Tetsuya, Morty, Raine -and Gastly, Spiritomb, and Dusclops- all fixed their eyes… and one eye, on Pryce, wondering what kind of Pokémon he would send out.
Pryce threw out his Poké Ball, and what appeared on the field was a Swinub. Its entire body was covered in thick, striped brown fur, its eyes squinted into slits, and the only visible part beyond the fur was a pink snout.
The dopey-looking Swinub was a stark contrast to Pryce's own image.
Such a seemingly weak Pokémon made Morty and Raine momentarily forget who its Trainer was. Even the three Pokémon on their side couldn't help but underestimate it.
Tetsuya's expression was serious. Seeing Pryce's slight smile made him all the more alert.
"Gastly, go all out! Use Shadow Ball."
Tetsuya's sudden attack caught Morty and Raine completely off guard.
Gastly refocused, launching a spindle-shaped Shadow Ball with great speed.
Morty and Raine were well familiar with this move from Tetsuya. They were sure Swinub wouldn't be able to dodge it.
"What are you two spacing out for? Have you forgotten who we're facing!?" Tetsuya shouted, snapping them back to reality.
'Hmm? That shape…'
Pryce hadn't issued a single command to Swinub. He was entirely focused on observing the spindle-shaped Shadow Ball and the three Trainers' behavior.
But Swinub didn't need any commands. It simply shook its body, and the surrounding temperature dropped sharply. Snow and hail instantly began falling over the battlefield.
The Swinub trained by Pryce had developed an affinity for Ice-type energy that surpassed even some Legendary Pokémon newly hatched like Articuno and Regice. A simple shake of its body was enough to plummet the temperature for miles.
With its immense Ice-type energy, the onset of Hail was innate; beyond even the limitations of Abilities.
Gastly's Shadow Ball didn't even touch Swinub. It was completely neutralized by the hail.
Without even doing anything, Swinub had effortlessly blocked Gastly's Shadow Ball. Morty and Raine's eyes widened at the sight of the tiny Pokémon.
The snow and hail continued to fall. In the flurry, Swinub's silhouette began to blur, creating a mysterious, elusive presence.
Meanwhile, Gastly, Spiritomb, and Dusclops continued to take damage from the hail.
It was the 'Snow Cloak Ability!'. Tetsuya thought quickly, eyes locked on the swirling snow.
"Freeze-Dry," Pryce finally commanded.
"Gastly, Night Shade."
At this point, Tetsuya couldn't be certain who Swinub would target, so he had to be fully prepared. No one knew how many generations Pryce had spent selectively breeding this Swinub.
It even knew Freeze-Dry!
Though an Ice-type move, Freeze-Dry was extremely special. It was especially effective against Water-type Pokémon. In both Johto and Kanto, the only Ice-type Pokémon that could learn it naturally was Articuno -Delibird until Gen IX-; the rest had to inherit it through breeding. Of course, for a "Seasoned-type"¹[1] veteran like Pryce, that wasn't anything unusual.
This Swinub had already reached an extraordinary level. Hidden within the snow, it was completely untraceable. An Ice/Ground-type Swinub had somehow been elevated by Pryce to embody the mysteriousness of a Ghost-type Pokémon.
This Swinub was one of Pryce's main battlers. Its strength had long since surpassed the level of an Elite Four member. Yet Pryce always used an Everstone to keep it in its Swinub form.
From what he knew, Pryce had been "betrayed" by a Piloswine in his youth. Ever since then, he had refused to see that evolved form again, which is why Swinub had never evolved.
Morty and Raine also stared intently into the snow, but no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't spot Swinub. Spiritomb and Dusclops were already struggling to endure the relentless hail. The freezing temperature alone was enough to chill them to the bone.
As they hesitated, Swinub flashed into view, and in that instant, Dusclops had been turned into an ice sculpture.
Dusclops was out…
Gastly was still shielded by Night Shade, so Swinub would definitely go for a more vulnerable target first.
With that in mind, Tetsuya immediately shouted, "Gastly, fire Shadow Ball around Spiritomb!"
Tetsuya's move confused Morty, and even Matsuba didn't understand it.
'Hmm? He figured it out so fast… A genius, truly a genius.'
Pryce silently praised him, his interest in Tetsuya deepening.
Gastly's Shadow Balls launched one after another, bombarding the area around Spiritomb.
Sure enough, the explosion's shockwaves revealed Swinub's position.
Only then did Morty realize what was happening and quickly joined in. "Spiritomb, use Dark Pulse!"
Seeing Spiritomb attack with Dark Pulse, Tetsuya acted at once. "Gastly, flank it. Use Dark Pulse as well."
Swinub was now in a tight spot, with waves of pressure converging from both front and back.
"Icicle Crash."
Pryce spoke the command calmly, as if it were nothing.
The moment Tetsuya heard both the move and the tone, he knew he couldn't linger. After Gastly launched two waves of Dark Pulse…
"Gastly, retreat now!"
Tetsuya called out. Gastly instinctively moved away from Swinub.
And sure enough. Just after Gastly retreated, massive icicles rained down from above. Centered on Swinub, they crashed forward and back. Not only did they block the incoming Dark Pulses, they also took Spiritomb out completely.
Only Gastly remained.
Faced with such a Swinub, Tetsuya had nearly run out of options. He had no idea where the next attack would come from, and once it did, even Night Shade wouldn't save Gastly from being instantly defeated.
Time passed, second by second...
Tetsuya's eyes remained fixed on the space around Gastly. The moment Swinub attacked, it would give something away.
"Ice Beam."
Pryce deliberately called out the move to test Tetsuya's reaction under pressure.
But Tetsuya had lived through as many years as Pryce had. His instincts were no worse than the old man's.
"Drop Night Shade."
Tetsuya gave the command, though his eyes remained locked on the direction the Ice Beam would come from.
Gastly burst out of the protection of Night Shade, just as a shimmering beam of ice pierced through the phantom veil, shattering it instantly.
Thankfully, they'd acted just in time.
"Shadow Ball."
Tetsuya pointed toward the direction from which the Ice Beam had fired.
Gastly reacted quickly, and its Shadow Ball -already honed to a high level- launched without hesitation. But in the biting cold and hail, everything was weakened.
By the time the Shadow Ball landed, Swinub had already vanished.
At that moment, Tetsuya realized there was no point in continuing the battle.
"Young man, your talent truly impresses me. Ecruteak Gym's evaluation ends here!
Return, Swinub."
Pryce recalled Swinub, and the hail stopped falling.
Only Gastly remained, still floating over the battlefield...
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¹. Read this without translating. I don't know why, but no matter how much I put it in "quotation" or [brackets], the "Xx-type" won't appear. The "joke" loses its point…
[1] Read this without translating. I don't know why, but no matter how much I put it in "quotation" or [brackets], the "Xx-type" won't appear. The "joke" loses its point…