"Duskull group isn't as smart as you think," Tetsuya said.
If any random Pokémon could organize powerful tactical offensives, this world would've long been ruled by Pokémon instead of humans.
"Huh!? What do you mean?" Fantina asked, surprised.
"Disrupt them. Have the four Pokémon attack intermittently. Gastly, Sludge Bomb, upper left."
Tetsuya didn't bother explaining. Two are children of Gym Leaders, and the other is a descendant of the branch Family; if Tetsuya still had to keep explaining… 'Hn.' He wasn't there to be anyone's commentator. He simply ordered Gastly to attack.
Purple toxic orbs flew out one after another...
The Duskull group concentrated their Will-O-Wisp attacks to intercept Gastly's incoming Sludge Bombs.
"I get it!"
Morty suddenly exclaimed, "Spiritomb, Snarl, lower right!"
The shockwave of intimidation surged toward the lower-right section of the Duskull "wall".
"Morty, what exactly did you figure out!?" Fantina asked anxiously.
"Don't talk! Get ready to attack from the upper right. You'll see why soon."
Morty waved her off, eyes fixed intently on the Duskull group.
Sure enough, just as the Duskull were focusing their Will-O-Wisp toward Gastly, Spiritomb launched an attack from a different direction. The Duskull wavered, shifting their fire toward Spiritomb.
"I see it now… Duskull group, Will-O-Wisp, lower left!" Raine said, his eyes lighting up.
The Duskull group's strategy was rigid and unchanging. They only knew how to concentrate all their strength into one offensive. They had no idea how to deal with scattered, disruptive attacks.
So with Tetsuya and Morty attacking from separate directions, the Duskull group didn't know what to do. Their Will-O-Wisp flickered aimlessly, never able to lock on.
The tactic couldn't have been clearer.
While the Duskull hesitated, Gastly had already knocked out five of them in the upper-left with five Sludge Bombs, all five ended up Badly Poisoned.
Just as Raine's Duskull launched Will-O-Wisp, the remaining Duskull still didn't know where to aim. Spiritomb's Dark-type move, Snarl, slammed the group with STAB force.
Fantina's Drifloon then struck the upper-right side of the Duskull wall with Ominous Wind. By now, the Duskull group's Will-O-Wisp had completely scattered. Though their formation held, they had no idea how to proceed.
While the Duskull wandered aimlessly, Tetsuya never let up. Gastly had already cleared out the upper-left section. Without centralized tactical coordination, the Duskull were left stunned. Of the twenty, only seven remained.
Dusclops, true to its name[1]¹, remained in a hesitant state. Only when it noticed that most of the Duskull were down did it realize something was wrong.
Even so, a single Ghost-type Pokémon lacked the intelligence to mount an effective counterattack. All it could do was order the remaining Duskull to abandon Will-O-Wisp and begin phase two: a restraining tactic.
But seven Duskull weren't enough to restrain four Pokémon. Five tried to pin down Raine's Duskull, while the other two hesitated, unsure where to go.
Dusclops charged toward the Duskull being surrounded.
"Gastly, Shadow Ball."
"Spiritomb, Feint Attack!"
Tetsuya and Morty aimed straight at the two isolated Duskull.
Raine accepted his bad luck. His Duskull, pinned down, had no effective angle for attacks and quickly became a sitting target for Dusclops, losing its ability to battle soon after.
"Regroup!"
Tetsuya shouted, and Morty immediately understood.
Gastly, Spiritomb, and Drifloon closed ranks. The five remaining Duskull again lost their sense of direction and surrounded the three as one unit. But all three Pokémon could float. Surrounding them like that served no purpose at all.
Dusclops hurled both fists forward, using Shadow Punch toward Gastly.
"You guys jump out of the encirclement. Leave these five to me," Tetsuya said.
"Be careful! Dual Ominous Wind!"
Morty and Fantina exchanged a nod. The eerie winds kept Dusclops from getting any closer. Dusclops responded by wielding the black shadows of Hex to clash against Spiritomb and Drifloon.
The Duskull group had surrounded Gastly, but they didn't attack. That was exactly what Tetsuya had counted on.
"[Shadow Hypnosis]."
A wave of shadow engulfed Gastly. The Duskull looked around at one another as rippling red light pulsed outward from the darkness.
All five Duskull fell from the air, caught in dreams.
Dusclops was still fighting back against the dual Ominous Wind, unaware that Gastly had silently crept up behind it…
When the opportunity comes, show no mercy.
Gastly launched both Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb without pause, slamming into Dusclops's back!
Weakened by heavy damage and poisoned, Dusclops could no longer hold on and was swept up entirely by Ominous Wind.
Dusclops was smashed hard into the ground. Tetsuya had Gastly follow up with another Shadow Ball.
"Ugh… We finally did it."
Fantina let out a long breath. She'd been here for twelve or thirteen days already. This result was more than enough to report back.
But Morty and Raine weren't so simple-minded. Their eyes, filled with something close to reverence, locked on Tetsuya.
They felt he was becoming more and more enigmatic. At first, it had seemed like he simply had keen tactical instincts, but now, for their young minds, it felt like he saw through everything.
The tactics they used today had already been devised by Tetsuya after his first failed attempt. When facing the Duskull group's coordinated assault, most people would naturally try to counter it with a unified defense, but they simply didn't have the ability.
So the only option was to disrupt the opponent's strategy. Without centralized command, the Duskull group stuck rigidly to fixed tactics. That made them easy to exploit.
Once their formation was disrupted, they lost direction. And once the first move failed, none of the follow-ups could be carried out.
---◓---
Having successfully cleared the third floor, the four submitted their results to Matsuba.
Their speed in clearing the stage caught Matsuba off guard…
In this era, transportation still wasn't highly developed, and many TMs from the Unova and Kalos regions hadn't even made their way here. To put it bluntly, Ecruteak Gym had run out of impressive TMs to offer.
With no other choice, Matsuba gave each of them a Spell Tag.
A Spell Tag was a cursed omamori -or talisman- that could be attached to a Ghost-type Pokémon, increasing the power of its Ghost-type moves.
These types of "held items" fetched high prices. Other items of the same category included Charcoal for boosting Fire-type moves, Mystic Water for Water-types, and Miracle Seed for Grass-types.
Some of these items were naturally occurring, while others were made from special materials.
Mystic Water, for example, was refined by the Kimono Sage clan artisans in the Whirl Islands from the purest ocean waters. When held by Water-type Pokémon, it helped them better attune to Water-type energy, making their moves stronger.
Charcoal came from a secluded Family in Ilex Forest. It was made using special Wood found there, infused with energy beneficial to Fire-types. The crafting method was still entirely traditional, making it a prized item for Fire-type Pokémon.
Miracle Seed, which boosted Grass-type move power, was fully natural.
Of course, every Pokémon had its own ideal held item, and held items came in many types. Their effects varied, and their value was determined by rarity.
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¹. Og japanese name: Samayoeru, means "to wander" implying a sense of being lost, aimless, or uncertain, like a wandering soul or a straying path (google bro).
[1] Og japanese name: Samayoeru, means "to wander" implying a sense of being lost, aimless, or uncertain, like a wandering soul or a straying path (google bro).