That outfit…
That face…
How could he not recognize him!?
Though his face still bore the traces of youth, Tetsuya called out his name without hesitation.
Koga.
Arceus really plays tricks… he never imagined they would meet again so soon.
At that moment, Tetsuya had the impulse to kill him on the spot.
But then he thought, killing him now would be letting him off easy. 'Let's see which of us wins in this life…'
Tetsuya quietly watched the battle between Raine and Koga.
Dusclops versus Koffing.
Koga was probably around eleven or twelve now, already stronger than Morty. Raine was no match; Dusclops was clearly being overwhelmed.
Still, Raine's strength had already surpassed that of most average Trainers. Koga wasn't having an easy time either… maybe.
---◓---
"Fwahahaha! Now you've seen the strength of my Poison-type Pokémon[1]¹!"
Koga's Koffing had successfully defeated Dusclops.
Raine didn't even respond to Koga's taunts. He silently recalled Dusclops and walked into Ecruteak Gym main hall.
Ryuto was so furious he started stomping his feet.
Koga chuckled. "Anyone else? I'm about to compete in the Exchange Tournament between the Johto and Sinnoh Leagues in two months. Facing a future Elite Four member like me… should be your honor!"
Tetsuya nearly forgot, Koga was known as the final student of the Ninja Elite Four, Hattori Tōkichi. The ninjutsu academies he founded were spread all across Kanto and Johto. There was even a Pokémon Jujitsu Academy²[2] near Ecruteak City.
After Hattori retired, he lived near the academy outside Ecruteak. Rumor had it that in order to fully inherit his secrets, Koga even left his younger sister, Aya[3], at the academy to take care of Hattori personally.
Hattori specialized in Poison and Bug-types. The so-called "ninjutsu" was really just a constructed image, built on his status as an Elite Four, to help his academies make money.
"I'll take you on."
Tetsuya stepped forward.
"And who do you think you are!? A mere child like you dares to challenge me[4]⁴? The future Elite Four!?"
Koga was clearly full of himself, drunk on early success.
"…The one who's about to beat you. Three-on-three. Do you dare?"
"Humph! What a joke. I'll wipe the floor with you. Koffing, you're up again."
"Gastly."
Tetsuya threw out a Poké Ball.
"Go Tetsuya~! Go Tetsuya~! Crush him! Blow him up…!"
Ryuto was yelling wildly in support.
Tetsuya and Koga both shot him a glare before he quieted down a bit.
Gastly and Koffing floated in mid-air. One wore a silly grin, the other a wicked smile.
"One move is all I need. Koffing, use Gyro Ball."
Koga made the first move.
Koffing spun rapidly, its body surrounded by a silver-white glow.
The Steel-type move Gyro Ball.
Its power increased the slower the user was compared to its target. Koga had clearly calculated Gastly's high speed.
Not bad.
"Gastly, use Shadow Ball while retreating."
Tetsuya's strategy was to wear down Gyro Ball's power.
The spindle-shaped Shadow Balls flew out, one after another, handled more and more skillfully by Gastly.
The spinning force of Gyro Ball was intense, its power fed by the speed gap between Koffing and Gastly.
It took three consecutive Shadow Balls to finally dissipate the silver glow from Koffing's spin.
Now the next target was Koffing itself.
Koga noticed something was off and hurriedly shouted, "Koffing, use Sludge!"
Tetsuya smirked. Sludge wasn't like Gyro Ball; it was nothing to be afraid of.
"Gastly, get close. Use Night Shade."
Gastly's form flickered unpredictably, like a… phantom!
Koffing's Sludge missed completely; Gastly had already disappeared from view.
By the time Koffing noticed anything, black phantoms were already shrouding it. Ghost-type energy began eating away at it from all sides.
Koga panicked. "Gyro Ball! Use Gyro Ball to break free!"
"Hn. Confuse Ray." Tetsuya's smirk widened.
Inside the Night Shade, Gastly and Koffing couldn't be seen. Even so, Koga already knew things were bad.
"Gastly, finish it."
With Tetsuya's command, Koffing dropped out of the Night Shade. Its body was withered; its vitality nearly drained.
Gastly burst out of the shadows, and for a brief moment, its body shimmered faintly with a flash of evolutionary light.
Tetsuya was shocked. He hadn't expected Koga's Koffing to have such highly concentrated toxic energy in its vitality.
But defeating Koffing hadn't been the point. What Tetsuya really wanted to confirm… was whether Koga still carried the same trump card he had used in his pursuit of the Elite Four position!
If he could provoke him enough, there was a good chance Koga would reveal "that" Pokémon.
A Pokémon so poisonous… its toxicity might be just what Gastly needed to evolve!
Koga recalled Koffing.
Tetsuya gave Ryuto a subtle signal, then said, "So… this is what you're bringing to the Elite Four Challenge!? What a disgrace to Johto~"
Ryuto instantly amped up. "Kyaaa~! You should just scram already. Stop embarrassing yourself… I'm cringing for you, seriously!"
Koga turned bright red from the barrage of Verbal-type attacks. Veins bulged on his forehead.
Ryuto poured it on. "Ooooh~ Ooooh~ Look at that, he's blushing! Rahaha! Embarrassed, huh~?
…RAHAHAHA!"
Koga roared, "T-That was only one battle! Don't get cocky! This match isn't over yet!"
He steadied himself, then reached into his pocket. He hesitated… and then pulled his hand back out.
His mentor had warned him never to use that Pokémon in public. If someone marked it, it could bring huge trouble…
It wasn't time to use it yet.
"Come out, Golbat!"
A huge-mouthed bat flapped its wings and locked its gaze on Gastly.
Tetsuya eyed the Golbat. It was definitely stronger than the Koffing from earlier, its strength even surpassed Gastly's current level.
But right now, Gastly was his only option. Swinub couldn't be exposed in public or he'd draw suspicion.
Ditto couldn't be revealed either… especially not in front of Koga. He had to maintain deniability for future actions.
So everything now depended on Gastly. This Golbat had to be defeated.
"Golbat, Double Team!"
Koga struck a dramatic "ninja pose" as he gave the command.
"Tch… Such a showoff…" Tetsuya scoffed.
In an instant, a dozen Golbat clones appeared, surrounding Gastly. The illusions flickered and shifted; Gastly looked around nervously in all directions.
With its low defense and "HP", Gastly absolutely couldn't afford to take a hit, especially from a chain of moves. One clean combo could mean death.
Still, they were just clones from Double Team. Tetsuya wasn't worried… yet.
•.
•.
¹. I looked up Koga's quotes, and well… it turns out the guy's kind of dramatic.
². Canon.
³. Canon character.
⁴. He really is that dramatic…
[1] I looked up Koga's quotes, and well… it turns out the guy's kind of dramatic.
[2] Canon.
[3] Also canon character
[4] He really is that dramatic…