"Vicious! This inherently evil guy is truly too vicious!"
"What kind of man uses such disgusting and filthy methods! If he has the guts, he should fight Primal Groudon fair and square!"
"That is simply too despicable!"
Wallace was extremely exasperated. He glared with wide eyes, constantly cursing as he watched Mega Gengar use Hypnosis on Primal Groudon.
Yes, his stance was firmly on Giovanni's side.
Meanwhile, in the arena, Primal Groudon, which had just shown a hint of clarity in its eyes, fell back into a deep Sleep due to the effects of Hypnosis.
Yep, Primal Groudon was asleep again.
Wallace's eyes were filled with grief and indignation. How could this be!
"Mammon perfectly utilized all sorts of Status Conditions..."
Steven completely ignored his clowning best friend, looking on in awe at the two Pokémon in the arena.
If purely discussing strength, Mega Gengar was certainly inferior to Primal Groudon, but the situation in the arena right now was completely favoring Mega Gengar!
Confusion, Curse, Poison, Sleep—one negative Status Condition after another appeared on Primal Groudon.
Mega Gengar was clearly gaining the upper hand.
"If Primal Groudon couldn't be paralyzed or burned, I even suspect he would have inflicted those on it too."
May's bright eyes shone brilliantly. She had learned something!
"Yes, Mammon is truly skilled at battling."
Steven praised him, stating that he doubted anyone in the world was better at using Gengar than Mammon.
Not even Grandma Kikuko, who was famous for her Gengar, could compare.
"Now Primal Groudon is afflicted by Poison and Curse, and... has also had its Pain Split. If they don't end the battle quickly..."
"Primal Groudon truly might be dragged down and defeated."
Steven looked at Mega Gengar in the arena; it had just taken advantage of Primal Groudon's Sleep to use Pain Split once.
Normal-type Pain Split (Pain Split) is a Move leaning toward game mechanics, where the user's HP and the opponent's HP are added together and then amicably divided equally.
Previously, Mega Gengar's condition was poor because it had been grazed by Primal Groudon's Flamethrower and then used Curse, sacrificing its own HP.
But after using Pain Split, it shared and equally divided the HP of both parties with Primal Groudon, and its condition immediately improved significantly.
Primal Groudon, on the other hand, was already afflicted by Curse and Poison, and now having been hit by Pain Split, its condition dropped sharply.
Just then, the sleeping Primal Groudon's face wrinkled up, and faint black energy began to swirl and rise around its body—the second Curse erosion had arrived.
After the Curse erosion finished, strange dark purple poison spots appeared on its body, followed immediately by the Poison erosion.
Even in its Sleep, Primal Groudon felt the pain in its body.
"Negative Status Conditions are hitting one after another. Isn't this too miserable?"
"Let me clarify: this is just how we Ghost-type Trainers operate."
"Groudon is simply too strong, so it's perfectly reasonable for the Boss to use some tactics."
"Are you sure that's 'just some tactics,' commenter above? I'm willing to bet that after this battle ends today, the number of Ghost-type Trainers is definitely going to increase..."
The live audience complained; they wanted to see Primal Groudon display its legendary might, breaking all techniques with sheer force.
But now... "It looks like, given Groudon's condition, it can probably endure several more rounds of erosion."
In the arena, Mammon narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered while stroking his chin.
He could tell that the combined Curse and Poison damage was slightly lower than anticipated for Primal Groudon.
In terms of the game, Curse reduces the opponent's HP by one-quarter every turn, meaning that the opponent would fall to the Curse erosion in a maximum of four turns.
Reality was similar, but the degree of Curse erosion was clearly related to the opponent's strength and the level difference between the two parties.
If it were a Ghost-type Pokémon of average strength, the Curse it used might not even have any effect on Primal Groudon.
Mammon's Mega Gengar was very strong, so its Curse could at least take effect on Primal Groudon, and the Curse erosion was only slightly less effective than expected.
"Gengar, Confuse Ray."
Mammon did not seize the opportunity to attack, but decisively instructed Mega Gengar to apply more 'control.'
Primal Groudon's strength and willpower were immense, and the effect of Hypnosis was likely nearing its end.
Mega Gengar lowered itself slightly, and the strange and eerie Confuse Ray floated down.
The Sleep status did not affect the use of Confuse Ray, because the Confusion caused by Confuse Ray is not considered a Status Condition.
Of course, the difference between reality and the game is that in reality, Status Conditions can stack.
In the game, Burn, Paralysis, Sleep, etc., cannot be stacked; if an opponent is burned, they cannot subsequently be paralyzed or put to Sleep. But in reality, they can, which is another difference from the game.
However, whether they can stack or not makes little difference, because Primal Groudon's typing is Ground/Fire, meaning Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp are useless against it.
Primal Groudon, which had just managed to open its eyes slightly, was once again blinded by Confuse Ray.
It woke up, and immediately started wildly spewing Solar Beam attacks.
