"Gastly, [Shadow Hypnosis]."
Tetsuya smirked. This move was very effective against unprepared opponents. But after repeated use, its impact diminished; just like on Raine, where it had become less effective.
"…What?!"
Koga froze.
Suddenly, illusions surrounded Gastly, and it vanished into the shadows, giving the impression it had disappeared completely.
Koga hesitated, then saw waves of red light ripple out from the illusion. Golbat's shadow started to waver, its eyes fixed dazedly on the glowing red.
"This is… Hypnosis!"
Koga reacted quickly. "No! Golbat, use Air Cutter!"
Wobbling in mid-air, Golbat started folding its wings. The Double Team clones had already vanished. But even while drowsy, Golbat's strength was impressive.
Despite its heavy eyelids, it snapped back to focus at Koga's shout.
"Shadow Ball."
Tetsuya didn't dare hesitate. This Golbat was powerful, and Gastly wasn't ready for a head-on clash.
The Shadow Ball was fast, right as it reached Golbat, the bat flapped its wings, unleashing two wind blades that sliced the Shadow Ball apart. In the blast of the explosion, Golbat had already taken flight again.
"Golbat, target that shadow, Air Cutter!"
By now Koga had figured it out. Gastly was hiding inside the illusion. Air Cutter didn't need pinpoint accuracy, its power alone would break the Night Shade barrier. Once that was gone, Gastly would be exposed.
Golbat flapped its wings hard, pouring all its strength into the attack. Two powerful air blades sliced toward the shadowy defense.
"Break out. Shadow Ball!"
Tetsuya seized the moment. Golbat had committed all its strength to that strike, it wouldn't be able to stop itself in time. If that attack failed, it would be wide open. And against an opponent like Golbat, which relied on speed… even one mistake could be fatal!
Gastly burst from the edge of the Night Shade barrier, Shadow Ball already formed in front of it. The moment it emerged, it hurled the attack.
Golbat, in the middle of its powerful wing stroke, had no chance to dodge.
With a dull "thud," Gastly landed a direct hit!
Now, Gastly didn't even need Tetsuya's commands. One Shadow Ball after another flew out without pause.
Golbat had already lost its balance after the first hit. The next few Shadow Balls came too fast, it couldn't dodge. The bursts of explosion ended the battle.
Tetsuya could've finished Golbat right there, but he didn't. First, Koga had powerful backing and the League rules, Tetsuya's own strength wasn't enough yet to openly cross him. Second, killing Golbat wouldn't really hurt Koga. What Tetsuya wanted… was that "golden" Arbok.
But for now, he could only operate in the shadows.
Koga recalled Golbat, his expression growing darker. Losing two in a row… he knew if he didn't bring out his ace, he had no chance of turning this around.
Tetsuya stared coldly at Koga, eyes full of scorn. As a student of the Elite Four, Koga felt utterly humiliated.
Meanwhile, Ryuto's yelling only made it worse.
Koga clenched his teeth and reached into his inner pocket. "…Now you'll see what I'm really capable of."
A purple Poké Ball was clenched in Koga's hand.
Tetsuya leaned toward his right-hand wristband and whispered, "…Ditto, remember that purple Poké Ball."
"Come out, Arbok."
A flash of light revealed a massive snake with golden scales and black stripes.
'There it is. It's really here…'
Tetsuya felt a surge of emotion. He had to get his hands on that Arbok. Of course, not to keep it, he couldn't afford to hold on to such a volatile prize. First of all, this was a Pokémon Koga had personally raised. Tetsuya had no way to tame it. Even if Swinub could subdue it, Arbok was far too conspicuous. If Tōkichi had any way of tracking it, it could bring fatal consequences.
Right now, Tetsuya understood one thing clearly: he needed a relatively peaceful environment to develop his strength. A real man knows when to yield. He couldn't afford to draw attention just to save face.
Arbok fixed its cold eyes on Gastly, hissing continuously. Drops of poison dripped from its fangs, corroding the ground wherever they landed.
Tetsuya's eyes followed the poison. 'Heh. Not bad. Potent enough.'
"Venoshock."
Arbok opened its mouth wide. The poison inside condensed into bullets the size of a finger, launching in rapid succession toward Gastly.
This form of Venoshock fired raw poison from within Arbok, without channeling Poison-type energy. So its launch and flight speed surpassed that of Shadow Ball.
Gastly had no room to counterattack under this kind of pressure.
The level gap between Gastly and Arbok was still huge. Winning was nearly impossible, especially with Gastly exhausted from two consecutive battles.
Gastly struggled to dodge the attack. It was on the verge of collapse.
Arbok was drawing closer and closer…
"Glare."
You had to admit, Koga had excellent timing. Just as Gastly barely avoided the last barrage of Venoshock, Arbok's pattern on its neck emitted a chilling aura.
The pressure from Glare shook Gastly's whole body. It fell into Paralysis.
Now even slower, Gastly could hardly move.
Arbok struck instantly. Its tail lashed out, Poison Tail slammed Gastly into the ground.
For Gastly to have lasted this long was already impressive. The road to becoming strong isn't walked in a single day.
"Return, Gastly."
At last, Koga had regained his momentum. He declared, "If you've got more Pokémon, bring them out. My Arbok fears nothing."
Tetsuya said, "No need. I forfeit."
The answer stunned both Ryuto and Koga.
Ryuto immediately blurted, "T-Tetsuya, why would you forfeit? Don't you still have…"
"Enough. I lost. That's all there is to it."
Tetsuya knew exactly what Ryuto wanted to say, but he couldn't let Koga learn about Ditto. Otherwise, he'd become a suspect in Tetsuya's next plans.
"Fwahaha! And here I thought you were some kind of big Gyarados… So it was just a single Gastly after all? Let me give you some advice~ One Pokémon alone isn't enough to even enter a Gym challenge!"
Koga was clearly thrilled, desperate to vent all the frustration he'd endured earlier.
Ryuto now wished he could crawl into a hole.
"Move. I'm heading to the Pokémon Center. You stay here and enjoy your battles."
With that, Tetsuya left for the Pokémon Center on his own.