Watching that scene, Misty's eyes widened in disbelief. "Huh? Is Natsui's Gengar going to battle!?"
"No way..." Ash's jaw dropped. "If it joins the fight, how can anyone win?"
As mentioned before, precisely because he understood it, the Pokémon Ash least wanted to face was Natsui's Gengar!
Beside them, Brock stroked his chin and sighed. "Gengar's participation seems inevitable now. But I'm not worried about that right now. Harrison doesn't know Natsui well, let alone the terror of this Gengar. How is he going to face it?"
The three fell silent, all casting a helpless glance towards Harrison.
In his rest area, Harrison naturally didn't know Ash's group was worried for him. When the break ended, he slapped his cheeks hard, forced himself to calm down, and walked onto the battlefield with a determined look.
No matter what, I have to win the upcoming battles!
However, upon reaching his trainer position and seeing Gengar beside Natsui on the other side, he was startled again!
What's the deal with this Gengar?
He had watched all of Natsui's matches since the start of the tournament but had never seen this Gengar battle.
Is it another hidden trump card!?
He was puzzled. And why did it feel like this Gengar was looking at him with... ill intent?
Most importantly, he had originally planned to send out his Hypno for the fourth round. But now, with a Gengar that counters Psychic-types present, he had to abandon that idea.
With no time to devise a new strategy, prompted by the referee, he quickly made a decision and took out his fourth Pokémon.
"Go, Swellow!"
As he threw the Poké Ball high, a flash of blue light revealed a large bird Pokémon soaring in the sky above!
Looking at this Pokémon, the announcer first identified it, then said in surprise, "Oh? Another Pokémon from the Hoenn region! It seems competitor Harrison has brought us another surprise!"
If possible, Harrison actually didn't want to use Hoenn Pokémon against Natsui.
After all, he came to Johto to catch new Pokémon and challenge the Silver Conference. What was the point of using Pokémon he caught back in Hoenn?
But this opponent was too strong, forcing him to use every means possible to defeat him!
Natsui looked up at the bird Pokémon.
As the evolved form of Taillow, Swellow resembled a barn swallow. Its feathers were mostly dark blue, with crimson markings on its neck, tail tip, and forehead. It was said that Swellow constantly moved in search of warmer lands, flying gracefully through the air or circling high above. Once it spots prey, it dives down, grabbing it tightly with its sharp talons!
Just like with Kecleon before, Natsui was very familiar with this type of Pokémon.
In fact, having played many modified games, the Hoenn region was the generation he was most familiar with, second only to Kanto!
Moreover, in the anime, Ash also caught a Swellow after traveling to Hoenn. Not just Natsui, but many spectators were not unfamiliar with Swellow at all.
Too bad I don't have a bird Pokémon myself, otherwise, I'd definitely have a bird battle with Harrison!
And his other Pokémon had all battled recently; none needed specific training.
Well, seems like Gengar has to go up now.
Turning to Gengar, Natsui jutted his chin forward. "This one's yours!"
"Gegege..." Gengar grinned widely and floated onto the battlefield. "Leave it to me! Finally, some fun!"
As it reached the center of the field, under everyone's gaze, Gengar remained silent this time—speaking might cause too much commotion. It simply beckoned to Swellow with its finger, a half-smile on its face. This simple gesture was dripping with provocation and instantly ignited Swellow's fury!
Even as a Taillow, it refused to admit defeat and was very proud. After evolving into Swellow, its pride grew, and it wouldn't tolerate anyone challenging its authority!
When the battle began, Harrison, the trainer, also adopted a rather aggressive approach.
Under his command, Swellow launched a fierce assault. It started with Focus Energy, concentrating its mind to make subsequent attacks more likely to hit critical spots!
Then, it used Aerial Ace, swooping past Gengar's head at high speed, then sharply turning back, diving down to attack.
Natsui stood with his hands in his pockets in his trainer area, showing no intention of speaking.
It seemed he had completely entrusted this battle to Gengar!
Just as Swellow was about to hit Gengar, Gengar suddenly transformed—into a bird net—and caught Swellow inside!
"What!?"
Seeing this, not only did Harrison's face change drastically, but the announcer and audience were also utterly astonished!
"Incredible!" the announcer yelled. "How did it do that? It can change its body shape? Did it use Hypnosis on all of us!?"
Unlike the bewildered onlookers, Ash and his friends knew exactly how powerful this Gengar was.
Before evolving into Gengar, even as a Gastly, it had displayed amazing transformation abilities back at Maiden's Peak, changing not just into humans or Pokémon, but even inanimate objects. Moreover, it could speak human language, completely different from any Gastly they had encountered since!
After the initial panic, Harrison finally reacted. He shouted loudly, "Swellow, break out quickly!"
Swellow struggled desperately inside the net, trying to break free. But being formed from Gengar's body, how could it possibly break it?
Fortunately, Gengar was just playing with it. After letting it struggle for a while, Gengar laughed heartily, reverted to its original form, and released Swellow.
Swellow quickly flew high into the air, looking down at Gengar with lingering fear!
Its instincts told it this Gengar was extremely powerful, and its personality seemed rather... malicious!
In his trainer area, Harrison rubbed his temples, finding it hard to believe what had just happened. He tried to convince himself it was an illusion, but a voice inside kept telling him it was real!
