Arbok's body kept twitching, its life was nearly at an end.
Tetsuya glanced at Weezing, who was looking at him with hopeful eyes. Maybe all it wanted was a word of praise…
No need to wait any longer. Better to strike while the iron was hot.
Tetsuya recalled both Ditto and Gastly into their Poké Balls. Some things didn't need an audience…
"Weezing, give Arbok a quick end. Use Explosion."
The moment Weezing heard the words "Explosion," it hesitated slightly. But then it looked at Tetsuya and its gaze grew firm. For the Trainer who had rescued it from misery, it was willing to give everything!
Energy began to build within Weezing's body…
At that moment, Weezing was happy.
Tetsuya walked far away. The blast radius of Explosion was wide. More importantly, it was Weezing's final expression that he couldn't bear to witness.
A deafening boom shook the air, leaving deep cracks across the ground.
Arbok had been completely blown to pieces. Weezing lay unconscious on the ground, both heads frozen in a smiling expression…
Dreams were always beautiful.
'Maybe… this was your best ending.'
"…Come out, Gastly."
Gastly appeared and was startled by the explosion's aftermath.
"Weezing failed to handle Explosion and died. Go retrieve its core toxins. It's in the connecting orb beneath the two heads."
Gastly had always followed Tetsuya's orders without question. It understood this was all for the sake of its evolution.
Unlike many other Poison-types, Weezing's Poison Gland was located in the small orb between its two heads. Extracting the Poison Gland wouldn't kill it, but it would permanently lose the ability to produce toxins.
Gastly had grown increasingly skilled at the process. It launched a Shadow Ball that blew apart the connector between Weezing's heads. Inside, the Poison Gland was black. The toxins seeped into Gastly's body, absorbed until the last drop.
"Gastly, how do you feel?"
Tetsuya asked, a bit anxious. After all, his funds were running low.
Gastly's energy fluctuations became noticeably stronger. But after ten or so minutes, it faded again.
'…Still not enough?'
Tetsuya sighed. Weezing had been ignored at the Black Market for a reason, he shouldn't have expected too much from it.
He recalled Gastly. It looked like he would still need to buy more Poison-type Pokémon.
Just as Tetsuya was about to leave, he looked down at Weezing lying on the ground.
A sudden pang of guilt struck him.
'You can only blame your bad luck and poor potential. I bought you solely to harvest your Poison Gland…that's never changed.
You would've starved to death in the Black Market anyway. At least this way, you served a purpose!
Whether you survive or not depends on your own will to live.
I hope… you find a good Trainer someday.'
---◓---
Back at the Ecruteak Gym dormitory.
Tetsuya and Ditto resumed their [Shadow Dagger] practice. That "move" had proven itself valuable today. Gastly continued its daily Psychic training.
On the third day of their break, Tetsuya went to the training grounds. Naturally, Morty, Fantina, and Raine weren't there. But someone else was.
Matsuba.
Tetsuya wasn't surprised. For Pryce's Gym evaluation, a battle was mandatory. Matsuba was strong, but against Pryce, if he wasn't in top condition, he might lose terribly.
"Oh, Tetsuya. Didn't expect to see you here today," Matsuba said, a bit surprised by his arrival.
"Nothing worth doing out there," Tetsuya replied.
Matsuba chuckled knowingly. "Mahaha! You're remarkably calm for your age. I've often watched your training, you've got a sharp mind. So, how about a battle with me?"
"Thank you for the lesson."
As soon as Tetsuya spoke, he had already taken out Gastly's Poké Ball. He had no illusions about winning this battle. Gastly's current level couldn't compare to the Pokémon Matsuba had. But it was only by battling the strong that one's fighting spirit could be awakened.
"Come out, Mismagius."
A Pokémon resembling a sorceress appeared. Three dark red gems adorned its chest, radiating mysterious energy.
"You attack first," Matsuba said.
'Then I won't hold back.' Tetsuya locked eyes on Mismagius.
"Gastly, Shadow Ball."
The attack was fast and fierce. The spindle-shaped Shadow Ball whistled through the air as it shot toward Mismagius.
Matsuba nodded. 'The condensation speed, firing speed, and flight speed had all reached an impressive level. Beyond even what some Gengar could achieve.'
"Psywave."
The gems on Mismagius's chest flashed, and a powerful psychic web instantly enveloped its entire body. The moment Gastly's Shadow Ball touched the psychic web, it exploded, doing no damage to Mismagius.
What a powerful Mismagius. Its Psywave could expand in all directions from the body. A single Mismagius weaving such a psychic net was equivalent to the entire squad of Misdreavus on the second floor of Brass Tower.
"Keep using Shadow Ball."
Although Gastly saw that Shadow Ball wasn't working, it hesitated only briefly. Tetsuya's command brought it back into focus. Shadow Balls continued to fire one after another.
Hearing Tetsuya's command, Matsuba couldn't help but click his tongue.
Most rookie Trainers would panic when their moves had no effect on their opponent, not knowing what to do next.
But Tetsuya remained calm. He had fully understood the nature of Psywave's defense and hadn't hesitated for even a second.
Though Mismagius's Psywave was powerful, all Psychic-type moves relied on the user's mental power. Weaving a psychic web like this consumed a huge amount of energy. It couldn't last long. And while each of Gastly's attacks seemed ineffective, they were in fact slowly wearing down Mismagius's mental endurance.
Matsuba had no choice but to give up the psychic web. "Mismagius, use Perish Song."
'Let's see how you handle this one,' Matsuba thought as he observed Tetsuya's reaction. Gastly didn't have the Soundproof Ability. Once it heard Perish Song, the magical melody would echo in its mind, and its stamina would drain with every note. It was even more terrifying than Curse.
The typing of Perish Song had always been controversial. In the end, the Research Institute classified it as a Normal-type move. But aside from Pokémon with the Soundproof Ability, it worked on nearly all others.
Of course, the move wasn't flawless. Pokémon that could block out sound by covering their ears weren't affected at all. No matter how powerful the song was, if you couldn't hear it, it couldn't hurt you.
But Gastly could hear, and had no way to block out sound. That was exactly what Matsuba was counting on.
However, Tetsuya's next command left Matsuba completely stunned.
Without even pausing, Tetsuya shouted, "Sludge Bomb. Aim for Mismagius's mouth!"
Just as Mismagius opened its mouth to sing, Gastly's Sludge Bomb was already right in front of it. If it got hit in the mouth, the damage would be serious… and poisoning was almost guaranteed.
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Matsuba couldn't help but shake his head.
Facing this seven-year-old child -his own pupil- Matsuba now had to abandon the posture of a "sensei" and engage in a real battle.
He tightened his belt!