Nemona: ???
When she heard Lacey's command, Nemona's entire being was not well.
Because this move had such a strong sense of déjà vu—
This was the "Minimize Squad" tactic that Teacher Azure had taught ages ago!
You, Lacey, after so long apart, I thought we'd have a warm reunion, but you pull this shady stuff right from the start—
But I'm a student Teacher Azure personally taught for half a year—this little trick can't stump me!
"Skeledirge, come back!"
Nemona acted decisively, immediately recalling the just-appeared Skeledirge, then quickly throwing out another Poké Ball.
This time it was Pawmot, whose Electric + Fighting typing naturally allowed it to ignore the interference from Thunder Wave.
At the same time, this also temporarily solved another awkward situation on the field.
Both Gholdengo and Skeledirge relied on Special Attack as their main output method, making it very difficult to deal effective damage to Chansey, almost only able to watch as it used Minimize.
Such a simple rotation move saved the awkward situation of being caught in an information gap at the start.
Moreover, there might even be an unexpected surprise.
Aiden nodded lightly.
It seemed Nemona's high-intensity special training during this period had indeed been effective—she had already turned thinking into an instinctive reaction during battles.
Of course, Nemona's commands weren't over yet.
"Gholdengo, use Nasty Plot to power up yourself!"
Black question marks immediately appeared above the head of the Gholdengo, whose body was composed of golden coins, while it secretly accumulated power in the background, seemingly ready to convert it into a move and burst it out all at once.
It might indeed have no good way to deal with Chansey, but when facing the Fairy-type Granbull, its suppressive power was maxed out.
Once a Nasty Plot-boosted Make It Rain was unleashed, it could likely take out the opponent in one hit.
On Lacey's side, Chansey also seized the opportunity, using Minimize to rapidly shrink its body size by more than half, then actually jogging to hide behind Granbull.
"Hmph, running away is useless~"
Nemona smiled upon seeing this, immediately pointing forward aggressively.
"Gholdengo, use Make It Rain!"
"Pawmot, Thunderbolt!"
"Take them out in one breath!"
Although she usually didn't have many chances to experience Double Battles, that didn't mean she was completely unfamiliar with them.
On the contrary, Teacher Azure would often livestream some tactics that seemed incomprehensible at first glance, but would be regarded as heavenly after understanding them.
She had watched and understood all of them!
If you underestimate me, you'll pay the price, Lacey~
After Nemona gave her commands, Pawmot acted first, directly running a few steps to Gholdengo's side, seemingly preparing to unleash a finishing move together with its teammate.
Soon, Gholdengo finished charging, mustering its strength to blast out an energy beam composed of coins and covered in electricity, shooting straight toward the opponents.
Taste our passionate, burning combination technique!
Facing such a terrifying strike, Lacey showed not the slightest panic, instead revealing an inexplicable smile.
"Granbull, Protect!"
"Chansey, continue using Minimize!"
Hearing Lacey's subsequent commands, Aiden suddenly raised an eyebrow.
At first he thought she was just acting on a whim, wanting to pull a prank on Nemona.
But from this move, it seemed she had really come prepared?
But then again, after all, Blueberry Academy's main battle format was Doubles—
Doubles itself had a bit of a wild battle style; with two Pokémon cooperating, they could exert overall strength exceeding the sum of their individual powers.
As for all sorts of bizarre tactics, as long as you reviewed enough battles, you'd eventually think of them.
For example, Lacey's move here was directly using her Double Battle teammate to set a Protect, thereby allowing Chansey to more safely use Minimize one more time.
A bit of clever thinking.
It could indeed be done in reality.
Granbull deployed a Protect barrier, doing its utmost to shield Chansey behind it, successfully blocking Gholdengo's move.
"Now's the time, come back, Granbull!"
Seeing that Granbull was already slightly exhausted, Lacey decisively made a rotation, recalling her absolute main force.
Soon, another flash of red light passed.
A sharp-headed Excadrill landed on the field, wearing a deep red vest.
It looked like it had been used for a very long time.
An Assault Vest?
Aiden nodded, suddenly recalling some information about Lacey.
Her father was the famous Gym Leader Clay of the Unova region. It was said that this Blueberry Academy and the underwater energy factory were both built by Clay's professional engineering team.
Another deeply hidden young lady.