Forcing himself to calm down, Harrison looked up and commanded Swellow again. "Don't be afraid! This time we attack from a distance! Use Air Cutter!"
Swellow flapped its wings, sending two crescent-shaped blades of pressurized air shooting towards Gengar!
Gengar grinned widely, its body instantly sinking down and disappearing into its own shadow. The two Air Cutter blades passed through the spot where Gengar had been, hitting nothing.
"It... disappeared!"
The announcer's eyes widened as he searched frantically for Gengar. But unlike Harrison's Kecleon, Gengar had truly vanished from the field!
Can it turn invisible too!?
"Where did it go?" Harrison also wondered. As the trainer, unlike the spectating crowd, he was genuinely panicked!
Battling ordinary Pokémon, even those much stronger than his own, had never made him feel this way. But facing this Gengar with its unpredictable abilities, he felt an inexplicable panic, completely lacking confidence!
Fear stems from the unknown!
In mid-air, Swellow was also searching everywhere for Gengar. But even from above, with its sharp eyesight, it couldn't find it.
Just then, it heard a sound suddenly come from behind. Before it could turn, it heard its trainer shout, "Behind you!"
Startled, Swellow quickly turned, only to see a giant fly swatter slapping down towards it. It felt a heavy impact, everything went black, and its body uncontrollably plummeted, crashing onto the ice!
Shaking its head, the dizziness slightly subsided. Before it could get up, it looked up and saw Gengar back in its original form, floating above it.
Now it understood. This wretched Gengar wasn't fighting seriously at all; it was just toying with it!
Letting out an angry cry, Swellow flew back into the air. Its pride burned with fury, and it lost all reason!
Its body seemed to ignite with a blue flame, its aura surging. It tucked in its wings and charged fiercely at Gengar!
"It's Brave Bird!" the announcer shouted. "It's clear that after being repeatedly toyed with by Gengar, Swellow can no longer control its anger and is going for broke!"
As expected of a Pokémon Harrison brought out in the second half, part of his core lineup, its strength was indeed considerable. It even knew an advanced move like Brave Bird!
But even such an attack couldn't easily harm Gengar!
Facing Swellow's all-out assault, Gengar remained unconcerned. Rings of light emanated from its eyes, flying towards Swellow. But the enraged Swellow didn't even think of dodging, charging straight through the rings towards Gengar!
"Swellow..."
Harrison naturally knew what those rings were—Hypnosis, a move many Pokémon could use!
He watched Swellow worriedly, wanting to recall the frenzied Pokémon but hesitating.
Swellow had just used Brave Bird without his command. Although this move wasn't as powerful as the similarly named Sky Attack, it was still extremely strong. If it actually hit Gengar, it might knock it out in one hit.
Moreover, Hypnosis wasn't 100% accurate. With Swellow's current speed and anger, it might even resist the hypnosis!
But conversely, Brave Bird would also cause recoil damage to Swellow, making him worry for his Pokémon. And if it missed, this round would essentially be lost!
While he hesitated, Gengar, watching the rapidly approaching Swellow, revealed a cold smirk.
Trying to break through my Hypnosis like this?
You underestimate me!
As its eyes widened, the slowly emitted Hypnosis waves suddenly became rapid, and their color changed to purplish-black!
Affected by this power, Swellow's eyes suddenly glazed over for a moment.
In that instant, the effect of Hypnosis began to take hold!
Its thoughts seemed to freeze. It felt increasingly drowsy, and the target before it began to blur!
At such high speed, the distance across the battlefield was covered in an instant. But in that moment of distraction, its body dipped downwards. When it forced its eyes open slightly, it was shocked to find its flight path had diverged from Gengar, heading straight for the ground!
It was too late to change course. Affected by Hypnosis, it instantly lost consciousness. And 0.01 seconds later, Swellow's body slammed heavily onto the ice!
CRASH!
The powerful impact shattered the ice layer, revealing the frozen earth beneath. Aside from scattered snowflakes landing in front of Gengar, there was no other effect!
"Swellow!" Harrison cried out in alarm. Everything had happened too fast for him to react!
If only he hadn't gambled just now and had recalled Swellow earlier.
But it was too late for regrets now. Besides, even if he hadn't used Swellow, he didn't know which of his Pokémon could handle this peculiar Gengar.
"What an eye-opening... uh... battle..." the announcer said. "Competitor Natsui's Gengar defeated Swellow in a peculiar way. It must be said that, besides his Crystal Steelix, he has once again brought us a surprise!"
After defeating Swellow, Gengar returned to Natsui's side, grinning as brightly as a blooming chrysanthemum.
"Not bad," it commented on the battle itself before Natsui could speak. "Although it wasn't enough to really stretch my muscles, at least it was fun."
Natsui shook his head helplessly. Saying such things privately was one thing, but if the opponent heard it, they would definitely be furious.
Your strong Pokémon was injured, toyed with, and made a desperate last stand, only for it to be just 'fun' for you?
Anyone would find that unbearable. A hot-headed person might even try to take Gengar down with them!
Even Natsui himself felt Gengar's words were infuriating, but... what could he do, it was his Pokémon. He had to endure it.
Fortunately, after Swellow was defeated, Harrison saw from afar that Gengar simply floated beside Natsui, seemingly uninterested in another round, which brought him some relief.
At least I don't have to face that opponent again...
But his situation was now even more dire. With his fourth Pokémon defeated, his elimination seemed closer than ever!
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