Seeing how shaken and unsettled Ryuto still was, Tetsuya and Raine seemed to pick up on something.
No employer would ever keep someone around doing nothing. Labor was only natural, especially when it came with a salary.
In the afternoon, Matsuba changed into his Gym Leader uniform and led Tetsuya and Raine to the base of Brass Tower.
"Do you know what it takes to become stronger?" Matsuba asked first.
""Battle!""
Tetsuya and Raine shouted almost in unison.
Matsuba nodded. No wonder these two stood out so much.
"You're absolutely right. Armchair theorizing is all empty talk. To become stronger, you have to fight. Fight constantly.
Let battle flow through your veins!"
As he spoke, Matsuba couldn't help but grow excited. "So here at Ecruteak Gym, special training doesn't involve any gimmicks. It's just battle. Do you see this nine-story Brass Tower? That will be your battlefield."
"Huh… here? Just those Ghost-type Pokémon?"
Raine sounded a little dismissive. Thanks to Machop's use of Foresight, he'd gotten through Bell Tower pretty easily.
Matsuba seemed to read Raine's thoughts and let out a hearty laugh. "If you think this is the same as Bell Tower, you're in for a rude awakening. Each floor is led by two powerful Pokémon, commanding twenty Ghost-types in battle.
They were all trained by generations of Gym Leaders… well-drilled and incredibly strong. And each floor only gets tougher. You only have four Pokémon. Clearing this won't be easy."
"Four against twenty-two?" Tetsuya remarked.
"Exactly! Every afternoon at twelve, you'll come to challenge. If you fail, come out immediately. Don't waste time inside. Figure out why you lost and train on your own until five. If you fail again, come back the next day. What tactics you use is up to you. For each floor you clear, I'll reward you with a TM."
With that, Matsuba urged Tetsuya and Raine to go in.
Ditto and Gastly took their places on Tetsuya's left and right, with Machop and Duskull close behind Raine.
Together, the two entered the first floor of Brass Tower with their four Pokémon.
Two Haunter, leading a group of twenty Gastly, were already waiting for Tetsuya and Raine.
"If it's definitely Ghost-types, then hurry up and use Foresight."
Tetsuya reminded Raine to strike first.
"Got it. Machop, use Foresight."
Raine's Machop focused intently, preparing to use Foresight.
The two Haunter let out cackling "Hauhauhauhauhau~" laughs, almost like they were mocking them.
Suddenly, four Shadow Punches shot toward Machop like bullets.
"Ditto, cover him."
Tetsuya reacted instantly. Ditto, currently in its Normal-type state, wasn't afraid of Ghost-type moves.
Leaping from Tetsuya's shoulder, Ditto intercepted two of the Shadow Punches.
"Lick."
"Shadow Sneak!"
There were still two more Shadow Punches. Tetsuya and Raine had no choice but to send out Gastly and Duskull to intercept them.
Luckily, both Pokémon reacted quickly.
Gastly lashed out its long tongue, whipping at one of the incoming Shadow Punches. Meanwhile, Duskull's shadow stretched suddenly to envelop the other.
But the level gap made this effort futile.
The Shadow Punch scattered Duskull's shadow instantly. Gastly's tongue was knocked back and disrupted.
In that moment, two Shadow Punches struck Machop down to the floor.
Twenty Gastly surrounded them!
"All out! Gastly, sweep with Lick! Ditto, Transform into Haunter!"
Foresight had failed. Machop was nearly out of the picture. All Fighting-type moves were now completely useless.
"Duskull, use Foresight!"
A surprise!
Tetsuya had almost forgotten; among Ghost-types, both the Duskull and Banette lines could use Foresight¹[1].
However, just as Matsuba had warned, these Pokémon were highly trained. Tetsuya could tell they weren't even going all out yet. At times, they even deliberately delayed their moves, as if waiting for Tetsuya and Raine to act first.
Even so, with their current strength, they couldn't break this deadlock.
Tetsuya's Gastly spun its body, tongue extended, trying to find a breakthrough.
Raine's Duskull's eye gleamed sharply, Foresight just about to land.
But things didn't go as planned.
A terrifying illusion spread out around them, like smoke, like fog, indistinct and ungraspable.
Whether it was Gastly's Lick or Duskull's Foresight, once they entered the illusion, it was as if they'd vanished completely.
At this point, Ditto had already completed its Transform and was firing Shadow Balls continuously into the illusion.
"Argh! This makes no sense! Why isn't Foresight dispelling the illusion!?" Raine sounded anxious.
"…This isn't an illusion," Tetsuya replied quietly.
"Not an illusion? Then what is it?" Raine was stunned.
"Night Shade."
Tetsuya was surprised too. A simple move like this, when executed by a group of Gastly, could have such overwhelming power. This was clearly the result of long, rigorous training. Maybe there was a lot to learn from this.
The twenty Gastly had woven their Night Shade into a fortress of shadows that began slowly closing in on their position.
Their side didn't have much combat power to begin with. How could they resist a coordinated attack from twenty Gastly? Every move they threw out only managed to slightly delay the shrinking of the shadow fortress.
Finally, a mass of darkness engulfed Tetsuya, Raine, and their four Pokémon. All four Pokémon had their stamina and vitality completely drained.
However, Tetsuya and Raine remained unharmed. Trainers weren't considered targets in this setting.
Tetsuya sighed and recalled Ditto and Gastly, then walked out. Today's challenge was a failure.
"…That's it? We're just leaving!?"
Raine still hadn't quite processed what had happened.
---◓---
As the two stepped outside, Matsuba was already waiting for them.
"Well? How does it feel?"
Tetsuya answered, "Strong."
"Waaaay too strong," Raine added with a shake of his head.
"But the fact that you two lasted that long is already impressive. Now, focus on identifying your weaknesses and train hard. Then try again. Remember, you can challenge once per day."
With that, Matsuba waved and left.
"So what now? Are we really going to follow his advice?" Raine asked.
Tetsuya gave him a sidelong glance. "I don't see anything wrong with getting stronger."
He brought out Ditto and Gastly.
"You both just experienced that feeling of despair, didn't you?" Tetsuya said.
Ditto and Gastly nodded.
"From now on, things will only get more desperate than that. So we have to grow stronger. Gastly, go train on your own at Bell Tower. The Ghost-types there are weaker. Learn Night Shade and come back."
Right now, Gastly was basically useless. Without the right moves, it couldn't leverage its strengths. The only path forward was to gain experience and learn more practical moves.
"Ditto, since you already transformed into Haunter earlier, your task is speed training. The tactic is simple, before we take care of the Gastly, you must stall the two Haunter. I'll show you how to train for that in a bit."
With that, Tetsuya walked off toward Bell Tower. The Haunter-shaped Ditto followed closely behind.
"Wh-What about me!?" Raine called out.
"Your task is to get Foresight out faster. Train however you want."
Tetsuya waved him off. His training methods weren't meant for just anyone to see.
•
¹. Until Gen VII
[1] Until Gen VII