Giovanni: "..."
Giovanni looked at Primal Groudon, which had started acting 'crazy' again, and finally couldn't help but close his eyes.
He had been silent for a long time, because he simply didn't know what to say.
The hand holding the Cherish Ball tightened involuntarily, and a heavy feeling of frustration welled up inside him, needing release.
At that moment, Giovanni felt like swearing—no, rather, he really wanted to send out Dugtrio and attack the opponent directly.
But years of self-control told him that he was in public right now, with the whole world watching, and he needed to remain calm.
Furthermore, the culprit was his son, his biological son, the son he was proud of.
For the next period of time, the entire Indigo Plateau Arena remained silent.
Primal Groudon continuously alternated between Confusion and Sleep, while Curse and Poison eroded its body.
Finally, accompanied by a tremendous crash, Primal Groudon's massive body heavily collapsed onto the ground.
It had finally been defeated by attrition.
"Groudon is unable to battle! Mega Gengar wins!"
The Referee carefully entered the arena, observed the situation, and announced the battle result.
"Oh my god! Unbelievable! The legendary Ancient Pokémon, Primal Groudon, has actually been defeated! Mega Gengar has now defeated five of Contestant Giovanni's Pokémon!"
"Is there really no way to stop it?!"
The Sunglasses Host's incredibly shocked screams loudly reached everyone's ears.
Deafening cheers and shouts erupted throughout the entire venue.
After all, that was Primal Groudon!
Gengar! My Superman!
"Jie jie jie~!"
Mega Gengar's grin stretched almost to its ears as it basked in the adoring and fanatical gazes.
This showy Pokémon floated up, drifting back and forth, constantly blowing kisses with its claws, acting like a superstar.
Mammon couldn't help but smile at the sight, his mood extremely pleasant.
He had used his Starter Pokémon to defeat Primal Groudon! This was no ordinary High-level Legendary.
Although he used some tricks, they were reasonable and legal tactical means. As long as he won, that was all that mattered, right?
"Mammon~! That was too strong!"
Ash's mouth hung wide open, and it was a long time before he exclaimed excitedly.
"Gengar is actually this amazing..."
Misty was filled with shock; the image of Primal Groudon collapsing kept replaying in her mind.
"The main reason is Mammon's excellent command. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, trying to confuse or put Primal Groudon to Sleep would definitely not be easy." Takeshi shook his head.
"Furthermore, Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag Ability was crucial. Shadow Tag prevented Mr. Giovanni from recalling Groudon normally. Otherwise, he could have just recalled Groudon while it was confused. Mr. Giovanni still had one Pokémon he could rotate in."
Takeshi added that Confusion is different from other Status Conditions; recalling a Pokémon into a Poké Ball allows it to calm down inside the ball.
Therefore, if Giovanni had been able to recall Primal Groudon while it was confused, it wouldn't have been defeated by the continuous alternation of Confusion and Sleep.
The Shadow Tag Ability is truly disgusting.
"And... Mammon's Mega Gengar has very high strength and level. Otherwise, other Mega Gengar probably wouldn't be able to achieve the same results as Mammon."
Takeshi then hesitated for a moment before saying this.
He felt his observation and analysis were correct, because it was clear that the combined Curse and Poison negative Status Conditions used by Mega Gengar were less effective on Primal Groudon than they normally would be.
This also showed that Primal Groudon's physique was extremely excellent, resulting in the mediocre effectiveness of Curse and Poison.
This was Mammon's Mega Gengar; if other Mega Gengar had used those negative Status Conditions, the effect would likely have been even worse.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of Ultimate Moves in a Pokémon battle is influenced by the Pokémon's own strength.
In the arena.
Giovanni recalled Groudon. After looking at the Cherish Ball in his hand for a long time, he finally raised his head to look at Mammon opposite him.
He truly had not expected Mammon to defeat his Primal Groudon using just one Mega Gengar.
This was something... that even Giovanni hadn't fully anticipated before the battle began.
This Gengar was originally found by him and given to Mammon as his Starter Pokémon.
And now, it had actually grown to this extent.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, a muffled voice sounded in Giovanni's mind. It was Primal Groudon; it had woken up.
"My body hurts so much, and I can't exert any strength. What happened? Why am I back inside the Poké Ball? Giovanni, did you recall me?"
Groudon said blankly. It clearly didn't know what had happened.
Yes, because aside from the beginning, it had been continuously alternating between Confusion and Sleep, remaining unconscious the entire time.
Thus, it genuinely didn't know the current situation.
Giovanni: "..."
"Weren't we supposed to fight your son? Giovanni, I want to fight Fathead Fish! But I need to rest for a bit. That's strange, why is my body so weak..."
Giovanni: "..."
"Hey? Giovanni, can you hear me? Why aren't you talking?"
Groudon inside the Poké Ball scratched its head, completely confused.
"It's fine. Groudon, go back to Sleep. The battle will be over soon."