"Gengar!"
Hearing Fantina look down on him, even telling his master not to send him out first, Gengar immediately stepped forward.
His eyes were full of determination, scarlet gleamed in his pupils, and he showed a trademark grin.
Having lived so many years, Gengar was still particular about things.
The master just spent so much money, how could he not come out and show off a little?
Seeing Gengar's confident look, and remembering how highly Axel had just spoken of him, Platinum smiled sweetly.
"Thank you, Sister Fantina, but I still plan to use Gengar."
"Alright, then I won't try to persuade you."
"But what I want to say is, level does not equal everything."
"The Drifblim I'm sending out now is level 32, and I'll use it to face your gym-leader-level Gengar!"
"Gengar!"
Gengar glared fiercely at Fantina, his little claws clenched into fists.
'Who's a gym leader level?'
'Didn't Axel already say it, I'm champion level.'
The battle between the two sides began quickly.
They each stood on opposite sides of the gym square, commanding their Pokémon.
Fantina waved her hand, her tone full of the calm composure of a veteran trainer.
"Drifblim, use Minimize!"
At her order, Drifblim's body immediately began to shrink.
The form that was originally over a meter tall suddenly shrank into something tiny, only a dozen centimeters tall.
At the same time, an obscure aura appeared around its body, flashing with two beams of white light upward.
Its evasion rate shot up.
Seeing this move, Platinum instantly panicked a little.
In battle, if moves miss, it's not just about a little lost damage. It makes it easier to be led around by the opponent.
Just a few hours earlier, Platinum had only won easily because her opponent's evasions failed.
But now, was it already her turn?
"Cheer up, don't forget what I taught you!"
"In a field battle, your tactics are even easier to pull off!"
Just as Platinum was panicking, Axel spoke.
It was like he had injected her with a stabilizer. The young lady immediately remembered the tactics Axel had told her right before she knocked on the door.
"Gengar, use Haze!"
"Gengar!"
Gengar nodded heavily, stretching a finger back toward his trainer in encouragement.
The next moment, a dark mist surged from Gengar's body, quickly filling the entire field.
The strange aura covering Drifblim disappeared, leaving it dumbfounded.
'Wait, what happened to my evasion boost!'
"Not good, Drifblim! Attack quickly, don't give it the chance to use Toxic!"
"Toxic!"
The two commands rang out almost at the same time, but Gengar's speed was clearly much faster than Drifblim's.
A ball of purple energy rapidly condensed in Gengar's hand and was hurled hard at Drifblim's body.
The next moment, the already-purple Drifblim turned an even deeper purple.
"Uh... uh...", Platinum, using such an inhuman tactic for the first time, was obviously flustered.
Gengar sighed helplessly, his body blurring into an afterimage, appearing beside Fantina.
Fantina clearly realized something, instinctively running off into the distance.
But she wasn't born in Pokémon Tower, how could she possibly outrun a Gengar?
Before Drifblim's attack could even fall, Gengar had already appeared behind Fantina, flashing his signature grin.
The next moment, his body flowed like water and slipped into Fantina's shadow.
Drifblim: "???"
Fantina: "..."
'What the hell kind of battle is this supposed to be?'
'First it poisons, then hides in the shadows.'
'And even hides in my shadow?'
'I can't exactly have Drifblim attack me, can I!'
"This round, I concede."
Fantina decisively recalled Drifblim, without saying anything like Platinum shouldn't use poison.
Gengar being a poison-type Pokémon, opening with Toxic was perfectly reasonable.
She herself had used a Minimize tactic.
The only thing she hadn't expected was that the other side had inherited the move "Haze."
"Sister Fantina, I'm so sorry...", The young lady bowed deeply to Fantina, still clearly unused to the situation.
Axel grinned beside her, this scene was too classic.
The first time someone plays like this, they all look the same.
But it's fine, with a little time and experience, that guilty feeling would disappear.
Seeing Axel's smile, a sharp light flashed in Fantina's eyes.
'As expected, this is all taught by that man!'
No wonder the earlier gym leaders all whined in the group chat like they'd met a plague god.
'Running into such a schemer, who wouldn't suffer?'
'But... since this girl chose ghost-types, then it is necessary to steer her straight!'
'Ghost-types don't rely only on gimmicks. What matters most is still raw strength.'
Fantina thought it over, her right hand resting on Gengar's Pokéball.
Since the opponent's Gengar used poison and loved hiding in shadows... Then she could just use her own Gengar.
After all, Gengar is part poison-type, naturally immune to poison.
But soon she shook her head slightly.
What if the opponent just hid in her shadow and never came out?
If the fight took place in the shadows, her level 34 Gengar couldn't beat that gym-leader-level Gengar.
If that was the case...
Since the other side sent out a gym leader-level, it wouldn't be too much for her to send out one too, right?
She'd send her main force.
After convincing herself inside, Fantina pulled out a red-and-white Pokéball from her back waist.
"Old partner, it's decided, it'll be you."
"This battle, will be between Gengars!"
Perhaps to cover up her inner anxiety, Fantina's shout was especially passionate.
A flash of red light, a dark aura enveloped the entire field.
Black mist spread, condensing into the form of a Gengar.
That Gengar stood with its back to Axel and the others, mist curling at its feet, looking like a newly born demon god.
Leaving Glastrier staring in envy.
"Gengar?", Just as that Gengar was striking its cool pose, Platinum's Gengar suddenly cried out in joy.
And in his eyes, there was not the slightest competitiveness of facing a fellow kind, but rather a trace of...
Tenderness?
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