On the battlefield, the mystical Trick Room enveloped all four Pokémon.
Under its temporal distortion, only after Lopunny completed Entrainment with Shedinja did Giovanni's genuine and transformed Kangaskhan finally close in.
First—a Close Combat. Mother and child Kangaskhan instantly KO'd Aiden's Lopunny.
Then—the other Kangaskhan pair unleashed Iron Tail upon Shedinja.
Due to Aiden's rotation, the attack that would've been quadruple super effective against Carbink struck Shedinja instead.
Normally? Harmless.
Shedinja's Wonder Guard rendered Steel-type moves ineffective.
But.
After Aiden's preceding sequence—Lopunny had transferred Carbink's Sturdy Ability to Shedinja via Entrainment.
Theoretically? Shedinja should have taken damage.
Yet—
The Kangaskhan duo's attacks slammed into Shedinja repeatedly.
No flinch. No HP bar movement.
Only the bottom-left notification revealed the truth:
"Mega Kangaskhan's Iron Tail hit Shedinja!"
"Thankfully, Shedinja endured it thanks to Sturdy!"
[Wait—Shedinja with STURDY?!?!]
[HOLY F*CK POG—I GET IT NOW! Teacher Azure's whole setup makes sense——]
[Someone explain?! My brain's buffering!]
Chat erupted. Quick-witted viewers finally connected the dots.
As everyone knows:
Abilities summarize innate traits—a refined system honed over decades.
Some Abilities reflect inherent biology.
Shedinja's Wonder Guard isn't why it resists non-super-effective moves.
The resistance existed first—the Ability was named to describe it.
Thus—Skill Swap couldn't truly exchange Wonder Guard (no other Pokémon possesses it).
But a temporary override? That was possible.
Hence Aiden's intricate chain: Carbink → Skill Swap → Lopunny → Entrainment → Shedinja.
Replacing Wonder Guard with Sturdy.
Effect?
Explosive.
Shedinja's 1 HP fragility is innate, not Ability-dependent.
Sturdy ensures: At full HP, survive any single lethal hit. Retain 1 HP.
Therefore—
Theoretically? No direct attack can KO it.
Aiden's victory equation was sealed.
Chat reeled in awe.
[HOLY UNBREAKABLE TACTIC! Is this auto-win once set up?!]
[Not perfect—just attack-proof. Counters exist.]
[Uh… only Mold Breaker comes to mind? Other options?]
[Sandstorm! Teacher Azure faced this before—he used Sandstorm!]
Aiden, anticipating this, casually added:
"Sandstorm and Hail? Useless. See Shedinja's face? Safety Goggles—blocks weather damage."
"And status effects? Handled."
"You're up, Audino!"
He swapped in the previously unseen Audino for fallen Lopunny.
"Audino—Thunder Wave on Shedinja!"
"Shedinja—Will-O-Wisp on Mega Kangaskhan!"
Confusion rippled through chat.
Why hurt your own teammate? There was no Shell Armor or Rage to stack!
Why Thunder Wave?!
The answer? It was simple.
"In-game, a Pokémon can only hold one status condition. Paralyze Shedinja first—burn/poison become irrelevant."
Weather-proofed. Status-proofed. Giovanni's Kangaskhan didn't have Mold Breaker.
This tactic was near-unsolvable.
(Why "near"? Even unbreakable shields have theoretical cracks.)
The match froze.
Giovanni—once dominant with dual Mega Kangaskhan—now moved cautiously.
After Aiden's turn, he targeted Audino. Another KO.
Aiden smiled.
"See? Kangaskhan's only out was Roar—to force Shedinja out and reset Sturdy."
"But now? Only Shedinja and Carbink remain. Roar does nothing."
"This is why teams avoid duplicate Pokémon. One Pokémon's strength is also its monotony. When countered…"
"Like now—only surrender remains."
Five minutes passed.
Carbink fell to Kangaskhan's swarm.
Yet Shedinja—1 HP, seemingly fragile as glass—stood unshaken.
Repeated Will-O-Wisp burns felled two Mega Kangaskhan.
The remaining Smeargle-turned-Kangaskhan? Powerless.
Giovanni finally tried Roar.
Useless. Only one Pokémon remained on Aiden's side.
Sandstorm? Hail? Fire Punch?
Zero damage.
Meanwhile—Giovanni's Pokémon bled HP from burn + weather.
Even viewers felt the despair bleeding through the screen.
[Terrifying. If I faced this unbreakable wall… I'd have rage-quit minutes ago——]
[Respect to Leader Giovanni—still trying after all this! That resilience though!]
[Pity. Teacher Azure's villainy is legendary. Countless Gym Leaders, Elite Four, Champions have suffered~]
[Victim Count +1. Soon he'll collect all nine regions' elites!]
Another Smeargle-Kangaskhan succumbed to burn.
3v3 became 1v1:
Shedinja (1 HP, paralyzed) vs. Mega Kangaskhan (¼ HP, burned).
Chat knew—Giovanni's efforts were futile.
His opponent? The monster who memorized the entire Pokédex and analyzes move sets mid-battle.
Even a veteran like Giovanni couldn't out-know Teacher Azure.
Yet Giovanni persisted:
Bind. Thief. Even last-ditch Double-Edge.
Nothing pierced the wall.
Until the final Kangaskhan collapsed—
VICTORY flashed in brilliant blue across every screen.
[TEACHER AZURE ISN'T HUMAN! HOW IS THIS TACTIC POSSIBLE?!?!]
[Teacher Azure: Am I even human anymore?!]
[Less "dirty" than past tactics… but still horrifying. Once set up? Opponent should just surrender——]
["Less dirty"? Giovanni looked traumatized!]
Chat scrolled wildly—celebrating victory while "accusing" Teacher Azure of inhumanity.
"So—you see? This tactic's logic is simple~" Aiden exhaled, smiling.
"Have you realized that Sturdy makes Shedinja nearly unbreakable? The steps follow naturally."
"Imagination is vital in Pokémon battles!"
"Had Giovanni used Roar immediately? His imagination would've surpassed mine."
"Alas—we won."
He skipped deep analysis—but posed a rare homework question:
"Now, my dearest, cleverest students~"
His voice turned abruptly solemn—startling viewers.
"Surprise quiz!"
"Shedinja's 'Unbreakable Cicada' tactic is troublesome once set up. How do you counter this 'invincible' Pokémon?"
"Many solutions exist—I'll reveal answers in my next video. Stay tuned~"
Ignoring chat's frenzy, Aiden queued again.
But his words ignited debate:
[Unbreakable Cicada—besides Mold Breaker, are there other counters?]
[Safety Goggles blocks weather… Thunder Wave pre-applies paralysis——This question's HARD!]
[What if we KO the teammate applying Thunder Wave? Then poison/burn works!]
[Target the Ability! If we have Skill Swap or Worry Seed—we can strip Sturdy!]
[Knock Off! Steal Safety Goggles—then weather/status works!]
[Wait… so many counters exist? But Kangaskhan alone can't solve it?]
[Truly—mechanics > raw stats!]
------------------------------------------------------
30+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)