So this Excadrill, whose team coordination style didn't match hers, actually served a similar role to a bodyguard left by her father?
Aiden suddenly became a bit curious.
However, now wasn't the time to ask about such gossip—the battle wasn't over yet.
After two Minimizes, Chansey's body size had already miniaturized to only palm-sized. If you didn't look carefully, it was hard to discover it hidden behind Excadrill.
Just one more Minimize, and its defense would be almost flawless.
If the opponent couldn't even find Chansey, how could they hit it?
Theoretically, this was indeed the case.
However, Nemona didn't feel the slightest pressure, instead pointing at Lacey with a confident face, loudly declaring: "Lacey, you've already lost!"
"Although Teacher Azure's tactics are useful, but—"
"Do you know to what extent the students of Naranja Academy have already deducted Teacher Azure's tactics?"
"The reason you'll lose is simple—your innovation isn't enough~"
After saying several sentences that sounded somewhat inexplicable, under Lacey's gaze of "What is this guy talking about?", Nemona suddenly spoke again.
"Pawmot, use Supercell Slam, target locked on that Minimized Chansey!!!"
After hearing Nemona's command, Penny, standing not far behind Aiden, suddenly smiled and subtly pushed her glasses frame.
The reason Nemona was so confident naturally had a cause.
No one understood this better than her, the "BOSS" of Team Star.
When challenging Sunbeam Gym back then, to cope with Teacher Azure's weekly updated, endlessly emerging various tactical assessments, their strategy team had put in great effort before gradually figuring out various standard solutions.
For example, when facing the Minimize tactic, the simplest method was to use "weight-based moves."
Since the opponent's size became smaller, when launching an attack, not only did you not need to judge its exact position, but it also became unavoidable, and even the power would suddenly increase.
As for what moves counted as weight-based moves?
Speaking of which, they had used the stupid method back then—testing them one by one—
However, as long as the result was good, that was enough!
And the "Supercell Slam" that Pawmot mastered happened to be one of the moves specifically targeting the Minimize tactic.
As for Excadrill, Gholdengo also happened to have Aura Sphere for coverage.
Although the move's accuracy was insufficient and might not necessarily hit the opponent, the decision of whether to bet on Excadrill dodging had already been handed to Lacey."
Lacey, who had originally been full of confidence, suddenly sighed.
This battle seemed to have already slipped away.
The Make It Rain Gholdengo used earlier wasn't meant to hit at all—it was deliberately stalling for time, allowing Chansey to power up.
Waiting until she was most confident, then directly taking out Chansey in one breath—
"This was my carefully prepared ultimate move, I didn't expect it to be broken so easily—"
"I concede, Nemona, you win!"
Even stalling for time had no meaning. As long as the Minimize effect was still active, Pawmot could deal terrifying damage to Chansey.
And the Minimize tactic had no finishing ability; if it came down to a war of attrition, she would definitely be at a disadvantage.
No wonder Nemona had previously appeared so composed—it turned out she had planned from the start how to defeat her.
This is simply bullying someone and insulting them!
However—
After only half a year apart, why did it feel like Nemona's personality had become much more hidden, no longer as easy to read as before?
Lacey curiously glanced at Nemona, then turned her head to look at Aiden, who was smiling nearby.
Could it also be related to Teacher Azure?
"Hehe~"
Nemona didn't think much of it, immediately showing a silly smile after Lacey conceded, calling her two Pokémon in front of her to cancel their moves.
"After all, I'm now the Champion of the Paldea region, so it's normal for an Elite Four to lose to a Champion, right!"
She quickly ran to Lacey, giving a "peace" sign.
"Moreover, we people at Naranja Academy are all too familiar with Teacher Azure's tactics. Just seeing Chansey, we could already guess what you were going to do~"
Lacey: —?
How could you still taunt me like this!
However, what Nemona said did make sense.
Perhaps because they were far from Teacher Azure's guidance, although Blueberry Academy mainly focused on the Doubles environment, their understanding of Teacher Azure's tactics was still relatively behind.
But it didn't matter—Teacher Azure himself had already come here!
As long as she could learn some novel knowledge from Teacher Azure, she could definitely become as strong as Nemona.
If only they could keep Teacher Azure at Blueberry Academy, that would be even better!
Feeling the fiery gaze coming from Lacey, Aiden blinked, not quite understanding what she was thinking.
