Trainer's Gambit

As soon as Natsume's live stream started, the chat exploded with messages.

"Dinner's ready, bros!"

"Yo, why isn't the streamer turning on the camera?"

"Came from the Nico Dou video. SubProtect Toxic is straight-up dirty!"

Natsume opened Pokémon: Battle while reading the chat.

"Why isn't the streamer turning on the camera?—I'll only show my face when I hit 100,000 subscribers."

Instantly, a wave of question marks flooded the chat.

"???"

This streamer's got some personality, huh?

Sure, his voice is kinda nice, but are he for real?

"Ten-year fan here, Natsume-sensei is definitely an attractive streamer!"

"Wait, are there really people who follow Natsume-sensei just for his looks? No way, right?"

"There's a clip of Natsume-sensei on the forums. He only appeared for less than five seconds, but he's definitely on the level of a male god!"

"Male god is too much. I'm just your average guy, barely at the level of a movie star."

Natsume said this without batting an eye.

"Thanks to 'When is Natsume-sensei's new movie coming out?' for the plane gift… It's coming soon. I just need to discuss the script with Diantha first."

"Thanks to 'Natsume-sensei, please hug a female Machamp' for the ten membership cards… Let's not talk about female Machamps today."

"Today, I'll continue teaching you all about Pokémon battles."

The chat's requests were surprisingly unanimous.

"Streamer, please do a SubProtect Toxic tutorial!"

"My starter Pokémon is Bulbasaur. I need a detailed tutorial!"

Natsume glanced at the chat.

"Thanks to 'How does Bulbasaur use SubProtect Toxic?' for the plane gift."

"If you can afford a starter Pokémon, evolving it into Venusaur shouldn't be a problem… So let's talk about Venusaur's strategic role."

Natsume opened the team editor and dragged Venusaur into the lineup.

"Venusaur has a lot of playstyles. For example, in a sun team, it can use Chlorophyll to boost its speed and deal damage."

"Or, on top of SubProtect Toxic, it can learn Synthesis and Leech Seed to serve as a tank."

"Enough talk. Let me show you how it's done."

Switching to the game screen, Natsume matched with an international player from the Johto League, with the ID "Wind-like Billiards Boy."

"Konnichiwa."

Natsume greeted in Japanese while locking in Venusaur.

His opponent's first Pokémon was a Typhlosion named "Explosion Taro."

Kanto, Pallet Town

A girl with an orange ponytail gently patted her flushed cheeks and took a deep breath.

"It's fine. It's just watching a movie together. He probably won't think too much of it…"

Mustering her courage, Yellow nervously rang the doorbell. A moment later, a male voice came through the intercom.

"Oh, it's you," Red said with a laugh. "The door's open. Just come up to the second floor."

Go… go into Red's house?

Yellow felt her cheeks burning, but curiosity got the better of her.

Shouldn't he be training right now?

Hesitantly pushing the door open, a figure leaped down from the second floor and quickly jumped into Yellow's arms.

"Pikachu~~!"

"Long time no see, Pikachu."

Yellow smiled warmly, gently petting Pikachu.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu happily jumped down, scurried along the wall, and nimbly climbed up the stairs.

Looking up, Yellow's face turned bright red.

At the top of the stairs, a young man with short black hair and determined eyes caught Pikachu and placed him on his shoulder, saying with a smile:

"Yellow, I found a really interesting Trainer today!"

Inside Red's room.

The room was clean and tidy, with a cabinet full of trophies, but the furnishings were simple—just a bed and a computer.

"Make yourself at home!"

As soon as he said it, Red awkwardly realized that the only chair was already occupied by him.

"I-I'll just sit on the bed…"

Yellow said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's.

"That works too."

Red scratched his head, then suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Oh, Yellow, come look at this!"

Yellow leaned over, brushing the hair from her ear, and asked curiously, "Isn't this the game you always play?"

"Pokémon: Battle."

Red grinned. "It's really similar to real battles. You have to give real-time commands through the microphone. I use it to relax when I'm tired from training."

"You… even when you're resting, it's all battles and battles."

Yellow's cheeks flushed slightly.

But Red didn't notice, excitedly saying, "Come watch this person's live stream!"

"This person's understanding of Venusaur's strategy is spot-on!"

"Unless they're a powerful Trainer in real life, there's no way they could have this level of awareness."

"Ahh, I really want to battle them and exchange tips on raising Venusaur!"

"Pikachu~!"

"Haha, Pikachu, you want to battle them too, right?"

Yellow curiously looked at the live stream.

It was a classic 6v6 battle, a Master Ball-tier match between "Natsume-sensei, Are You Serving Dinner Today?" and "Wind-like Billiards Boy."

Since it was an international stream, the platform provided real-time subtitle translations, allowing the two to understand Natsume-sensei's commentary.

"How dare they send out Typhlosion! 'Explosion Taro,' huh? Watch me Toxic them to death!"

Despite being at a type disadvantage, Venusaur used "Toxic + Protect" to slowly whittle down Typhlosion.

After that, Venusaur went on to defeat Ambipom and Sunflora.

From start to finish, the red team's "Natsume-sensei" only used Venusaur, achieving a one-versus-three sweep.

A flood of question marks filled the screen.

"I'm in shock. Beating Typhlosion at a type disadvantage and still at full health!?"

"Natsume-sensei isn't serving dinner anymore. My youth is over!"

"Stop! This isn't even a Pokémon battle anymore!"

Yellow murmured, "This ID… could it be…"

"Ah, it's probably Gold," Red said, coughing awkwardly. "I remember he loves playing this game too."

In the virtual simulation, Venusaur's Leech Seed formed vines that pierced into Togekiss's body, continuously draining its energy.

Togekiss let out a cry of pain, flapping its wings, but the Air Slash it unleashed was blocked by a shimmering barrier.

From the stream, Natsume's commentary could be heard: "Protect or no Protect, they're gonna explode!"

"You can replace Toxic with Leech Seed, but using both together is even better!"

Togekiss's body turned purple from the poison, while the vines from Leech Seed continued to torment it.

Even if an attack managed to land once, the wound on Venusaur was smaller than a pinky finger, and Natsume had Venusaur use Synthesis…

The chat was flooded with messages.

"Please, just be human!"

"Is this what SubProtect Toxic is? I'm in love!"

"One-versus-four! Venusaur just swept four!"

With a thud, Togekiss in the live stream fell from the sky.

Meanwhile, Venusaur was not only full of energy but also ready for another Synthesis spa session…

Yellow couldn't help but softly praise, "The timing is just perfect!"

"Yeah," Red nodded. "Even Gold is no match for him."

Casual viewers enjoy the spectacle, but experts see the technique.

Pokémon: Battle, as a real-time command simulation, fully reflects a Trainer's strategic prowess.

Unlike the average viewer, Red and Yellow, both powerful Trainers, saw something deeper—

Behind the "SubProtect Toxic" strategy was precise timing, which tested a Trainer's command skills to the extreme.

One thing was certain: this streamer with the ID "Natsume-sensei, Are You Serving Dinner Today?" was definitely an experienced Trainer.

Maybe… even Gold wasn't his match!

"Now you know why I skipped training today," Red said with a grin.

"Watching other Trainers' battles is an important part of training too!"

Yellow wanted to retort that this was just a game!

But even if it was a game, it was no less intense than a high-level Pokémon battle.

With her curiosity burning, Yellow and Red both focused intently on the live stream.