The violent shockwaves from the energy explosion kicked up waves of dust. Shiro raised his arm to shield his forehead and directly used his psychic power to sense the situation on the field.
Because of the level gap, Shadow Ball was completely unable to contend head-on with Dragon Breath.
The blue Dragon Breath from Garchomp pushed upward step by step. Yet Haunter above showed no urgency at all and even let out a sinister laugh.
Although its Shadow Balls couldn't win in a direct clash, battles were never decided by simple head-on collisions.
With one hand, it released Shadow Balls that dissipated against the Dragon Breath, while its other claw launched more Shadow Balls from blind spots, striking toward Garchomp on the ground.
The dust obscured the view, and Cynthia, standing behind, raised her sleeve to block it, failing to notice what was happening.
That lasted only until Garchomp let out a painful cry.
"Gaaaar!"
The Dragon Breath in the air abruptly vanished, and Garchomp crashed heavily to the ground.
Grinning wickedly, Haunter was about to follow up, but Shiro stopped it in time and had it float back into the air.
"Garchomp!"
Cynthia called out anxiously, but the Pokémon could only let out a weak whimper.
After a few seconds, the dust gradually cleared, revealing Garchomp's full form. Its right leg had turned an eerie dark color, looking stiff and completely unusable.
Haunter's Shadow Balls had struck its thigh with precise, repeated hits. Combined with the earlier damage from that strange shadow attack, it had already lost most of its fighting ability.
"Come back…"
Cynthia took out her Poké Ball and pressed the button in the middle.
Even as Garchomp turned into a red beam and returned, her brows remained tightly furrowed.
It was hard to believe. How could a mere Gym-level Haunter have such terrifying attack power? The damage was unbelievable. The first strange move had already heavily injured Garchomp, and the second wave of Shadow Balls finished it off.
It didn't even get the chance to recover with its held Leftovers before the battle ended.
She was certain that if they wanted to, they could have targeted a vital spot and knocked it out instantly.
'Is it some special training method?' Cynthia wondered.
If it had been an Elite-level Pokémon that had trained for years, she wouldn't have been surprised at all.
But this was only a Gym-level Haunter.
Whether it was that bizarre shadow move earlier or the way the energy clash was handled just now, she felt there was some invisible gap between them, leaving her completely unprepared.
"Haun-haun, haun-teer~"
Haunter grinned and stuck out its long red tongue at Cynthia.
"…"
For a moment, she didn't even know which Pokémon to send out next.
At the referee's stand, Carolina let out a soft sigh and turned her face away. She had expected this, but still didn't want to see her usually confident granddaughter shaken like this.
"Is the gap between her and Shiro really that big?" Rowan couldn't help but ask.
Carolina opened her eyes slightly and glanced at him, then snorted. "As expected of the Galar Champion. His strength is indeed extraordinary. He's far stronger than Sinnoh's current Champion, Allen."
"So strong…"
Rowan had never had a clear understanding of Shiro's strength before. He only knew he was powerful, but now he finally had a rough comparison.
In short, the Galar Champion was stronger than the Sinnoh Champion.
"She is still only a candidate for the Elite Four. She's young…" Carolina added.
"Huh?" Rowan suddenly turned his head and looked toward the research lab.
From that direction, quite a few researchers in white coats were jogging over in groups. Leading them were his assistant, Rei, and Shiro's assistant, Dale.
Tall and broad, Rei arrived first. With an arm slung around the closely following Dale's shoulders, he bent slightly and asked with a grin, "Professor Rowan, you don't mind if we watch too, right?"
Rowan scratched the back of his head and shrugged his shoulders.
There were no urgent research tasks at the moment. Besides, he himself had come to watch. What was there to mind?
The researchers knew watching carried risks, so they all gathered around Rowan and Carolina, with Glaceon standing at the front to shield them.
"They're here, they're here! Among researchers, my favorite is Dr. Corviknight. Among trainers, I like Miss Cynthia the most!"
"Miss Cynthia is indeed extraordinary. She's already an Elite Four candidate."
"Watch your words. Drop the 'candidate.' Miss Cynthia will challenge the Elite Four soon!"
"Heh, I'm on Dr. Shiro's side. The Galar Champion is unbeatable. Miss Cynthia is still not strong enough to beat him."
"How's the battle going? Why hasn't she sent out another Pokémon?"
"Looks like she already lost one…"
As they discussed among themselves, Cynthia had already steadied her emotions on the battlefield and took out another Poké Ball.
"Come out, Spiritomb!"
Spiritomb was a Ghost and Dark-type Pokémon. It looked like a mass of mysterious pink mist wrapped around a green pattern and a keystone.
In terms of typing, Dark had an advantage over Ghost, so against Haunter it held a slight edge. However, Spiritomb was not a pure offensive Pokémon, having more utility and support moves.
For Cynthia, she had completely abandoned any thought of underestimating Haunter and now treated it like a boss-level opponent.
Shiro narrowed his eyes slightly and scanned its information:
[Name: Spiritomb
Type: Ghost/Dark
Level: 48 (Gym)
Ability: Infiltrator
Held Item: Sitrus Berry
Moves: Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Shadow Sneak, Spite, Payback, Nasty Plot, Hex, Memento, Sucker Punch, Curse, Shadow Ball, Scary Face, Protect, Psybeam...]
The Sitrus Berry would restore some HP when its health dropped below half.
"Spiritomb…" Shiro murmured. This was his first time seeing one in reality.
It was said that Spiritomb was formed from 108 spirits bound together, born from evil thoughts and bringing misfortune. It caused chaos everywhere until one day its true form was sealed into a keystone by a mysterious spell to prevent further harm.
"In that case…"
Shiro took out a Poké Ball and recalled Haunter, then grabbed another one. "Come out, Bewear!"
Bewear stepped onto the battlefield while holding its head. Facing the oddly shaped Spiritomb in the distance, it let out a soft call.
"Beaweeaar…" (Hello there…)
Spiritomb shook slightly in response.
Compared to the friendly exchange between the two Pokémon, Cynthia's expression was much more serious.
Bewear was a Fighting and Normal-type. Ghost-type moves could not affect its Normal typing, while Dark-type moves were resisted by its Fighting side.
Conversely, both of Bewear's typing had no effect on Spiritomb's Ghost-type.
Overall, Spiritomb had the advantage. As long as Bewear did not have Foresight, its attacks couldn't land on Spiritomb.
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