Looking at the barrage of comments flooding the live stream, Zhou Yuan cleared his throat, took a sip of water, and seeing that the task was still far from complete, he said:
"Given that some new viewers didn't see the previous battles, I'll play two more rounds with this lineup."
"Thanks to 'Ice Puppet Kill Him' for the prominent message. The boss said, 'You played very well, but next time, don't be so ruthless.'"
"Hahahaha, boss, don't worry, that last round wasn't that ruthless. The next ones will only be more brutal."
As Zhou Yuan had said, the subsequent battles saw his team, after strengthening, sweep through opponents like a hot knife through butter, making Kona, who was watching the live stream, feel a bit fortunate that she wasn't the one who was beaten the worst.
After two more brutal wins, Zhou Yuan's ranking rose to tenth in the world server. The public chat was once again filled with "ohhhh," and his popularity surged to 1.2 million.
Seeing that the time was right, Zhou Yuan began to summarize the "Surround Team" strategy.
"The Surround Team doesn't necessarily have to be centered around Arcanine. Other Pokémon with the Justified ability can also work, such as Lucario, Absol, and Gallade. These three Pokémon can also serve as the core of the Surround Team strategy."
"That's all for the Surround Team strategy for now. I'll edit it into a video and upload it to A-Station later. Please show your support, everyone."
Zhou Yuan took a sip of water and continued:
"Now, I'll introduce the second strategy. This one is relatively much cheaper to build and doesn't require Arcanine and Chansey like the previous two strategies. But if we're talking about truly cheap, it's still the Bug-type Pokémon strategy I released earlier. Interested viewers can check it out after I go offline."
"The second strategy is a Sunny Day system for single battles, but our Sunny Day is a bit different from others. We use Espeon as our main damage dealer."
Hearing Zhou Yuan say this, the comments section was filled with confusion:
"Huh? Espeon can be in a Sunny Day team?"
"Even though its name has 'Sun' in it, you can't just shove it into a Sunny Day team!"
"Meowth?"
"∑(´△｀)？！"
Zhou Yuan didn't rush to explain these comments but chose to match with an opponent.
"Talking too much is useless. I'll show you all in a practical battle."
After a long wait, he finally found an opponent from the Sinnoh region named "Fire Types Are the Most Explosive."
"Let's look at the opponent's lineup: Rapidash, Houndoom, Infernape, Magmortar, Drifblim, Steelix. It's clearly a Sunny Day team, but the opponent's Sunny Day team doesn't rely on abilities. It's probably activated by a Skill, which is what we usually call 'manual fire.'"
Zhou Yuan analyzed the opponent's lineup and chose to lead with Electrode.
"Here, we'll start with Electrode. We can't let Torkoal come out like this; it would be like giving the opponent a free weather setup."
Entering the battle, Zhou Yuan led with Electrode, and the opponent led with Rapidash.
"Here, we don't care what Skill the opponent uses, whether they start Sunny Day or directly attack. We'll set up a screen first. Electrode, use Light Screen."
Under Zhou Yuan's command, Electrode set up Light Screen, while the opponent's Rapidash also activated Sunny Day.
"After setting up Light Screen, we'll set up Reflect. First, we ensure our own safety and also provide protection for the Pokémon to follow. Additionally, the item I gave Electrode is light clay, which can effectively extend the duration of Light Screen and Reflect."
The opponent didn't choose to switch out but had Rapidash use Fire Blast. This blast of fire, boosted by Sunny Day, dealt significant damage to Electrode, even with Light Screen active.
"But it doesn't matter! Our Electrode has completed its mission! Electrode, use Volt Switch to switch back!"
Under Zhou Yuan's command, Electrode transformed into a ball of lightning, striking Rapidash's head before bouncing back, causing Rapidash's second Fire Blast to miss.
"Go, Torkoal!"
Zhou Yuan switched Torkoal into the battle, and Torkoal's entry refreshed the duration of Sunny Day.