However, since the battle had already concluded, he might as well briefly review it with them.
"Well done, Nemona."
Aiden stepped forward, first praising the victorious Nemona.
Actually, Nemona's choice was quite standard, but her reaction was indeed very fast—she had almost foreseen the subsequent developments the moment Chansey appeared.
It could be said that she had already been manipulating the game before the battle even began.
This style did indeed seem like she had received his true teachings.
However, if it were him, he definitely wouldn't be as "showy" as Nemona, deliberately tricking Lacey, waiting for the right moment to deliver a critical hit.
Too bad of a habit—who did she learn this from—
Aiden absolutely refused to admit that this was learned from him!
Of course, the focus of this review definitely wasn't Nemona.
After simply saying a couple of sentences to Nemona, he quickly turned his attention to Lacey.
"The application of the Minimize tactic in Doubles does indeed need further development. Lacey, it's certainly good that you could think about designing around Minimize."
"Losing to Nemona, who just happens to understand this way of thinking and also has countermeasures, really can't be helped, but there's still room for optimization."
"For example, the Pokémon selection was a bit rough, completely not considering what to do if Minimize gets countered."
"Just like using Granbull's Protect just now, in Double Battles, using teammates to assist with defense is very important, right?"
Aiden didn't say anything too hardcore about tactics, only giving some suggestions based on his observations.
Then, after thinking for a moment, he continued: "Speaking of which, there's actually a more scientific Minimize tactic. When you have time later, I'll briefly demonstrate it."
"Afterward, you can try it with Nemona or others, attempting to protect Chansey with a joint defense strategy—the effect might be better."
"Mmm, mmm, as expected of Teacher Azure!"
Lacey nodded repeatedly.
She hadn't fully understood what Aiden was saying.
But it didn't matter—just being able to teach normally already put him far ahead of the other teachers at Blueberry Academy!
Moreover, Teacher Azure could immediately give suggestions based on the tactics she used, even providing optimized tactics—
Too reliable!
That Nemona could become so strong in just half a year was indeed inseparable from Teacher Azure's guidance.
If only Teacher Azure could become a teacher at our Unova Academy!
Actually, not just Lacey, Principal Cyrano, who had somehow already walked over, was thinking the same.
Blueberry Academy's school atmosphere had always been extremely free, so most of the time they encouraged students to explore freely and promote growth through competition.
But with a teacher like Aiden, it was obvious that students could avoid many detours.
For the next half hour or so, Lacey also had simple exchanges with the other three members of the "Blueberry Elite Four."
Indeed, when she changed the Pokémon partnering with Chansey and borrowed Principal Cyrano's Gothitelle, the situation immediately improved.
With the help of Gothitelle's Shadow Tag ability and Trick Room move, the difficulty of hitting Chansey increased by several levels.
Simple guidance elevated Lacey's understanding of the Minimize tactic by another level.
However, after hesitating, Lacey ultimately still abandoned this line of thought.
After all, originally she just wanted to give Nemona a surprise, but as she optimized, the cute Pokémon in her team were all getting optimized away!
That wouldn't do—her Pokémon would cry!
Regarding this, Aiden expressed understanding.
After all, his logic mostly only considered tactics as the goal; if students found them suitable, they could take them and optimize according to their own teams.
If not suitable, there was no way—wait for the next set of tactics~
Actually, even he himself didn't use most of the tactics he taught.
In actual combat, Aiden still focused on his main Pokémon, trying his best to design tactics that could revolve around them.
The first day at Blueberry Academy quickly passed in teaching.
By the time Aiden came back to his senses, the sun was almost setting.
The sunset was about to disappear below the horizon—scenery like this always felt beautiful every time he saw it.
However, just as Aiden was sighing with emotion—
A dark green, almost cloud-riding and fog-driving eerie humanoid figure suddenly appeared in the distance, then quickly disappeared.
And wherever it passed, a storm suddenly arose. The originally clear coastline instantly developed several dark clouds, quickly raining down a torrential downpour.
"That was—Tornadus?"
Aiden blinked.
He believed he absolutely couldn't be wrong.
With such obvious characteristics, besides Tornadus, one of the "Force of Nature" Pokémon, there should be no other possibility.
He didn't expect that he had just arrived in Unova and would see a Legendary Pokémon so quickly—
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