"Oh! Elekid is unable to battle. The winner of this match is contestant David, number D136!"
It seemed the professional referee was shocked by the one-sided, effortless battle and the understated manner of both Zorua and David. Despite being battle-hardened, he almost lost his composure and forgot to announce the results, only reacting after being prompted by his Rotom assistant.
As the referee's words echoed through the arena, the official end of this match also confirmed the complete lineup of the top four contestants.
"David is amazing!"
"Zorua is so cool!"
After the match results were announced, the audience, who had been frozen in suspense, erupted into cheers for David and Zorua!
The moment he heard the referee's voice, Christopher didn't approach David to "throw harsh words" as he had before. Instead, he silently walked to the edge of the battlefield, retrieved the fainted Elekid into its Poké Ball, and turned to leave quickly.
On the other side, the little fox happily climbed onto David's shoulder, completely unafraid and thoroughly enjoying the cheers from the entire venue. It seemed like a Pokémon born for grand stages!
David watched his opponent's retreating figure, which appeared much more hunched than when he had arrived. He didn't go up to say anything; at this moment, any words would merely sound like the victor's boasting.
Those who could go further on the path of a Trainer wouldn't choose to give up because of one or two failures.
In the stands, Luke and the others came forward to congratulate him. The chubby guy even insisted that since David was the only one among them to enter the top four, they absolutely had to celebrate tonight!
After David agreed, he was surrounded by the group as they left. However, as they passed through the corridor, a figure on a distant high platform caught David's eye.
That person was his next opponent, Leonardo.
He was tall and thin, with skin so pale it made one feel slightly unsettled, coupled with a distinctive jet-black stand-collar trench coat he wore even in summer.
He looked like some eerie investigator from a Lovecraftian world, or perhaps a necromancer or vampire from the steampunk era.
This appearance was quite consistent with people's long-standing impression of Trainers who specialized in Ghost-type Pokémon.
His Pokémon partner—that Gastly—floated beside him. It was already time for the venue to clear out, and the chilling discomfort caused by its temperature-absorbing presence made the area around them completely deserted.
He simply stood there on the high platform, watching David. After David gave a slight nod in acknowledgment, the man returned a stiff nod, then turned and left without looking back.
David didn't think much of it. Based on his experience in the Pokémon world, it was perfectly normal for powerful Trainers to have some eccentricities, especially Trainers who specialized in Ghost-type Pokémon.
It was also normal for his next opponent to watch his match.
Seeing the other party leave, he didn't pay much attention and turned to exit the competition venue with the cheerful crowd.
In the blink of an eye, time moved to the next day, and David's matches continued.
Just like yesterday, since it was the afternoon bracket, his match was still scheduled for the second slot.
When David saw the Pokémon released by the two contestants in the first match, he shook his head slightly, already knowing the outcome in his heart. It seemed his opponent in the finals would be Josephine.
The result of the first match between Josephine and Walker was revealed quickly, as expected. Josephine's strength was already superior to Walker's. In yesterday's match, Abra's two Hidden Power attacks hadn't caused much damage to Umbreon, who excelled in Special Defense, and it appeared full of energy when it entered the field today.
On the other hand, Walker's Scyther clearly showed a hint of unsteadiness in its flight from the moment it appeared on the battlefield today. It was evident that Togepi's all-out effort—or luck—in pulling off a super effective, close-range Fire Blast at the last moment yesterday wasn't so easy to recover from.
Within a single day, Scyther's injuries had clearly not fully healed.
Facing a full-strength Umbreon, Scyther, whose most basic flight capability was affected, was naturally no match. After a fierce assault once its weakness was exploited, it quickly fell.
As the two contestants from the previous match left, David's match was about to begin. After both contestants appeared, it was clear from the audience's cheers that David and the little fox's popularity overwhelmingly surpassed their opponent's.
First, the little fox's excellent performance and adorable appearance had attracted a large number of fans over these past few days, while the Gastly on the other side had a rather unfortunate reception. Although it was also a Ghost-type Pokémon, it didn't receive the same treatment as the little fox.
Perhaps in the Pokemon world, Gengar's popularity is quite high, and everyone loves this purple, round Pokémon.
But in the actual real world, Gastly was an extremely dangerous Ghost-type Pokémon—its body was highly poisonous, with even slight inhalation being potentially fatal—and one usually associated with "haunting" incidents, which made it generally feared by the public.
As for the Trainers themselves, it went without saying. One was sunny and handsome, while the other looked like a vampire reborn. The audience's support was undoubtedly clear—at least the largely unanimous female audience in the stands supporting David already said plenty.
Trainers specializing in Ghost-type Pokémon seemed to have been relatively feared since ancient times, even during the ancient Empire era. Legends like zombies, corpse handlers, psychics, and dark magic were all inextricably linked to them.
After entering the arena, both sides released their Pokémon.
[Name: Gastly] [Type: Ghost + Poison] [Gender: ♦] [Energy Level: 20 (Veteran)] [Aptitude: Deep Purple] [Ability: Levitate] [Held Item: Spell Tag] [Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Mean Look, Payback, Spite, Curse, Toxic, Clear Smog, Haze, Astonish, Dark Pulse, Work Up, Psychic, Will-O-Wisp, Scary Face, Night Shade...]
The Gastly on the opposite side was quite powerful, which explained why Josiah had lost. Moreover, when facing Leonardo, David's Aura seemed to sense something unusual about him. If he wasn't mistaken, his opponent was very likely also a special ability user.
However, David quickly noticed his opponent's burning gaze and frowned. This time, his opponent wasn't targeting him.
The guy on the opposite side wasn't looking at David; instead, he was staring intently at Zorua, who had just been released. The overly direct gaze caused a hint of displeasure to rise in David, and he spoke irritably.
