!

Suddenly, Lu Ye smiled faintly.

“This isn’t just a simple sandstorm team.”

Dusclops completed its final mission, blasted away by the raging Shadow Ball.

Teacher Lu also sent out his final Pokémon.

Drought ability—Torkoal!

Torkoal raised its head and cried out, the blazing light wheel rising from its shell as the sun shone down.

Clouds parted—Sunny Day activated!

“This is the second form of the Sun-Sand lineup.”

Lu Ye smiled lightly, eyes sharp.

“Venusaur, Sleep Powder!”

The dazzling sunlight activated Venusaur’s Chlorophyll.

In an instant, the bulky Venusaur transformed

From a sluggish Trick Room sweeper into a high-speed tank.

This speed even outpaced Leon’s Charizard!

Leon scratched his purple hair in frustration: “That tempo switch… way too smooth.”

Sleep Powder descended. Charizard’s wing-flapping halted, and Heat Wave stalled mid-cast.

“Sleep on the left, sleep on the right—how is Venusaur this freaking cool!?”

“Teacher Lu, didn’t you say you never put people to sleep?!”

Dragapult’s Shadow Ball slammed into the tough-skinned Torkoal.

Torkoal’s Flamethrower swept toward Leon’s two Pokémon.

“Venusaur, Solar Beam!”

Under the sun, Venusaur’s buds bloomed, unleashing a brilliant beam that destroyed Dragapult.

Charizard woke up, flapped its wings, and flew into the air.

Lu Ye nodded. “Sure, Venusaur doesn’t have much to hit Charizard with.”

“But Charizard’s weak damage won’t KO my Torkoal… wait, what!?”

Leon said sternly: “Charizard, Scorching Sands!”

The searing sand current engulfed Torkoal.

With a double-type advantage, Torkoal was immediately knocked out!

Lu Ye’s face twisted strangely.

Right… he remembered now—Charizard in Gen VIII gained a new coverage move—

No wonder it’s Masuda’s golden child!

Now, only Charizard and Venusaur remained on the battlefield.

Even the teasing comments in the stream chat had vanished.

Even Teacher Lu’s stream group was dead silent.

At some point, Gold had returned to the stream and muttered dryly: “These two are… really strong…”

Green frowned: “This really doesn’t feel like Master Mustard’s style…”

Venusaur versus Charizard…

That matchup felt so familiar, it brought memories flooding back to Red.

He lowered the brim of his cap, lips curling up.

Teacher Lu… you won’t let me down, will you?

Leon took a deep breath.

Looking down at his palm, he saw it was covered in cold sweat.

But… the match wasn’t over yet!

Leon looked up sharply and ordered: “Charizard, Heat Wave!”

Double-type advantage—Heat Wave was more than enough to one-shot Venusaur!

And Teacher Lu’s response was, of course—

“Sleep Powder,” Lu Ye said calmly.

Left-hand Sandstorm team—Trick Room Tyranitar, raw power.

Right-hand Sunny Day team—speed-boosted Venusaur, precision sleeper.

This was the ultimate Sun-Sand hybrid strategy!

Venusaur shook its flower buds and released Sleep Powder.

Charizard—successfully put to sleep!

“Venusaur!” Lu Ye barked, “Sludge Bomb!”

Onscreen, toxic acid surged forth, devouring Charizard’s body.

Then, the word [Victory] appeared on screen.

The entire stream chat fell silent.

Then instantly, the gifts and comments exploded.

“This match quality is insane!”

“Teacher Lu can’t run weather teams? Man pulled out two of them!”

“Grass beats Fire—you really are the master of type disadvantage!”

“Ally Switch, Trick Room, Sleep Powder—this is the Teacher Lu stream I love!”

“Even the opponent double-Protected… this was a battle of gods!”

“Teacher Lu is awesome!!”