Surrounded by five Haunter each, the four Pokémon didn't even get a chance to strike. They were in constant danger.
Haunter's assault was airtight, their five-member formations perfectly coordinated, leaving no openings whatsoever. There was simply no way to break through; especially with a Gengar keeping a close watch over the entire battlefield.
But the truly devastating part had yet to begin.
In each group of five Haunter, one would use Curse. Already unable to counterattack, Gastly, Spiritomb, Duskull, and Drifloon were once again afflicted by the Curse status, causing their stamina to continuously drain away.
With that, the Haunter group became completely "invincible". After a while, all four Pokémon lost the ability to battle due to stamina loss.
The four of them recalled their Pokémon.
"What kind of tactic is this even…? How are we supposed to beat it?" Fantina asked.
Morty scratched his head, not knowing how to respond.
"There is no tactic. We're just too weak," Tetsuya replied as he walked downstairs.
Raine shook his head. "Sigh… right on the mark."
---◓---
After leaving Brass Tower, the four once again handed their Poké Balls to Ryuto.
The next week was a string of failed challenges.
Though in two attempts, Tetsuya's Gastly used [Shadow Hypnosis] to open a gap, and Morty's Spiritomb managed to break out using Snarl, they were both immediately hit by Gengar's brutal counterattack as soon as they escaped.
On the eighth attempt, Gastly and Spiritomb both broke through. But in one-on-one combat, neither could compare to Gengar. The result was the same: they were defeated one after another.
Once again, they left Brass Tower in low spirits.
Tetsuya reflected on Gastly's recent performance. It was becoming more and more satisfying. The range of Night Shade's cover had expanded, and the speed of Hypnosis had also improved a level.
Shadow Ball was now visibly forming into an elliptical shape; clear signs that the special training was paying off in battle.
At this point, Gastly was more than ready to evolve. But it had shown no signs of doing so, which surprised Tetsuya. Evolving into Haunter would boost both Special Attack and Speed, and its moves would become more fluid.
Maybe it still needed some sort of trigger. Tetsuya wasn't too bothered though. For him, walking every step steadily was what mattered most.
If a Pokémon evolved too early, it might not be able to fully realize its potential, and that potential might even be permanently sealed. Even for moves it could normally learn, it would need to reach higher levels to learn them.
Worse yet, evolving too soon could prevent it from learning certain moves altogether. The most iconic example being Staryu and Starmie. Staryu could learn a wide range of practical moves, but after evolving into Starmie, the number dropped drastically.
The fact that Gastly hadn't evolved yet meant it still had untapped potential. That was a good thing. Tetsuya wouldn't blame Gastly for something like that.
Even in its Gastly form, it had already defeated quite a few Haunter. That made Tetsuya even more hopeful for its future achievements…
The four arrived at the training grounds.
Matsuba seemed to be waiting for them.
"So? This floor isn't easy, huh?"
Fantina couldn't help but complain at his comment, but Tetsuya, Morty, and Raine said nothing.
"Tetsuya, share your thoughts. Or maybe a method for clearing the floor?" Matsuba turned his attention to Tetsuya.
"If we're not strong enough, we won't make it through," Tetsuya replied while fiddling with his special training item, the iron spikes.
Watching Tetsuya busily working on his own, Matsuba nodded quietly.
"Morty, what about you?" Matsuba turned to him.
"…I also think it's a strength issue."
Raine gave the same answer afterward.
That was exactly the conclusion Matsuba wanted. "Very good. You've all recognized your shortcomings. If you're still facing the same opponents without making any progress, then these battles no longer offer much value for growth."
Tetsuya nodded in agreement. It was true. If a three or four-year-old kept fighting a massively strong adult every day and kept losing, the improvement to their combat ability would be minimal.
What he needed was an opponent close to his own level, a battle that involved a real back-and-forth, not one where he was instantly defeated every time.
"So what should we do now? Special training…?" Morty asked.
Matsuba nodded and said, "Special training is important, of course, but what you need even more is a variety of opponents to hone yourselves."
Tetsuya smiled. This was exactly what he wanted. It looked like Matsuba was about to go all out for the sake of his son and Fantina.
"…That's why I've made a public announcement. Starting tomorrow, I'm removing the daily limit on Challengers to the Ecruteak Gym," Matsuba said.
"We're taking them on?" Morty asked in surprise.
"Mahaha! Yes, you are! While training, you'll also be accepting Challengers. The four of you will rotate. When you feel you're strong enough to clear the fourth floor, then go challenge it."
Matsuba's method was truly intense. With this, all four of them would spend their entire days in battles and training. High-intensity combat and drills would push their potential to the limit, and that applied to their Pokémon as well.
"But if we lose, don't we have to give out Gym Badges?" Fantina asked.
"If you lose, I'm still here. Heh~ Whether or not they get a Badge will depend on whether I think they deserve it."
Matsuba laughed heartily. He found Fantina adorable. It seemed this girl had never dealt with any of these matters at Hearthome Gym, she didn't even know the basics.
"So, any objections to my decision?" Matsuba asked.
"Hn. Couldn't ask for more," Tetsuya said as he headed off to train.
Matsuba had complete trust in Tetsuya. Sometimes, he even felt a strong pressure from him. Just a seven-year-old child, and yet, this very child sometimes did things that even made a "Seasoned-type" Gym Leader like Matsuba feel respect.
---◓---
The iron spikes, after a week of grinding, had already worn thinner. Tetsuya continued having Gastly repeat the same training over and over until it could fully condense Shadow Ball into a spike shape.
Sludge Bomb worked on a similar principle as Shadow Ball, so there was no need to train it separately. The key problem was that if Sludge Bomb were condensed onto the iron spikes, they would've corroded long ago.
While training, a sudden shout from Raine rang out. "Duskull, it…!"
Duskull's body was enveloped in a white light.
"Huh, it evolved," Tetsuya glanced over, then ignored it.
The white light slowly faded, revealing a humanoid Pokémon, Dusclops, standing before them.
After evolving into Dusclops, it gained powerful twin fists. These fists were a gift from Arceus, allowing Dusclops to use four punch-based moves directly: Shadow Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, and Fire Punch.
Morty and Fantina rushed over to congratulate Raine. With Duskull evolved, their team's overall strength had risen again, giving them more confidence for the next challenge.
•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•◓•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.