Chapter 158: 6IVs Gastly Everywhere
Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"It seems a little noisy outside."
In a hall within Team Rocket's secret underground base, Red and a man named Zeus were still in a standoff.
Although Red didn't know the man's identity, he could tell from the powerful aura emanating from the man and his Magmortar, who stood perfectly still, that this person was no weakling.
He was far stronger than those incompetent core executives.
"Kid, do you know who I am?" Zeus demanded.
Red recalled that the grunt, Blue, seemed to have mentioned his name before leaving. He replied seriously, "One-Eye."
Zeus: "..."
It seemed not only was that clingy grunt a mole, but this bodyguard grunt before him was also a mole. What kind of employee doesn't recognize their own boss?
Could it be that Team Rocket's ranks had been infiltrated by other organizations?
The Pokémon League? Or the neighboring Team Aqua or Team Magma?
But no matter what, the mole had to die.
As Zeus's gaze hardened, the Magmortar beside him slowly stepped forward. The flames on its shoulders flared with a "bang," causing the temperature to rise sharply. It looked down condescendingly at the Rattata, its thick lips curved, its face dark, its eyes filled with a treacherous glint.
Its flame-cannon arms emanated a chilling aura.
This was a Pokémon with a Combat Power of well over ten thousand. Even an Elite Four member would have a hard time dealing with it!
Seeing that they had entered a battle-ready state, Red, already at a disadvantage, naturally wouldn't waste any more time on nonsense with Zeus. He directly gave his order:
"Rattata, make this quick."
"Squeak!"
Although the Rattata was initially startled by the Magmortar's terrifying appearance, its master's words today carried a special power. This gave it immense courage. Despite the huge difference in physique, it let out a low growl as its body erupted with a dazzling red energy. Its eyes turned scarlet, as if it had entered some kind of berserk state.
What kind of move was "make this quick"?
Zeus didn't pay it much mind.
Rattata was just an unremarkable, common-as-dirt Pokémon. Zeus didn't give it a second thought. With a casual wave of his hand, Magmortar's cannon-like arm smashed forward.
"Squeak!!"
The Rattata suddenly pushed off with its feet, enduring the blast of hot air that washed over it. It dodged the enemy's cannon arm and bit down on the Magmortar's stomach. Instantly, a terrifying red energy poured out like an unstoppable flood, causing a horrifying energy explosion on the spot.
When the smoke and dust cleared, the two Pokémon had separated, revealing an astonishing scene.
The once imperious Magmortar was now kneeling on one leg, its flames having diminished significantly, looking as if they could be extinguished at any moment. Sweat poured down its forehead as it panted heavily. It was clear that a single blow had left it on the verge of defeat, like a candle flickering in the wind.
Zeus: "?"
However, upon seeing this, Red's brow twitched slightly. He noticed something unusual about Rattata and couldn't help but shake his head, thinking to himself that the outcome was now decided.
Without waiting any longer, he gave another calm instruction:
"Finish it. Use Quick Attack."
"Squeak!"
The Rattata understood. A white light flashed as it ignored the difference in their Speed. The Quick Attack grew larger and larger in the Magmortar's disbelieving eyes, finally landing the finishing blow.
"BOOM!!"
The Magmortar's massive form crashed straight to the ground. Even the attacking Rattata was stunned. It had never imagined that a Pokémon so high and mighty, one that seemed like a demon god in its eyes, could be defeated by it just like that.
"Bang!!"
But the next second, a flame inexplicably burst forth from Rattata's body. The searing burn successfully took away its last bit of HP, causing it to faint.
It was Flame Body, Magmortar's Ability—contact moves had a chance of inflicting a burn on the opponent.
Red had noticed the spark of fire on Rattata's hind leg after it used Endeavor, which was why he had it quickly use Quick Attack to secure the knockout.
His earlier instruction to "make this quick" was, of course, the strategy of using Endeavor followed by Quick Attack. Previously, Blue's Clefable had stopped attacking once Rattata's HP was down to a single point, creating the perfect opportunity to use Endeavor.
"..."
Even so, Red sighed.
After all, the level difference between Rattata and its opponent was just too great. Other than Endeavor, he couldn't think of any other strategy to deal with this Magmortar.
Perhaps if the opponent had been just a little stronger, Endeavor might have failed completely.