"Torkoal, use Stealth Rock." Zhou Yuan gave the command to Torkoal, and at the same time, he explained to the audience:
"The effect of Stealth Rock is mainly to damage the opponent's subsequent switched-in Pokémon and to break any potential Focus Sash."
In the battle screen, Rapidash was switched out, and Steelix was switched in. Torkoal took advantage of the opponent's switch to scatter Stealth Rock, dealing a small but significant blow to the newly entered Steelix.
"Steelix, huh? The opponent probably wants to use Earthquake to directly knock out our Torkoal. Let him. Besides, with Reflect active, even Earthquake shouldn't be able to one-shot my Torkoal."
But to Zhou Yuan's surprise, Steelix, which was slightly faster than Torkoal, unleashed an Earthquake that directly swallowed Torkoal.
"Ah? One-shotted me? How could that be a critical hit? That's outrageous!"
Zhou Yuan let out a Roar, and the comments section was filled with laughter.
"But it doesn't matter! Torkoal is gone, and that's fine. It's finally time for our protagonist, Espeon, to enter! Go, Espeon!!!"
Zhou Yuan let out a Snarl.
"Why are you shouting so loudly!"
"Streamer, you deafened my ears! Pay up!"
Espeon gracefully leaped onto the battleground, letting out a cute Growl, "Eevee ~"
"Ah, Espeon is truly adorable."
"Indeed, the Eevee family all look pretty good."
Zhou Yuan then began to formally introduce the core of this strategy:
"As you can all see, our core damage dealer, Espeon, has entered the field. Some viewers might be confused: 'What role can this Espeon play in Sunny Day?' This brings us to a Skill: Growth."
Saying this, Zhou Yuan directed Espeon:
"Espeon, use Growth!"
Espeon suddenly grew a size larger, and its eyes sharpened!
The opponent's Steelix used Earthquake again, but due to the presence of Reflect, it didn't cause much damage.
"Growth, when used, effectively boosts the user's physical and special attack. And when used under Sunny Day weather, it significantly boosts both of these stats."
"Espeon already possesses impressive offensive capabilities. After using Growth, it can directly deal excellent damage. But surely someone will ask, 'A Yuan, A Yuan, then isn't your physical attack boost useless?'"
Hearing Zhou Yuan say this, the comments section was filled with a uniform "A Yuan, A Yuan, then your..."
Watching these comments, Zhou Yuan smiled and continued:
"Actually, no. As for why I say that, viewers just need to keep watching."
Next, under Zhou Yuan's command, Espeon used Growth again, growing another size larger and significantly boosting both of its offensive stats.
The opponent's Steelix tried to take out Espeon, but still failed.
"This level of boosting is enough. Now, no matter who comes, they won't be able to withstand a single hit from us, except for Focus Sash and Sturdy abilities. But we've already set up Stealth Rock, so the opponent's Focus Sash and Sturdy are useless."
"Go, Espeon, use Hidden Power Fire!!!"
Espeon condensed a ball of Fire-type energy and struck Steelix directly on the head. Four stages of boosts plus double weakness, a one-shot!
Da Ye, who was playing games at home, watched Steelix get one-shotted, and his eye twitched slightly. The damage was truly too high; it was hard to bear.
But it doesn't matter, I still have Infernape with the Iron Fist ability. I'll try to go in and one-shot the opponent with a Sonic Punch.
Just as Da Ye had expected, Infernape landed a Sonic Punch on Espeon's face after entering the battle, but Espeon shook its head and retaliated with a Helping Hand, taking out Infernape.
"Huh?" Da Ye was a bit stunned. He had calculated the damage, and even Red's Espeon wouldn't be able to withstand that much damage... No, he might actually be able to withstand it, but that wasn't Red's Pokémon either; it was just ridiculous.
At this time, Zhou Yuan was also explaining to the audience:
"I gave Espeon a Shell Bell, which can effectively improve its sustain. After defeating Steelix just now, the Shell Bell allowed Espeon's HP to return to a healthy state. The opponent's single Sonic Punch couldn't possibly defeat Espeon."
While explaining, Zhou Yuan also commanded Espeon to use Helping Hand to defeat Rapidash.
