As Iris looked at the Poké Ball in her hand, the roaring cheers of the main stadium faded into the background, and her mind drifted back to Saffron City.
To the cold, pristine halls of the Belmont manor.
From the moment she was old alone to understand her own name, Iris had been suffocated by pressure. The Belmont family was one of Kanto's oldest and most prestigious lineages, but behind their elegant facade lay a cutthroat, deeply unsympathetic dynamic. She was constantly compared to her older siblings—geniuses who had secured high positions in the League before they were twenty. To her parents, Iris was not a daughter, but an asset carrying the Belmont name.
This relentless pressure had caused her to emotionally detach from her family at a young age. She came to see the Belmont name as a cage that controlled her, rather than an identity that defined her. Her starter Pokémon was Pawniard, like most of the Belmonts, but the Pokémon that resonated with her the most was Murkrow, a Pokémon often misunderstood and shunned. She trained not just to grow stronger, but to prove she could stand on her own two feet, entirely independent of her family's shadow.
Then, she met Eric.
In the Redwood tournament, she had seen a boy with absolutely no background, no elite tutoring, and no family crest. Yet his eyes carried the cold, raw hunger of someone who had walked through hell to survive. Then, in their battle, even though she won, she felt that Eric was a better trainer than her. When she later read the news article detailing his rapid rise, something inside her had been deeply ignited.
Eric's strength belonged entirely to him. His name was not associated with any big power and was entirely his own. This motivated Iris and also ignited her fighting spirit. She wanted to test her strength against him, as if to prove to herself that she could do it as well.
"Let us find a quieter field," Iris said, snapping out of her thoughts as she looked back at Eric.
Eric nodded.
They walked away from the main arena, leaving the lingering crowds behind, and settled on a smaller, grassy battlefield on the eastern edge of the estate. Only a few people were scattered around the stands here; most of the guests had gone to the food courts or the main lounge after the massive Red vs. Blue clash. However, Green had seen them leave, and recognising Eric, she followed to see what they were up to.
"Let's keep it a one-on-one," Eric suggested, stepping onto his side of the field.
"Ok," Iris replied. She unclasped her Poké Ball and threw it forward.
A heavy, majestic bird with glossy, midnight-black feathers, a crest resembling a fedora hat, and a red-and-white tail materialized with a sharp, commanding cry.
Her Murkrow had evolved.
Eric immediately scanned the dark-type with his system, and his eyes widened in surprise.
---
Pokémon: Honchkrow
Gender: Male
Level: 36
Type: Dark/Flying
Ability: Prankster
Held Item: None
Potential: Purple
Energy Grade:
Dark type - Grade 3
---
'A Purple potential Honchkrow... and it's already at Level 36. She really hasn't been slacking off.'
Iris had clearly used high-grade resources to upgrade her partner's potential during evolution, just as he had done with Poliwrath.
"Come on out, Haunter," Eric said, his shadow expanding as his partner slowly rose from the ground.
---
Pokémon: Haunter
Gender: Male
Level: 38
Type: Ghost/Poison
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: None
Potential: Quasi-Gold
Energy Grade:
Ghost type - Grade 4 (Peak)
Poison type - Grade 3 (initial)
Fire type - Grade 2 (initial)
Moves: Lick(B++), Hypnosis(I+), Confuse Ray(I+), Astonish(I), Disable(I+), Clear smog(I+), Toxic(I+), Ghost Ball(I++), Hex(I++), Protect(I+), Will-O-Wisp(I+), Shadow Ball(I++), Flamethrower(B+++), Sludge Wave(I)
---
Over the thirteen days of training, Haunter had fully absorbed the final 30% of the mysterious red fragment. The absorption had triggered a massive shift in his core, pushing his potential to Quasi-Gold and elevating his Ghost-type energy to Peak Grade 4.
The moment Haunter appeared, the temperature in the clearing plummeted. A dense, suffocating ghostly aura radiated from his spiky body, making the ghost-type energy around them feel almost alive.
Iris's eyes narrowed. She could feel the staggering difference in energy density. Even though her Honchkrow held a massive type advantage over a Ghost type, the sheer pressure coming off Haunter was unlike anything she had faced.
"Honchkrow, use Dark Pulse! Keep him away!" Iris commanded.
Honchkrow opened his beak, launching a powerful, spiral beam of dark, negative energy across the field.
"Shadow Ball, block it," Eric ordered calmly.
Haunter didn't even move. He casually raised one of his floating hands, condensing a dark purple ball of ghost energy and throwing it forward.
BOOM!
The two attacks collided in mid-air. But despite Dark Pulse holding the elemental type advantage, the Shadow Ball tore straight through the Dark Pulse, forcing Honchkrow to take flight to dodge the residual explosion.
"Night Slash!" Iris called out, her voice sharp.
Honchkrow's wings flared as he dove from the sky, his talons cloaked in a sharp, dark-infused energy.
"Disable," Eric commanded.
Haunter's eyes flashed with a sinister, glowing red light. The moment Honchkrow reached him, his body froze mid-motion, the dark energy around his talons completely locking up.
"What?" Iris gasped.
"Shadow Ball, close range."
With Honchkrow disabled and unable to transition to a defensive move, Haunter materialized directly in front of him, launching a powerful Shadow Ball into his chest.
BANG!
Honchkrow shrieked as he was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the grass. He struggled back into the air, his chest scorched, but the massive gap in their energy grades was showing.
"Night Shade!" Iris ordered, desperately trying to regain momentum.
"Hex," Eric countered.
Before Honchkrow could execute his attack, a sudden, dark purple energy coiled around his body, amplifying the damage he had taken. The sheer weight of the Ghost-type energy pressed him down into the dirt.
Honchkrow weakly tried to flap his wings, but he had taken too much damage. After a brief struggle, his eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious.
"Honchkrow is unable to battle! Haunter wins!" the referee announced.
Iris stood still for a moment, her shoulders slumping slightly. A wave of disappointment washed over her.
Just a month ago, she had defeated Eric. But now, despite her efforts, he had completely surpassed her. She shook her head and went to congratulate Eric. She would need time to recover from this, but she pushed that to the back of her head for now.
She gracefully recalled her Honchkrow and walked toward the center of the field.
"Congratulations, Eric," Iris said, offering her hand, a faint, sincere smile on her face. "You've gotten much stronger. I... still have a long way to go."
Eric shook her hand, his expression softening. "You've improved a lot too, Iris. Your Honchkrow's potential is impressive. Let's battle again in the future."
"Mhm. Next time, I won't lose," Iris replied, her competitive fire still quietly burning.
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