"What's going on?"
Seeing her own Gengar completely lacking fighting spirit, Platinum was dumbfounded.
Although her father had said before that relationships built on money weren't all that reliable, Platinum felt she treated Gengar pretty well.
No way it would betray her right away, right?
"Don't tell me my Gengar has fallen for the other Gengar?"
"Definitely not that," Axel shook his head, pointing at Fantina's Gengar.
"The opponent's Gengar, just like yours, is clearly male. There's no way it's some love-at-first-sight melodrama."
"You're amazing, Axel, you can even tell Gengar's gender."
Axel calmly closed the system panel, face as usual.
"This is just the basic quality of a breeder."
While they spoke, Fantina's Gengar's body trembled, and half the black mist at his feet instantly dispersed.
Was it an auditory hallucination?
Why could he hear the ancestor's voice in the middle of battle?
But the ancestor was obviously at the suburban old house, guarding those shrooms.
With a trace of expectation, Fantina's Gengar slowly turned around.
The moment he clearly saw Platinum's Gengar, Fantina's Gengar knelt on the ground without hesitation, tears welling up.
"Gengar!"
'Grandpa, you finally came out!'
At the instant Gengar knelt, the paparazzo hiding in a small mound nearby was instantly stunned.
But immediately after, joy surged straight to his skull.
He had just filmed a gym leader's Pokémon being beaten completely powerless by the same kind, solving his problem of not being financially free.
And now he had caught a gym leader's Pokémon kneeling to its own kind?
If he released this, it wouldn't just be financial freedom anymore, he might directly reach the peak of life.
'Praise Ho-Oh, praise the god of the camera.'
For the first time in his life, the paparazzo felt so close to the god he believed in.
He hurriedly zoomed in, capturing a close-up of the two Gengars.
The challenger's Gengar lightly waved his hand, and Fantina's Gengar, with snot and tears all over, stood back up.
But before anyone could react, he again knelt before the challenger in white clothes and white dress.
"Gengar!"
'Young lady, thank you for saving my grandpa!'
'If I dare to win this round, then I'll be your grandson!'
Battle start!
Before Platinum and Fantina could recover, Platinum's Gengar had already made a move.
He pulled out from somewhere a little yellow duck bath toy, wrapped it in dark-type energy, and threw it.
Seeing that black light, Fantina's heart tightened, instantly snapping into battle stance.
'A throwing skill?'
Fantina was very familiar with this kind of move. Dealing damage by throwing held items, with the power depending on the item.
This little yellow duck item, Fantina had never seen.
But she had a hunch it wouldn't be simple.
Given the earlier lesson, she thought there was no way this Gengar would do something meaningless.
What if it was disguised Flame Orb or Life Orb?
Though that pure-looking girl probably wouldn't play such tricks, Fantina just felt like Axel would have taught her so.
Almost without hesitation, she chose the safest approach.
"Gengar, use Protect!"
"Gengar?"
Gengar cried out in confusion, directly ignoring the order, then leapt forward openly at the floating little yellow duck.
'Are you kidding? When your grandpa gives you a toy, would you Protect yourself from it?'
Catching the yellow duck, Fantina's Gengar's eyes flashed with nostalgia.
He remembered when he was still a Gastly, and grandpa used to play with him just like this.
But for the sake of those shrooms, his grandpa had never left that old house.
In fact, in sheer strength, he wasn't even as strong as his own grandson.
Seeing that grandpa was still carrying the little yellow duck he had used to play with in baths as a child, Gengar felt even more ashamed.
He had failed grandpa. All these years, he hadn't been able to send back a single coin.
But Fantina really had no money.
"Gengar!"
Fantina's Gengar, teary-eyed, while Platinum's Gengar rubbed the back of his head, laughing heartily.
This grandson may not have the ability to help with the shrooms, but at least he's still filial.
["Here~ this is some shroom spores grandpa brought out, have a bite."]
Platinum's Gengar pulled a few little mushrooms from his pocket, holding them to Fantina's Gengar's mouth.
"Ah~"
Fantina's Gengar opened wide without hesitation, waiting to be fed.
"No, don't! Those spores have a sleep effect!"
Fantina was completely dumbfounded. Why was her Gengar acting so abnormal today?
She'd never heard of Gengar being capable of mind control.
This other Gengar's field battle skills were simply absurd.
The absurd part was, no matter how Fantina shouted, her Gengar didn't seem to hear a thing.
It was just too fragrant, mushroom spores.
Back when he lived with grandpa, whenever he couldn't sleep, grandpa would give him some.
Every time he ate them, he slept soundly, it was full of memories.
"Munch munch~"
Fantina's Gengar finished the spores, smiling with squinted eyes at his grandpa.
The next moment, with Gengar's signature grin, he toppled over.
Right before falling asleep, he still called out to his grandpa, ["Don't go yet, grandpa. Wait till I wake up, I'll give you some proper rations."]
———
Platinum and Fantina were both stunned.
What was this situation?
If this had been an arena battle, Platinum's Gengar would have already broken countless rules.
Whether the mushroom spores or that unknown yellow duck item, neither was permitted.
Even being red-carded off and immediately forfeited wouldn't be strange.
But the problem was, it was a field battle.
Aside from not attacking the trainer, Fantina hadn't set any restrictions.
Which meant... she had lost again.
And in such a baffling way.
"Pfft! Hahahaha~", Off to the side, Axel could no longer hold it in.
He had just thought Fantina's Gengar was a tough one to deal with, immune to both Perish Song and Toxic.
Axel had even considered switching to burn tactics.
But dramatically enough, Fantina's Gengar turned out to be the grandson of Platinum's Gengar... And not just any grandson, but a very filial one.
Even TV dramas wouldn't dare write this plot, but it just happened to Fantina.
"Gym Leader Fantina, can you throw in the towel now?"
"Surrender?"
Seeing Axel's expression like he had her cornered, Fantina frowned.
'Indeed, this guy is the true culprit.'
'If not for his teaching, no ghost-type trainer would ever use such filthy tactics.'
Fantina's gaze fell on Axel, teeth grinding audibly.
The gentle aura around her had almost completely vanished, replaced with the stillness before a storm.
After Platinum's match ended, she would definitely battle this man in a real field fight. The kind with no restrictions on attacking trainers.
'Let's see if he can still laugh then.'
Having decided to field battle Axel, Fantina finally felt a little relieved.
'So, you like pointing fingers now?'
'Wait till I point at you, then you'll behave!'
"Since you're all so confident, I'll concede this round as well."
"But... in the battles to come, I will show you what a trainer's true strength really is!"
After saying this, Fantina took a deep breath, gripping the Pokéball of a Pokémon she hadn't planned to use.
She had just laughed at Crasher in the group chat, but now she herself had been two-nil'd by a single Pokémon without a scratch.
If she lost this one too, what difference would there be between her and Crasher?
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