Chapter 76: Redefining Species Perception
Arthur's timing with this move was spot-on, perfectly exploiting the brief pause as Haunter recovered its breath after unleashing "Shadow Claw."
Froakie made a dazzling entrance amidst a flash of red light. Bursting out of the Poké Ball, it immediately leaped into the air, opening its arms wide in a welcoming embrace towards Haunter.
The posture looked exceptionally friendly, like old friends reuniting after a long separation.
Assuming, of course, one could ignore the swirling, pitch-black mist currently enveloping its body.
Haunter was deeply moved—so moved it was terrified into retreating on the spot.
That dark mist was composed entirely of Dark-type energy, which it detested!
Ghost-type is weak against Dark-type; Haunter had no intention of taking this "Dark Pulse" head-on.
The black mist erupted outward in a ring formation, spreading rapidly.
However, Haunter's movements were also swift. It once again turned its body gaseous and phased up into the ceiling.
"Damn it, that's cheating on a competitive battlefield!"
At this moment, Justin, having regained his senses, managed to squeeze in a complaint amidst the chaos.
In competitive arenas, a Ghost-type Pokémon turning gaseous to hide inside stage objects is considered passive play and would earn a warning from the referee.
Justin wasn't wrong.
But Arthur grabbed him, shot him a peculiar glance, and urged loudly, "Let's go!"
Still concerned about competition rules at a time like this.
The basic course instructors at the youth training camp would surely weep if they heard him.
After forcing Haunter back, Froakie immediately returned to Arthur's side, and they continued running towards the end of the corridor.
The door leading to the deck ahead was closed.
But Pidgeotto had already surged forward ahead of them, flapping its wings to slash out three consecutive "Air Slash" attacks, violently breaking down the door.
Just as the escape route appeared within reach, Arthur suddenly, perilously, shoved Justin down again.
"Careful!"
Another enormous ghostly claw extended down from the ceiling, striking towards their backs!
Haunter remained relentlessly persistent.
This, after all, was not a fair competitive arena; there was no need to adhere to competition ethics. The tactic of Ghost-type Pokémon using their gaseous form to hide within structures and then suddenly emerge for sneak attacks was simply impossible to fully guard against.
What was worse, looking back down the corridor, a dark grey fox with a long, deep red mane was now pursuing them.
It was Zoroark!
At this point, it had completely dropped its illusory disguise, indicating it was fully prepared for battle.
As the Zoroark reached the corridor, its pupils constricted, its gaze instantly becoming sharp and severe.
Because at that very moment, it had just spotted the camera that Arthur and Justin had dropped on the floor.
"Don't let them escape!! At the very least, we must find out what they filmed!" Its master's urgent and furious command echoed in its mind.
Zoroark immediately threw its head back and let out a roar.
The sound waves manifested as almost tangible ripples that swept through the entire corridor, shattering glass and cracking the walls!
Arthur and Justin clutched their ears in pain, overcome by dizziness, nearly collapsing right there on the floor.
This was the Dark-type move: Snarl!
In the confined indoor environment, the power of this move became especially terrifying.
With Haunter above and Zoroark behind, the pincer attack from the two Pokémon left them overwhelmed.
"Use Smoke."
Arthur gave the command while simultaneously, in a desperate gamble, scrambling to his feet and sprinting outward with all his might, appearing as if he intended to abandon Justin and escape alone first.
But Haunter had also received its master's directive at this point: not a single one was to be allowed to escape.
Thus, it first phased into the wall and slid rapidly forward, pursuing Arthur, temporarily leaving Froakie and Justin behind for Zoroark to handle.
"Gah!"
Having caught up, Haunter instantly emerged from the wall, appearing at Arthur's left side with an eerie cackle.
Its ghostly claw expertly rose once more, its mouth stretching into a wide, menacing grin.
Fall, human!
In this moment, it felt as if it could already smell the fragrant aroma of splashing blood.
But the next instant, its vision suddenly blurred.
The "Shadow Claw" attack it was so sure would hit, missed again.
For a split second, Haunter was stunned, subconsciously wanting to blink its eyes to reconfirm what it saw.
However, in the very instant it blinked, a sharp, intense pain erupted from its abdomen!
The young human, who had bent down to dodge its ghost claw, seemed to have slid forward as if teleporting, appearing right in front of it. His right fist fiercely delivered a vicious uppercut straight into its lower abdomen!
Even Ghost-type Pokémon must materialize their bodies at the moment of attack; otherwise, physical moves like "Shadow Claw" or "Shadow Punch" would be impossible to execute.
Punching the materialized Haunter felt somewhat like hitting jelly or a sponge—soft and squishy, even a bit springy.
Arthur, apparently appreciating the sensation, immediately followed up with another punch from his left hand.
"%&「/～"
Haunter couldn't help but emit a string of incomprehensible notes, sounding almost like Murloc speech.
Damn it, this punch... I'd believe it if you told me it was the move "Mega Punch"!
After just two punches, its entire body felt flattened!
Moments ago, it had timely dodged the "Dark Pulse" which had a type advantage over it, taking minimal damage. Who could have expected that subsequently pursuing what seemed like easy prey—a human—would result in such severe trauma!
For a moment, Haunter felt like its entire perception of ghost existence had been fundamentally refreshed!
Even so, the human's combination attack wasn't finished yet.
Following the two punches, Arthur spun on the spot again. One leg extended, using the rotational acceleration to swing around in a perfect, circular arc kick.
"Gah!!"
At this critical juncture, Haunter dared not hesitate any longer. It decisively used its life-saving move "Substitute," leaving behind a decoy clone in its place while its main body instantly teleported away, frantically creating distance.
Bang!
Having just teleported away, Haunter turned its head just in time to see the substitute clone it left behind get exploded by Arthur's spinning roundhouse kick.
"..."
At that moment, Haunter's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
The clone left by the "Substitute" move wasn't fragile like those from "Double Team"—they shattered upon contact. Haunter had even once used a Substitute clone to withstand a Hitmonlee's "Low Kick" attack.
At this point, it finally understood. Arthur running off alone first wasn't an act of cowardice at all; he was using his own body as bait to lure it out!
This was a damn trap!
"Tch."
Realizing he had only kicked a Substitute, Arthur clicked his tongue in regret.
Behind him, Justin and Zoroark, having witnessed this entire sequence, both involuntarily shivered.
Why are you, an unarmed human, making such a sound of dissatisfaction after forcing back a powerful Pokémon?!
Influenced by this, even the Zoroark currently entangled in combat with Froakie became significantly more cautious.
It even began to warily watch Justin, who was ostensibly just focused on escaping...
It felt like after today, its perception of the human species had once again been refreshed to a new level.
Fortunately, Arthur didn't let this get to his head; he was always aware of his own limits.
"Go! Quickly!!"
He urged Justin to pass him and rush out of the corridor first. Once out on the deck, he was to jump straight into the sea.
Pidgeotto had already flown out of the building ahead of them, heading off to contact their three strongest supporters on this trip.
Then, Arthur once again used the Poké Ball to recall Froakie, helping it break free from Zoroark's entanglement.
He turned back, his glare alone causing the still-hesitant Haunter to flinch away. Then, clutching the Poké Ball, he sprinted out of the corridor at full speed!
His vision instantly widened!
He had burst out of the ship's interior and was now on the deck.
Less than ten meters ahead lay the ship's railing. Justin had already jumped down ahead of him.
It's almost over, he thought.
But just then—perhaps the flags he had planted were truly being collected now—in the final moment before Arthur could leap into the sea to safety...
A crimson crystal blade abruptly appeared right before his eyes!
(End of Chapter)
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