Chapter 65: Violet City, Battle Against Falkner
Pokémon: Gengar (Shiny)
Level: 39
Gender: Male
Height: 1.5m
Weight: 40.5kg
Ability: Cursed Body
Moves: Ice Punch (Egg Move), Shadow Punch, Hypnosis
"Hmm, too bad it changed to Cursed Body," Ryan said, looking at the data. "Wait, can I modify this?"
Ryan noticed the editable icon in the ability column and immediately clicked it. Sure enough, the ability changed from Cursed Body to Levitate.
"System, can previous abilities be changed too?" Ryan asked curiously.
"Ding. Affirmative," the system replied.
Ryan nodded. Gengar definitely preferred Levitate—Cursed Body was too situational. After recalling Gengar, Ryan continued his journey, finally emerging from the Ilex Forest before nightfall. He returned the Noctowl to the shrine keeper's assistant and, after resting for the night at the shrine, set out again for Violet City.
A week later, Ryan finally saw the symbol of Violet City—the Sprout Tower. He quickly went to the Pokémon Center to heal his team. After grabbing a meal there, he located the Violet Gym.
It wasn't hard to find—after all, the massive glider circling in the sky was visible to anyone. Following the glider's flight path, Ryan arrived at the Violet Gym.
Gym Leader Falkner was delighted to see Ryan. "I know you! You're the Orange League Champion. I didn't expect you to challenge the Johto League this year. Let's have a proper Gym Battle!" he said, leading Ryan up the elevator to the rooftop Sky Battlefield.
Standing at the battle arena, Falkner announced, "This will be a three-on-three battle, and it ends when all three Pokémon are unable to continue. My first choice is this! Go, Skarmory!"
Seeing Skarmory on the field, Ryan suddenly felt a headache coming on. Skarmory naturally possessed incredible defense, and its Steel/Flying typing meant only Fire and Electric moves dealt super-effective damage, while most other types were resisted. Combined with its naturally high Defense stat, it was a nightmare to face.
"Gengar, you're up first!" Ryan sent out his newest team member.
"Geng-gar!" Gengar appeared, circling around Skarmory while phasing in and out of visibility. Its mischievous personality clearly hadn't changed.
"I won't hold back! Skarmory, Spikes, then Drill Peck!" Falkner commanded.
"Gengar, Confuse Ray," Ryan countered.
Skarmory quickly scattered sharp metal spikes across the battlefield, which then embedded themselves invisibly in the field. Skarmory immediately spun into a drilling motion, its beak aimed at Gengar. Just then, Gengar's Confuse Ray activated, strange lights dancing directly toward Skarmory.
"Pull up! Don't give it any openings," Falkner shouted.
Skarmory immediately ascended, dodging the confusing lights. It then dove with another Drill Peck aimed at Gengar. Taking advantage of Gengar's evasive maneuver, it followed up with a powerful Steel Wing attack, striking with remarkable effectiveness.
"Skarmory, don't give it a chance! Consecutive Steel Wing!" Falkner called out.
Skarmory relentlessly hammered Gengar with Steel Wing attacks, leaving it no opportunity to counterattack.
"Falkner, you're very strong. But you forgot one thing: Ghost-type Pokémon are most dangerous when they're at low health," Ryan said with a smirk. "Gengar, Pain Split, then Hypnosis."
Gengar, despite being battered by Skarmory's assault, suddenly broke into a maniacal laugh. A dark shadow instantly connected Gengar and Skarmory, and Gengar became energized as if given a second wind, while Skarmory immediately looked winded.
Gengar phased through space, appearing directly in front of Skarmory, and cast Hypnosis right in its face, sending it into a deep sleep before it crashed heavily to the ground.
"Now finish it with Dream Eater," Ryan commanded with satisfaction.
Gengar cackled and dove into Skarmory's unconscious form, then emerged licking its lips with its oversized tongue, apparently having enjoyed a pleasant dream. Skarmory had lost its ability to battle.
"Return, Skarmory! I was careless," Falkner admitted. "The next one won't go down so easily. Go, Noctowl!"
"Keep fighting, Gengar," Ryan said. "Use Curse."
Gengar laughed maniacally as it instantly lost half its remaining health. A dark shadow descended from above and burrowed into Noctowl's body.
"We need to end this quickly. Noctowl, Foresight, then Zen Headbutt!" Falkner commanded.
A red light flashed from Noctowl's eyes, instantly revealing Gengar's exact location and negating its Ghost-type immunities. Noctowl then unleashed a Zen Headbutt, slamming into Gengar with psychic force.
"Did you think that was Gengar's full speed? Gengar, stop playing around! Ice Punch!" Ryan called out.
Gengar dropped its playful expression, a wicked grin spreading across its face. It darted forward and appeared beside Noctowl, icy energy gathering around its fist as it delivered a freezing punch. Noctowl screeched in pain and plummeted toward the ground.
"Hang in there! You can do it!" Falkner's students cheered from the sidelines.
"Don't give up, Noctowl!" Falkner shouted.
Amid the crowd's encouragement, Noctowl spread its wings again and soared back into the sky.
"Hypnosis!" both Ryan and Falkner shouted simultaneously.
Both Pokémon immediately engaged in a hypnotic duel, each trying to put the other to sleep. Both Pokémon landed on the ground and fell into slumber.
Then, Noctowl's face contorted in pain as the Curse took effect, and it fainted.
"So close," Falkner sighed with regret as he recalled Noctowl.
"Return, Gengar. You did excellent work. Falkner, you fought really well. My Gengar was caught off-guard by your Foresight, so it wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. Let's move to the final round," Ryan said respectfully.
"Since you put it that way, I won't hold anything back. Go, Pidgeot!" Falkner sent out his ace.
"Let's have a battle of speed. Pheromosa, you're up!" Ryan declared. "High speed spin and clear away those Spikes!"
As Pheromosa appeared, it spun gracefully in the air, creating a powerful whirlwind that swept away all the metal spikes hidden across the battlefield. It landed elegantly and gazed at Pidgeot with a haughty expression.
"I've never seen this Pokémon before—it looks like a Bug-type, and very fast too. But we won't lose! Pidgeot, Agility, then Wing Attack!"
Pidgeot used Agility to boost its speed, then instantly accelerated behind Pheromosa, its wings glowing white as it struck. Pheromosa smirked, needing no command from Ryan.
With a single graceful leap, it dodged Pidgeot's attack, then stomped down with a devastating High Jump Kick, knocking Pidgeot to the ground.
"Show it what real speed looks like. Triple Kick!" Ryan commanded.
Pheromosa kicked Pidgeot away, then lunged forward and sent it flying high into the air. Following up with a single bound, it spun several times to build momentum before delivering a powerful axe-kick, bringing Pidgeot down hard.
"Pidgeot!" Falkner cried out.
"Finish it with Lunge!" Ryan shouted.
Pheromosa accelerated through the air, striking Pidgeot with both feet in a devastating final blow. A cloud of dust billowed up. When it settled, Pidgeot was unconscious. Pheromosa placed one hand on its hip, looking at Falkner and his students with a proud expression that seemed to say: "You want to compete with me in speed? You clearly don't know what speed really is."
"Pidgeot is unable to battle! The winner is Ryan from Pallet Town!" the referee announced.
Falkner approached with a smile, extending his hand. "That was an incredible battle! Your Pokémon's speed and strategy were amazing. Here, you've earned this—the Zephyr Badge!"
Ryan accepted the silver wing-shaped badge with pride. His Johto League challenge had officially begun.
(End of Chapter)
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