The method for practicing Psychic had already been deeply etched into Gastly's mind. However, it only trained for two to three hours at night.
Unlike Psychic-type Pokémon, Gastly had to develop its mental power -to the minimum level required by Tetsuya- step by step. Naturally, most of its energy was still focused on its energy-conservation training during the day.
---◓---
There were only ten days left before Fantina would leave Ecruteak Gym, and Tetsuya's Ditto had already fully recovered.
That day, Morty approached Tetsuya. "Tetsuya, do you think it's time we challenge the fifth floor? After all, Fantina is leaving in ten days."
"Alright."
Tetsuya gave a simple reply.
The influx of Challengers drawn by Matsuba's lure had passed, and now only one or two were assigned to Tetsuya each day. It was the right time to test how much Gastly had grown during these past twenty days.
After twenty days of nonstop "special" training, Morty, Fantina, and Raine's Pokémon had all made great progress. The three of them were now brimming with confidence for the challenge on the fifth floor of Brass Tower.
This time, the four of them faced a Banette and twenty Shuppet.
"How are we going to handle this?" Fantina asked Morty.
"Banette excels at physical attacks. Just don't let it get close."
Morty had barely finished speaking when both Banette and the Shuppet suddenly vanished.
"Tch. That trick again… Dusclops, use Foresight."
Raine looked completely unfazed. Foresight was a move that could force hidden Pokémon like Banette to reveal themselves.
Dusclops's eyes glowed with a sharp beam, sweeping across the entire fifth floor of Brass Tower.
Raine gave a cold snort, just waiting for Dusclops to take control of the field, while Tetsuya quietly watched him show off.
But even after a full sweep with Foresight, not a single Shuppet appeared…
"W-What…? How is that possible!!?"
Raine's arrogance vanished in an instant. He couldn't even believe what he was seeing.
"Gastly, use Night Shade and Dark Pulse."
At Tetsuya's command, Gastly didn't hesitate. A mass of shadows spread out, completely shrouding Gastly in darkness. But that wasn't all. Its "terrifying" aura surged outward in waves of energy from the center, with Gastly at the core.
Morty and the others hadn't even processed Tetsuya's command yet.
Suddenly, Shuppet emerged near Spiritomb, Drifloon, and Dusclops. The chain attacks dealt serious damage to all three Pokémon in the very first wave.
The Shuppet that got too close to Gastly were driven back by the damage from Dark Pulse. And since Gastly couldn't be seen within the shadows of Night Shade, they gave up trying to attack it.
Just as the trio prepared to strike back, the Shuppet vanished into the air again.
"Stop this! What's with these Shuppet? Why do they keep ambushing us!?" Fantina was starting to lose it.
This kind of hit-and-run tactic could indeed drive someone mad. But that kind of frustration came from a lack of skill, the inability to overcome the situation; in truth, it was just self-pity disguised as complaining.
"It's Phantom Force… Yes, it's Phantom Force!"
Morty suddenly shouted.
Tetsuya glanced at Morty. 'You're only realizing that now? It's already too late. We're screwed this time.'
"What? Phantom Force? My Drifloon can use that too! I just always thought it was useless, so I never used it," Fantina said as if the name sounded familiar.
'Useless?'
"Heh."
Tetsuya rolled his eyes at Fantina.
No wonder. With her style of charging in head-on, of course she'd think that move was "useless". She was far behind Morty.
"How could it be useless? Phantom Force is one of the best moves for sneak attacks. Shuppet and the others temporarily vanishes… somewhere. That's why Raine's Foresight didn't work. They wait until they're close, then strike all of a sudden. Even Protect can't block it," Morty explained.
"Wowヾ(｡✪ω✪｡)ｼ , Morty, you're so knowledgeable~! I'll try using that move next time," Fantina said, eyes full of admiration.
Morty looked at how calm and composed Tetsuya was and thought to himself, 'The one who really knows everything hasn't even spoken yet…'
As the three were discussing, the Shuppet launched another sneak attack. Drifblim, which had already taken two hits from Banette, lost its combat ability.
Right after that, Morty's Spiritomb used Snarl to push the Shuppet back, while Tetsuya's Gastly unleashed another Dark Pulse, keeping the Shuppet from getting close.
Naturally, Raine's Dusclops became the next target of focused attacks.
Just as Raine remembered that Dusclops also knew Dark Pulse and was about to give the command, it was already overwhelmed and lost its combat ability.
This happened because the Pokémon wasn't familiar enough with the move, unable to use it instinctively at any moment.
Only Gastly and Spiritomb remained.
"Tetsuya, what should we do now?" Morty asked.
Tetsuya recalled Gastly without hesitation. "What else is there to do?" He said, turning and walking out of Brass Tower first.
With just his Gastly and a half-defeated Spiritomb left, there was no chance of victory. Continuing the fight would only waste time.
"What's that supposed to mean…? That's just rude! What's he showing off for?" Fantina grumbled.
Morty sighed. "Let it go. He's right. We were holding him back."
"But Moooorty~ We waited over twenty days to challenge this floor just so his Ditto could recover. He should at least be a little grateful!" Fantina said.
Raine just laugh. "Rahaha! If you could clear it on your own, you'd be free to come alone too."
"Toi¹[1]…!" Fantina was left speechless.
"Ma ma~ Forget it. We'll try again tomorrow. Now that we understand Banette's tactics, we just have to copy what Tetsuya did and we should be able to pass," Morty said.
"Humph…"
---◓---
Lately, Matsuba hadn't had time to check on their progress either, because the Gym evaluation was about to begin. This year, the examiner assigned to Ecruteak Gym was the Johto League's "coldest" Elite Four, Pryce. Every Gym he evaluated ended up getting torn to shreds.
Tetsuya was honestly glad. In his previous life, Pryce was already dead by the time he became a Gym Leader. Otherwise, the old man would've shown him no mercy. "The Teacher of Winter's Harshness" wasn't just a title.
Although Pryce had no friends in the League -and in fact, most people wanted him gone- his strength was beyond dispute. With just a Delibird, he could freeze the entire Lake of Rage -also known as Gyarados Lake-. His Swinub could go head-to-head with Raikou, Entei, and Suicune.
With that kind of power, people could only fume in silence.
That was the intimidation of true strength!
If the League Council hadn't feared Pryce disrupting the political balance, he would've become Champion long ago. During his time as an Elite Four, Johto's political climate remained clean, and even the big Families and Gyms dared not overstep their bounds.
But Pryce was ruthless, even toward fellow E4s. The League Council wasn't about to let him run wild, and they often blocked his actions. Disillusioned, Pryce resigned and returned to Mahogany Town to serve as a Gym Leader. He only held the Elite Four position for a few years.
After Pryce's departure, a wave of corruption swept through Johto, dragging it into decline. For decades afterward, it lived in the shadow of Kanto.
•.
•.
¹. You…!
[1] You…!