Of course, this could only work to catch an opponent off guard. Once they had more experience, they naturally wouldn't let themselves get hit by a level-ignoring Endeavor for free. This was also why Red didn't say the name "Endeavor," but instead said "make this quick."
Zeus: "?"
The powerfully built man couldn't help but scratch his head, staring at the mountain of flesh that was his collapsed Magmortar. He started to question his own existence.
"Deplete its own HP to the last point, use Endeavor to equalize, and then finish it with a priority Quick Attack?"
Was this really a strategy a human could come up with?
Why had he never heard of it anywhere?
That's so cheap!
It felt like a strategy from another world, as if developed by a group of people with devious minds who did nothing but study how to battle. It was completely different from the style of their world.
"Dammit!!"
At this thought, Zeus's face contorted with rage, like an erupting volcano. His gaze towards Red became menacingly intimidating.
Having one of his aces, Magmortar, defeated so easily by a mere Rattata was an utter humiliation for him. He immediately recalled the fainted Magmortar and threw out another Poké Ball.
"Bang!"
A red light flashed, and this time a fat, purplish-black Pokémon appeared. It had blood-red pupils, a wide, gaping maw, and a terrifyingly sinister expression. It floated in mid-air like a ghost, and the temperature in the hall immediately dropped as a cold wind swirled around.
"Gengarrrr!!" The roar was somewhat sharp and piercing.
Gengar.
An old acquaintance.
Red glanced at this Gengar. Unlike Ash's, which was soft and jelly-like, this one possessed the ferocity unique to Ghost-type Pokémon. Its physique was also more well-proportioned than Ash's, a clear sign of professional training.
Red was actually interested in sparring with this Gengar for a few rounds, but he had no other Pokémon on hand. Calling Mewtwo over would be a case of the strong bullying the weak.
"Geng, geng, geng~~"
Just as he had this thought, Red suddenly heard a familiar, somewhat manic cry from behind him.
He turned his head and saw another chubby, purplish-black fatty. It was picking its teeth, lazily drifting past over everyone's heads.
As a Ghost-type Pokémon, no wall in the world could stop it. It had simply drifted its way into the basement.
It was none other than Ash's Gengar, the one that was always on an urban romance hunt!
"Geng~"
Gengar greeted Red. Although Red was currently in the body of a bodyguard grunt, Gengar was, after all, the one who had guided Red's soul once before, so it was no stranger to him.
It was even pondering in its little head whether "Soul Red" was Ash's second personality.
"Perfect timing. Get down here and help me fight."
Red's eyes lit up. With a thought, he projected his battle intent.
"Geng!"
Feeling the immensely powerful battle intent latch onto it, Gengar's body trembled. It landed in front of the bodyguard Red, stood at attention, and felt its battle spirit surge.
Don't be fooled by its constant urban romance hunts; in its heart, it also longed for battle and to become the strongest.
And for Red, a man of battle, transferring his battle intent to his Pokémon was a basic technique.
"It's another Gengar..."
Zeus raised an eyebrow. He didn't believe the Gengar was just passing by. It seemed this kid had planned this long ago, setting up a Gengar in ambush here?
What a malicious heart!
However, Zeus quickly scoffed in disdain. The strength of the Gengar in front of him was clearly much lower than his own. It was used to being lazy and had no imposing might whatsoever.
If his own Gengar had a Combat Power of over thirty thousand, this one, at best, barely scraped the ten-thousand mark. It was nothing to worry about!
"Geng~~~"
But just as Zeus was feeling smug, his Gengar suddenly swayed its body shyly a few times. Then, with a flash of red light, it retreated into the Poké Ball on his belt, looking extremely ashamed.
Zeus: "?"
"Geng, geng, geng, geng!!"
Ash's Gengar, however, grinned from ear to ear. With its hands on its hips, its body trembled as it let out a maniacal laugh.
Did they really think its urban romance hunts were just a legend?
It had arrived in Celadon City five days before Ash and his group. What female Gengar in the city could escape its grasp?
In another ten months, Celadon City would be teeming with 6IV Gastly.
Seeing this, Red couldn't help but let out a wry laugh. He looked at the baffled Zeus opposite him and couldn't resist explaining:
"Yours is a female, mine is a male. When she runs into him... suddenly she's not so keen on fighting."
(end of chapter)