Tetsuya arrived at the first floor of Bell Tower with Ditto transformed into Haunter.
His own Gastly was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it had already found a "sparring" partner.
In the corner of the first floor, three Gastly and two Haunter were playing around.
"Ditto, fire Shadow Ball at those five."
No need for extra words, Tetsuya had come to provoke them.
Shadow Balls launched one after another. Of the five attacks, only three found their targets.
Tetsuya shook his head. This was indeed the gap Ditto couldn't overcome. No matter how perfect its transformation, fake was still fake.
After all, its base type was Normal. If Ditto transformed into a Normal-type Pokémon and used Normal-type moves, it could perform much more naturally.
But when it transformed into other types, things didn't flow as smoothly. Maybe after a long time and lots of training, Ditto could gradually master the moves of a few specific types. But to be proficient in all types…? 'Heh. That was pure fantasy.'
Like now. Ditto, in Haunter form, couldn't control Ghost-type energy as naturally as a real Haunter. That was why its Shadow Balls were slow and imprecise.
Three Shadow Balls hit the Gastly group, which instantly infuriated the five-Pokémon group.
Two Haunter and three Gastly charged straight at Ditto.
"Ditto, don't fight back. Just dodge."
Five-on-one and no counterattacks allowed…
Tetsuya was pushing Ditto to the limit!
In Tetsuya's mind, this kind of targeted training was the most effective. Without the determination to burn your bridges, how could you ever find the courage to fight with your back against the wall? Only by forcing yourself to the edge could your hidden strength emerge.
Sure enough, under siege from five Pokémon, Ditto scrambled in panic, barely dodging. After about twenty minutes, it finally took a hit from one of Haunter's Shadow Punches.
Even so, Tetsuya didn't call a stop. Ditto still had energy to continue. As its stamina gradually declined, its dodging speed slowed, and it began taking more and more hits.
Another twenty minutes passed before Ditto finally collapsed. Only with Tetsuya's permission did it revert to its original form.
Tetsuya gave it a Potion and let it recover a bit. Training wasn't over yet!
Matsuba had set the rule of stopping at five o'clock, and Tetsuya would naturally "obey". Deep down, he believed, there was no way he could be "weaker" than Matsuba. Sure, Matsuba was a Gym Leader now, and much stronger than him…
But in Will-type power, he would never lose!
---◓---
After five, Ryuto took the injured Pokémon to the Pokémon Center for healing.
During that time, Tetsuya had enough room to shower and eat dinner.
From six to eight, it was self-study time. Most books were about Pokémon types, habits, and move evolution… things Tetsuya had long since memorized. No need to reread them.
Instead, he spent that time watching TV; mostly the Elite Four Challenge and Champion Challenge battles. Maybe he'd pick up some inspiration.
From eight to ten, it was all "[Trainer Move: Shadow Dagger]" training, focused on precision and consistency.
By bedtime, Gastly still hadn't returned. Tetsuya began to worry. 'Had it gone back to the streets again to drain vitality?'
He decided not to worry about it. If Gastly couldn't even manage to learn Night Shade, then there was no point continuing its training…
He'd set the alarm for six.
But at five-thirty, Tetsuya was startled awake by a loud screech.
Naturally alert, he sat up in bed instantly.
'Gastly?'
"You learned Night Shade?"
Tetsuya looked over. Gastly was grinning mischievously, full of energy.
Gastly nodded.
"…Why so late? Don't tell me you were out draining vitality from the streets again."
Gastly shook its head.
"Tch. Like you'd even dare. Return to your Poké Ball."
Gastly had reached the level where it could learn Night Shade. From the looks of it, it had just learned the move, and it had taken the entire night.
Was its potential simply that low? Or had he not pushed it hard enough? 'Either way, it had to be tested today.'
---◓---
Their second attempt at the first floor of Brass Tower.
Tetsuya and Raine now had a basic strategy.
Once again, it was the same four Pokémon.
Ditto had already transformed into Haunter. Without a word, it charged directly at the two Haunter leaders.
It successfully drew the Haunter duo's attention. Raine's Machop and Duskull began preparing to use Foresight.
But the twenty Gastly weren't mindless…
Lick attack!
Twenty long, red tongues -oozing with a foul odor- lashed out at Gastly, Machop, and Duskull.
Since this was a "controlled trial", the Gastly group wouldn't attack Tetsuya or Raine. In the wild, it would've been far more dangerous. Their personal safety would always be at risk.
Machop and Duskull couldn't focus to use Foresight. That idealistic plan had to be abandoned due to lack of power.
Twenty Gastly coordinated their tongue attacks against the three Pokémon.
Gastly and Duskull could float and maneuver more freely, giving them an edge in dodging. But Machop was stuck on the ground and quickly became the primary target.
It had no choice but to rely on its physical Defense to resist the assault.
"Close in. Night Shade."
They were already at a disadvantage. Dragging things out would only waste time. It was better to go all in.
If they were going to lose, they'd go down with a bang!
Hearing Tetsuya's command, Gastly "climbed" up one of the tongues.
It quickly closed in on a Gastly.
A dark shadow suddenly burst forth, engulfing the target. The ambush succeeded, and Gastly dove into the darkness.
Moments later, the targeted Gastly fell out of the shadow.
Tetsuya's Gastly emerged from the Night Shade cloud, visibly excited.
It had drained the target's vitality. The defeated Gastly was clearly weakened as it dropped.
Seeing one of their own fall, the remaining Gastly immediately focused their fire on Tetsuya's Gastly.
Seven or eight tongues whipped in from all directions, blocking every escape route.
No way to dodge!
At the last second, Gastly used Night Shade again.
"Drill through it. Charge!"
By this point, Ditto's chase game was already over. It had taken four Shadow Punches from the Haunter duo.
Just being able to hold out that long was already an impressive performance from Ditto.
Machop had also reached its limit and collapsed from accumulated damage.
Raine's Duskull launched a counterattack.
Tetsuya's Gastly cast Night Shade again, this time like a cloud of black mist. Gastly dove into it and charged toward the nearest three Gastly.
One against three!
Tetsuya was growing more and more intrigued by this Gastly.
Night Shade's damage combined with Gastly's taste for draining vitality…
Just like that, all three Gastly were defeated.
By this point, the battle had already brought significant progress.
This Gastly was worth far more than expected.
Its feeding could be weaponized. If trained properly, it might even one day reach the level of Koga's Mega Gengar.
After draining the vitality of four Pokémon, Tetsuya's Gastly had reached its limit. In simple terms, it was full -couldn't take in any more- and could no longer drain energy…
Facing two Haunter and sixteen remaining Gastly, Tetsuya's Gastly had nothing left to give, and the other three were all defeated.
The two Haunter hurled Shadow Balls, ending today's challenge.
Another failure.