Vulpix instinctively flicked its cloud-like tail, and chunks of ice immediately formed in midair.
"Vulpix!"
Gastly, readying its tongue for a follow-up attack, was startled.
Before it could retract and execute its Lick, the incoming Ice Shard struck repeatedly, hammering against its body.
Gastly cried out in pain and rolled backward uncontrollably.
"Now, give it the final Icy Wind!"
Seeing Gastly frantically trying to clear the ice from its tongue, Silas issued the final command.
"Vulpix!"
Vulpix nodded, opened its mouth angrily, and released a fierce blast of cold wind.
The blue Icy Wind, mixed with snow from the hailstorm, wrapped around Gastly.
Gradually, from bottom to top, Gastly was encased in a solid ball of ice.
When the wind died down, the ice ball, containing Gastly, had no support and fell straight from midair.
Crack!
Shards of ice scattered, revealing Gastly inside, its eyes spinning.
Vulpix gracefully walked up to Gastly, lifted its paw, and flicked a little dirt over the Pokémon's body.
"Cough Gastly is unable to battle. Vulpix wins."
The deadpan referee coughed and announced the result.
"So cute!" the students at the sidelines exclaimed sincerely.
This was mostly due to the Pokémon's appearance. Tiny Vulpix's actions, far from seeming provocative, appeared endearingly clumsy.
If it had been a Pokémon like Grimer, it probably wouldn't have received such affection.
Silas couldn't help but laugh at Vulpix's behavior, but thinking about how careful it was with its fur, it seemed quite reasonable.
Tearful, Vulpix ran up to the command stand and jumped into Silas's arms.
"Vulpix! Vulpix!"
It waved its short legs, complaining about Gastly's "misbehavior."
Silas stroked its fur and spoke gently, "Alright, alright, I understand. How about we go back and get you a bath?"
Vulpix sniffled and vigorously nodded.
"Will the challenger switch Pokémon?" the referee asked, a seemingly redundant but necessary question.
Silas held Vulpix with one arm and pulled out a green Poké Ball from his waist with the other.
"Yes go, Karrablast!"
"Karrablast!"
The energetic Karrablast appeared in the battlefield.
It lifted its head and locked eyes with the Haunter that Morty had already sent out.
"Haunter!"
Haunter, with two extra hands compared to Gastly, opened its mouth and "greeted" aggressively.
Morty adjusted his scarf nervously.
"A type disadvantage, huh Seems this Karrablast has inherited quite a few Dark-type moves. Is its father from the Drapion line?"
Considering Karrablast's typical Bug-type movepool, its threat to the Ghost/Poison-type Haunter was negligible.
Normal-type moves barely affected Haunter, while Bug- and Poison-type moves would be almost completely ineffective due to type resistance.
Other than inherited Dark-type moves, Morty could hardly imagine why Silas would choose this Pokémon for a Ghost-type Gym challenge.
Silas smiled.
"This little guy is actually very strong."
Hearing this, Karrablast raised its claws and opened its mouth to look fierce.
But its body, less than half the size of Haunter, didn't make much of an impression.
However, Morty did not relax. He knew this was no rookie Trainer he was facing.
When the hailstorm was almost over, Silas finally issued the attack command:
"Karrablast, use Acid!"
This was why the two Trainers had spent the earlier time chatting, it was better to wait out the hailstorm than to fight under its effects.
The hailstorm's damage and environmental impact could not be ignored by either Pokémon.
Besides, the hail could prevent Haunter from vanishing, which Silas welcomed when facing Karrablast.
"Dodge, then use Night Slash!"
As the dark green Acid moved through the air toward Haunter, Morty commanded it to evade.
Although Acid's damage was minor, its secondary effect of sharply lowering Special Defense would have been unbearable for Morty and Haunter.
If Acid hit, type advantages would be less significant.
Haunter floated upward to avoid the attack, and a black ribbon of energy spiraled downward from its body.
"Boost your defense with Swords Dance."
Following Silas's command, Karrablast swung its claws at the black ribbon and began spinning rapidly.
The Night Slash ribbons shattered the moment they touched Karrablast's claws.
"Shadow Punch!"
Morty and Haunter's offense came in waves.
Even as Night Slash was just broken, Haunter's two hands, glowing purple-black, shot forward quickly.
But for Karrablast, the gap was enough to react.
"Block it!" Silas shouted.
"Karrablast!"
Karrablast slammed its claws into the ground.
Boom!
The ground trembled.
To everyone's amazement, Karrablast raised a giant rock several times its size in front of itself.
The two Shadow Punches hit the rock, leaving deep marks, but Karrablast remained unharmed.
Morty was secretly shocked.
"Even with Swords Dance boosting its power, this strength it's unreal."
He had only ever seen such raw power in Fighting-type Pokémon.
"Is this really Karrablast or a Heracross?" the students watching gulped. "Are all strong Trainers' partners like this?"
The teacher sighed helplessly.
The scene was visually overwhelming.
Only Silas, as a Trainer, was accustomed to it.
"Good, now get close and use Acid again!"
"Karrablast!"
Karrablast, carrying a giant rock above its head, trotted forward toward Haunter.
Under the cover of the rock, neither Morty nor Haunter could see Karrablast's exact position.
"Disappear, Haunter, and circle around to use Hex from below!"
Faced with this situation, Morty decisively employed the standard Ghost-type strategy.
Elusive Ghost-type Pokémon are never known for frontal combat. Even a level 27 Haunter, which hadn't yet mastered many moves, was no exception.
"Back against the rock, keep an eye on where it appears."
Silas immediately ordered Karrablast to lower the rock above its head.
For a brief moment, the battlefield fell into temporary silence.
