Hats flew, skirts flared… a wild current of air suddenly swept across the entire arena without warning.
Fortunately, it was just residual force. Though the wind was loud, it had little actual power. The crowd simply gasped as they grabbed their hats and held down their skirts.
Above the field, the three Pokémon slowly floated back down. Gengar darted "underground" again, hiding its contribution from view.
Gardevoir's hair(?) was slightly messy, but she still managed to maintain a standing posture.
Lopunny, however, had already exited Mega Evolution. Its fur was completely disheveled, and its swirling eyes showed clearly that it had lost the ability to battle.
In the end, it was Lopunny that failed to maintain Mirror Coat and was completely overwhelmed by Gardevoir's Psychic.
"…That's it?"
Sato had a big question mark in his mind, he couldn't shake the feeling that something had been overlooked.
The battle continued…
Shuto had now lost three Pokémon in a row: Mienshao, Vigoroth, and Lopunny.
While on Sato's side, only Ariados had been knocked out. Zoroark and Gardevoir both still looked capable of fighting.
Shuto was at a MASSIVE disadvantage!
Yet judging by his expression, he remained composed. His eyes were shifting, clearly calculating something again.
A flash of red light… Sato voluntarily recalled Gardevoir. After sustaining her psychic output for so long, it was better for her to rest.
Then, with a light tap of his toe, Gengar with golden eyes slowly floated out once again.
Next up, Gengar would battle!
Vigoroth was down. Lopunny was out of commission. Sato didn't believe Shuto had a third Pokémon that could counter Gengar.
Upon seeing Gengar enter the field, a serious look flickered in Shuto's eyes. But he didn't hesitate for long and sent out his next Pokémon.
Scizor!
Sato: …
'Mot@*! REALLY? Just after defeating two Normal-types, there was a Steel-type Pokémon waiting for Gengar.'
Sato sighed inwardly, but showed no mercy in action.
"[Shadow Ball: Chain Explosion]!"
"Gen~"
Gengar clasped its hands together, then spread them wide, summoning sixteen dark-purple Shadow Balls that quickly hurled themselves at Scizor.
"Metal Claw!"
"Sciz!"
Scizor's claws gleamed with metallic light as it instantly formed two massive claw-shaped projections, smashing all the Shadow Balls midair.
A series of explosions rang out as both sides' opening attacks canceled each other.
When the smoke from the blasts cleared, Scizor had vanished from sight, and a flash of silver light revealed Metal Claw already coming down at Gengar from behind.
Clang~
A sharp clash rang out. Scizor halted half a meter behind Gengar, its claws trembling as it tried to push forward… but couldn't advance at all.
It had been blocked!
But by what?
Scizor stared at Gengar in disbelief, but couldn't see anything between them.
The next second, Gengar turned around, golden eyes calm and expressionless.
"Gen…"
Sixteen more Shadow Balls screamed forward without resistance, slamming into Scizor head-on.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…
From the side, one could see explosions raging where Scizor stood -smoke and blasts everywhere- yet on Gengar's side of the battlefield, not even a wisp of smoke crossed over.
It was as if an invisible wall… had split the arena into two worlds!
For the first time, Gengar openly displayed its Spatial Energy in front of everyone, and with just a single Spatial Barrier, it was already toying with its opponent effortlessly.
"Swords Dance • Fury Cutter!"
Even now, Shuto still believed Gengar was using something like Light Screen or Reflect, and if the attack was strong enough, it could definitely be broken!
Swords Dance whipped up a vortex that transformed into a spinning Fury Cutter. Scizor turned into a red drill, mercilessly tearing toward Gengar.
The next moment, Scizor collided with the Spatial Barrier again. A piercing screech of friction echoed through the arena, grinding into everyone's ears.
But Shuto's face lit up with joy. As he suspected!
Something was blocking Scizor.
Half a minute later, Fury Cutter had reached high power. Sparks even flew from Scizor's body, yet it still couldn't break through…
'What… WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!' Shuto cursed internally.
With a body and weight like Scizor's, it couldn't keep spinning endlessly. Now that sparks had started, it might catch fire any second.
But still… why couldn't it break through?
"Again, [Shadow Ball: Chain Explosion]"
Sato's voice rang out again. Sixteen more Shadow Balls flew straight at Scizor.
Explosions burst forth. Scizor's spinning Fury Cutter was forcibly interrupted, and it fell from the air, looking quite battered.
Luckily, Scizor's defenses weren't bad. It managed to stabilize itself halfway down.
In the next instant, another barrage of sixteen Shadow Balls came flying. Scizor had no choice but to raise its Metal Claw and block them all.
◓---
On the field, Gengar's offense was relentless and fierce. Scizor could only keep retreating, overwhelmed and scrambling.
Off the field, most people still couldn't understand how Gengar was fighting.
Protect? Light Screen? Reflect? Iron Defense? Barrier? Amnesia…?
People mentally cycled through every defensive move they could think of, yet none explained how Gengar had stopped Scizor.
---
In the audience, Fujin watched Gengar's smooth movements on stage with a complicated look in his eyes.
Strictly speaking, the one who truly saved him -the Champion level Trainer- was that strange golden-eyed Gengar on the field!
The Spatial Rifts that had bound him for years eventually became fuel for Gengar's growth.
Spatial energy… in most cases, it's practically unsolvable.
But for Fujin, it wasn't hard.
Use overwhelming force to pierce through the surface, rip open space, and forcibly create a Spacial Rift!
Scizor's original approach wasn't wrong. It just… lacked the raw power.
---◓
Some time later, Scizor was struck again by Gengar's Shadow Ball and crashed to the ground in disarray.
This time, it didn't get back up.
Shuto stared blankly at his Scizor, now unconscious, feeling nothing but confusion. He wasn't afraid of losing, but this was the first time he had lost without even understanding how.
Yet the battle… continued.
After dazing out for three seconds, Shuto quickly regained his focus.
As one of the League's top Investigators, he had fought countless battles. Regaining composure was just the basics.
Win or lose, fighting until the end is the only way to respect this match!
"Typhlosion, it's your turn!"
Red light flashed as Shuto sent out his fifth Pokémon. The Fire-type Johto Starter, Peak Elite Four level.
In response, Gengar placed its hands together and gave a subtle nod, then quietly floated back to Sato's side.
No struggle, no pride, no emotion… purely Zen-bro!
Sato understood Gengar's thoughts and didn't try to stop it. Seeing Typhlosion appear, he immediately sent out Sharpedo.