"Hey! What exactly are you trying to do?"
Upon hearing David's voice, Leonardo reluctantly withdrew his gaze. After one final, lingering look at the little fox, he said unceremoniously to David,
"My inner self can perceive its potential. Such a perfect specimen cannot fully realize its potential in the hands of a non-Ghost-type Trainer like you. Only we can unleash its true capabilities. How about it? Why don't you trade it to me! Name your price."
Leonardo's tone was stiff, but his words made David furious.
"Hmph! Are you some clown trying to make me laugh? I hope your strength can match your mouth."
Hearing the other party's words, David almost laughed in anger. His expression turned cold, clearly not wanting to say anything more. He had already decided that he would definitely teach this guy a harsh lesson.
"Both contestants in position! The match officially begins!"
"Zorua, Extrasensory!"
"Gastly, hide in the shadows!"
Invisible psychic energy surged toward Gastly. Before being hit, Gastly let out a strange cackling laugh. Its already translucent body seemed to be erased into thin air, disappearing without a trace, and the little fox's attack hit nothing but empty space.
On the battlefield, Zorua cautiously watched the movements in the shadowy corners. Although it was also a Ghost-type Pokémon, it wasn't an amorphous type like the Gengar evolutionary line, which could become invisible and merge into shadows.
"Gastly, Clear Smog!"
From a shadowy corner not far from the little fox, Gastly suddenly emerged, spewing a cloud of murky mist toward the little fox's direction.
The turbid, wave-like fog carried a hint of Gastly's characteristic sweet scent, but the little fox remained motionless, quietly staying in place.
"Spin in place! Use Icy Wind!"
In an instant, bone-chilling cold air filled the battlefield, rapidly spreading in all directions from Zorua as the center. This was the move Layla had used when battling David previously. David found it very effective, and since Zorua also knew Icy Wind, he simply copied the strategy directly.
The icy cold wind not only completely blew back the murky mist, but even Gastly's figure trembled under the fierce gusts, darting around in panic, its form seemingly shrinking a bit.
This was also one of Gastly's weaknesses; its body, almost entirely composed of gas, simply couldn't withstand strong winds. That's why wild Gastly preferred to hide in abandoned old houses.
If it couldn't even endure natural wind, it certainly couldn't handle the little fox's attack move.
"Gastly! Use Psychic!"
The Gastly, shivering in the cold wind, immediately had a faint purple glow appear in its eyes upon hearing its Trainer's command. Under the Psychic-generated fluctuations, the surrounding cold wind was forcibly suppressed.
Finally breathing a sigh of relief, Gastly stopped its frantic darting and slowly stabilized, re-gathering its body which had been somewhat dispersed by the wind.
"Not a chance. Zorua, don't give it time to recover."
"Continue with Shadow Ball barrage!"
"Zorua~"
Taking advantage of the opponent re-gathering its body, dense Ghost-type energy formed into black and purple orbs in front of Zorua. Then, a series of Shadow Balls launched toward the Gastly not far away.
As the little fox's most frequently used attack method, Shadow Ball had accumulated considerable proficiency over these past days. Both its release speed and power were quite impressive.
A continuous barrage of Shadow Balls followed one after another, directly overwhelming Gastly, who had just finished re-gathering its body. It couldn't even maintain its iconic grinning face and could only rely on its Levitate ability to frantically dodge around the arena without any chance to counterattack.
"Gastly! Damn it!"
"No choice! You're forcing my hand."
Leonardo, seeing his Gastly being completely suppressed by the little fox, had his stiff face change expressions repeatedly. At this moment, he finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Eerie, dark purple flames rose from his body, and an invisible connection appeared between him and Gastly on the battlefield. Gastly, which had been battered and fleeing without any ability to fight back, suddenly underwent a drastic transformation.
Its previously somewhat faded and shrunken body suddenly solidified several times over, and its entire form grew by several sizes, as if the previous Gastly was now enveloped in a layer of Night Shade energy.
However, the most obvious change was Gastly's eyes. What kind of eyes were they? Completely covered in blood-red, with no distinction between pupil and sclera. Looking through those eyes seemed to drag one's consciousness into the depths of darkness itself.
At this moment, even David felt a slight palpitation facing the sinister Aura emanating from Gastly, and the audience fell into complete silence.
"An unexpected situation has occurred on the battlefield! Gastly, which was originally being suppressed by Zorua, has undergone a transformation due to contestant Leonardo's sudden action..."
"What is Leonardo doing?"
"What's happening... can Pokémon battles even work like this?"
"What happened to that Gastly? It looks absolutely terrifying."
After a moment of stunned silence, the surrounding audience began to whisper, discussing the terrifying change in Gastly.
"That is... I didn't expect the Aura ability to reappear?"
Not only the audience, but even the several guests invited to the competition reacted similarly. One guest, with a grizzled beard, adjusted his glasses and spoke.
After learning from the guest that Leonardo was using a special ability and not performing any illegal operations, and after the commentator informed the audience of this situation and briefly explained Aura abilities, everyone's attention finally returned to the arena!
"Gastly! Quick, absorb the life force within yourself!"
Leonardo, at this moment, seemed to pay no attention to everything happening outside, merely shouting loudly at Gastly on the battlefield.
It appeared that the special ability he was using carried a considerable burden, as he was already leaning on the railing, drenched in cold sweat.
Upon hearing its Trainer's call, a barely perceptible ripple appeared in the blood-red eyes of Gastly. It seemed to have finally regained a tiny bit of its senses.
Then, a violent energy fluctuation erupted from within Gastly's body.
In David's perception through his Aura, dense life energy flashed by, and then the eerie Aura around Gastly gradually began to recede. Leonardo also finally no longer looked like he was on the verge of collapse, leaning on the railing and breathing heavily.