Da Ye from Sinnoh was scratching his head, pondering why he lost, while Zhou Yuan was meticulously explaining the strategy.
"I believe many viewers understood the general operation of this strategy after watching the last battle. Here, I'll explain it in more detail."
"First, Torkoal is easy to understand: it sets up the weather, laying the foundation for Espeon's Growth later, and scatters Stealth Rock to break Focus Sash and Sturdy. At the same time, it can also deal some damage with Lava Plume or Smog, and it can use Yawn to force the opponent to switch out when it feels the opponent's Pokémon isn't suitable for Espeon."
"Next is Electrode. This position isn't fixed; you can use other Pokémon that can set up both screens instead of Electrode. It's just that Electrode is faster and can switch out with Volt Switch. The purpose of setting up both screens is to reduce the damage dealt by the opponent while Espeon is boosting."
"Finally, Espeon. Espeon is the most important part. First, there's Growth. In a Sunny Day environment, it can greatly boost its own physical and special attack. And after boosting both attacks, it's time for Helping Hand to shine. Helping Hand is a very peculiar Skill; its power increases with the user's stat stages. Combined with the doubled attack power after boosting, this Skill can deal ten times the damage of its normal state."
"Many viewers might not have a concept of 'ten times damage.' Let's put it this way: everyone knows Milotic has high special defense and good bulk, but it still can't withstand a Helping Hand after one Growth in Sunny Day; it can be one-shotted."
"And what about two Growths? Simply put, it can one-shot a full-health Blissey. Everyone should have a concept of Blissey's bulk; it's the Pokémon with the second-highest special defense and highest HP currently, and it still gets one-shotted."
"Someone might ask, 'What if the opponent uses a Dark-type Pokémon?' Good question. That's why I gave Espeon Signal Beam. It's super effective against Dark types and can one-shot Dark-type Pokémon."
"For the last Skill, I chose to carry Hidden Power Fire. This Skill effectively covers Espeon's blind spots, perfectly countering Bug and Steel types, achieving damage coverage with no blind spots."
As usual, after listing the advantages, Zhou Yuan began to discuss the disadvantages of the strategy.
"Just like other boosting strategies, this strategy is also countered by Roar and Whirlwind. If you can't even set up boosts, it's very difficult to deal effective damage."
"Besides being forced to switch, due to Espeon's low resistances, if there's a priority Skill with enough power, such as Arcanine's and Dragonite's Extreme Speed, Azumarill's Aqua Jet after using Belly Drum, Golisopod's First Impression, or even the Dark-type Skill Sucker Punch, any of these can knock out Espeon, thereby breaking this strategy."
"Although it has many limitations, this strategy is truly satisfying to use. Viewers, you might as well try it in virtual battles. If you've raised the aforementioned Pokémon in reality, you can also try using it."
As soon as Zhou Yuan finished his introduction, he saw gift effects flash across the screen.
"Ah, thank you to 'Last One, I'm First' for the spaceship," he hadn't even finished speaking when another gift effect appeared.
"Thank you to 'Ice Puppet Kill Him' for the spaceship. Both bosses, you've been too generous. I'll make you both moderators later."
And as the two spaceships were displayed on the A-Station banner, many people were curious about what kind of live stream it was, so they entered one after another.
The live stream, which had already reached 1.8 million popularity due to the second strategy, continued to rise, breaking through two million popularity in less than a minute. Hearing the system's "Task Complete" prompt, Zhou Yuan chuckled and said:
"Happy times are always so short. It's time to say goodbye again, everyone. We'll see you in the next video or next live stream!"
After saying that, Zhou Yuan quickly disconnected and went offline, leaving a live stream full of question marks.
"???"
"Huh?"
"I just came in and he's already offline?"
"What kind of live stream is this? I didn't see anything."
"Bro above, the streamer said he'd cross-dress if he reached over a million followers."
"Isn't it almost 900,000? Come on, brothers, let's push it!"
While the comments section was gradually going off-topic, Zhou Yuan was already leaning back in his chair.
"Ah... so tired... System, let's settle up."