Karrablast's serious gaze swept the area, trying to locate Haunter's position.
"Haah!"
One of Haunter's hands suddenly appeared directly in front of Karrablast.
Karrablast instinctively spat a stream of Acid.
"Sss!"
The sharp sound of corrosion reached Morty's ears, and his eyes widened in shock.
A bead of cold sweat formed on his forehead. "The strength of this Acid, it's ridiculously strong."
From his extensive experience, the corrosive power of this Karrablast's Acid was far from normal.
"As expected, worthy of being the Pokémon chosen by Mr. Phoenix!"
Morty's gaze was filled with admiration.
Compared to Acid Spray, instinctively using Acid under pressure revealed the true strength of a Pokémon.
After a quick test, Haunter began circling around.
The battlefield soon became pockmarked from the corrosive effects.
Karrablast, continuously outputting Acid, grew visibly fatigued, its breathing increasingly heavy.
The students watching noticed something was wrong. "At this rate, that Karrablast might tire and leave an opening!"
As an Elite-level Trainer, Morty's teacher saw even more, Haunter's stamina wasn't in great shape either.
Morty was in a difficult spot.
No matter how many times he tried, the opposing Karrablast always detected Haunter's position first. As a result, Haunter hadn't been able to use Hex to attack at all.
Although Acid didn't hit every time, comparing the energy consumption of both sides, Haunter was clearly at a disadvantage.
"This Karrablast's focus is too intense." Morty frowned.
Normally, in a heated battle, very few Pokémon, outside of Psychic-types can maintain such concentration for so long.
This alone was a huge mental pressure, especially while being constantly harassed by a Ghost-type Pokémon.
Yet this Karrablast showed no weaknesses.
Even if Haunter suddenly dashed out from behind a rock, Karrablast would react instantly and counterattack.
Only Silas knew this unwavering resolve came from Karrablast's training in the Plasma Team's research lab.
Back then, letting one's guard down meant certain defeat.
"I've got you." Watching Haunter's form hesitate mid-vanish, Silas' eyes gleamed. "Karrablast, use Sucker Punch!"
"Karrablast!"
Karrablast's black legs stomped the ground forcefully, and the Pokémon became a blue afterimage as it dashed forward.
Morty thought the situation looked grim—after such a long standoff, Haunter was the first to falter.
"Haunter, protect!"
A green barrier gradually enveloped it.
Haunter's eyes reflected Karrablast's figure and the brownish-glinting scythes above its head.
"Pop!"
Fortunately, although Haunter initially slipped, its proficiency with Protect compensated for the mistake.
Karrablast's Sucker Punch slammed into the green barrier, barely breaking it.
But its assault wasn't over. Silas waved his hand. "Karrablast, use your momentum to fly up, then use Knock Off!"
Karrablast vaulted into the air, spinning with its scythes, landing diagonally above Haunter.
At this moment, Haunter was still stiff from using Protect and could only watch Karrablast act.
Knock Off, a Dark-type move, deals heavy damage to Pokémon holding items and temporarily negates the item's effect. Even if the target isn't holding an item, the damage is still significant.
This move is sometimes confused with Rock Slide, but the effects are quite different.
"Bang!"
The next moment, Haunter was slammed to the ground.
"Haah—"
It cried out in pain.
The fall itself was negligible for Haunter, but the Dark-type energy in Knock Off caused immense damage.
And don't forget, Karrablast was still boosted by Swords Dance.
With everything combined, Haunter's stamina nearly hit rock bottom from this single hit.
"Haunter, get up!" Morty used one of the Trainer's signature techniques, Persistence.
"Vrrr~"
Haunter struggled to support itself with both hands, though its condition was visibly poor.
Silas raised an eyebrow. Perhaps next time he should try a "Quick Dodge" command?
Nevertheless, he showed no hesitation. Once Karrablast recovered, he immediately commanded another attack: "Charge, use Fury Cutter!"
"Haunter, taste some heat, use Fire Punch!" Morty tried his final counter.
Unfortunately, he had used the wrong move.
"Swish swish"
Karrablast completely ignored Haunter's Fire Punch, swinging its glowing claws against Haunter.
Despite high resistance, Haunter, already exhausted, fainted after this strike.
Morty was still stunned, staring at the faint scorch marks on Karrablast, wondering why a Fire-type attack had so little effect.
Normally, a standard Bug-type Pokémon wouldn't survive a Fire-type move with over half its HP already gone.
Morty shivered. "Could it be this Karrablast is also a Pokémon chosen by Mr. Pokemon?"
He realized only this could explain why Karrablast had such high Fire resistance.
Silas had no idea what Morty was imagining. He simply thought that Morty's battle strategy was clever.
Nowadays, if you can't overcome a quadruple resistance, can you even call yourself a Trainer?
"Haunter is unable to battle. Karrablast wins!"
The referee's announcement came slowly.
"Switch Pokémon."
This time, without waiting for a question, Silas recalled Karrablast. "Well done. For the next battle, I'll leave it to your partner."
The Poké Ball wobbled briefly, then settled.
Seeing Morty send out his final Pokémon, Gengar, Silas immediately released the last Poké Ball of the match: "Alright, it's your turn, Kirlia!"
"Kii-ralia~"
Kirlia appeared, placing its hands politely in front of it, bowing ceremoniously toward Gengar.
"Gengar!"
Gengar seemed to meet such an opponent for the first time, wobbling its chubby body in greeting.
Although mischievous and sometimes fierce, Gengar is known to be loyal to a kind Trainer, and its smile here was friendly rather than sinister.
"But before the battle starts, I need to even out your advantage, Morty."
While everyone watched tensely, Silas stretched his slightly sore neck from concentrating so long and said something a little unusual.
..
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