Boom!
The floor blew open into a crater under the recoil.
Riolu thrust its arm straight forward!
Clang, clang!
Metal Claw ripped through the air with a sharp, ringing screech, slashing precisely toward that twisted mass of purple energy it could see in its aura vision!
The gale from the strike reached the target before Riolu itself, forcibly tearing open a gap in the surrounding Night Shade!
The darkness scattered, three streaks of silver light flashing into view for everyone to see as Riolu suddenly leapt up, lunging straight at the Gengar in front of it!
"Gengar! Hurry, use Shadow Ball!"
Seeing Riolu stab in, Ash hastily called out a command to Gengar.
"Gen!" (I know!)
Gengar let out a low shout, its chubby little hands rising in front of it as a pitch-black sphere of energy condensed out of thin air!
Shadow Ball!
Ghost-type power brewed within it, distorting the air as it swelled, a chill spreading outward in all directions, driving everything around it down toward freezing.
Riolu lunged in, the silver light in its hand not dodging at all, but stabbing straight into the Shadow Ball Gengar had just formed!
Boom!!!
Almost the very next instant after Metal Claw pierced the Shadow Ball, the sphere buckled under the strain and exploded where it floated.
Ghost-type energy erupted outward. Inky-black smoke roared from the shattered Shadow Ball, swallowing both Riolu and Gengar inside!
"Gen!"
Gengar's voice echoed from within the smoke, a surge of solid power rippling out toward Riolu, trying to blast it back to a safer distance!
But Riolu's other hand was clamped tightly onto Gengar, the silver glow from its palm stretching longer, the energy claw digging into Gengar's ghostly body. Even with the blast of force, it couldn't be flung away very far.
Close-quarters tactics—successful!
"Gen!" (Not good!)
No matter how Gengar twisted and thrashed, it just couldn't shake Riolu off. Its expression changed in an instant.
"Crunch!"
Grey didn't pause for even a heartbeat. His command followed without mercy.
Crunch, a Dark-type move with 80 base power.
Against a fragile Ghost-type like Gengar, as long as it landed cleanly, the win was practically guaranteed.
Still clamped onto Gengar, Riolu opened its mouth wide. A jet-black light flickered between its teeth as Dark-type energy surged forth, the pressure from it alone making Gengar instinctively jerk a half-step back.
Dark-type energy really was disgusting…
Enough to make even a ghost feel sick.
"Gengar, use Night Shade!"
Compared to a Shadow Ball that needed to be thrown, Ash pinned his hopes on Night Shade instead, hoping the move could force Riolu away!
"Gen!" (Got it!)
Gengar was thinking the same thing Ash was. With Riolu's claws buried in its arm, there was no way it could perform the motion needed to lob a Shadow Ball—its options were limited, and among the moves it had left, Night Shade still packed the best punch.
Its power all depended on the user's own strength.
And Gengar's strength wasn't bad at all. There was a real chance it could make Riolu let go.
"Keh keh keh~" (Now… rise!)
A low growl burst from Gengar's mouth as ghost-type energy surged out like a tide, splashing across the air as if someone had thrown ink, staining the entire space.
Darkness followed in its wake, as if it had swallowed the lights whole, plunging everything into gloom.
Riolu suddenly snapped its jaws wide, black Dark-type energy condensing between its fangs!
A set of energy fangs formed out of nowhere in front of Riolu, colliding in midair with the Night Shade surging off Gengar's body!
Boom!!!
At the point where the two forces met, a purple-black explosion of light flared out, like two black holes gnawing at each other.
The shockwave shattered all the frost on the floor, grinding it to glittering dust that drifted away on the air.
The two sides fell into a strange equilibrium as ripples of force spread outward.
The gusts tugged at Grey's and Ash's clothes.
But the looks in their eyes were very different.
Ash was watching the darkness with outright worry, his face full of emotion.
Grey, on the other hand, wasn't concerned at all—he simply watched the field calmly.
[Where's the lighting guy? Turn the lights back on already! Second time! What are we even supposed to be looking at here?!]
[That's just how Night Shade is. You can treat it like drawing both Pokémon into a little "domain." Only they know what's going on inside.]
[Keh keh keh… that challenger kid's Gengar's actually been trained pretty well. But how the heck is it from Pallet Town…]
[I still think Dojo Master Grey's Riolu is stronger. But why hasn't it evolved into Lucario yet?]
[No clue. Maybe the time just isn't right.]
The barrage had plenty of questions. Most of them boiled down to one thing: why hadn't Grey's Riolu evolved yet?
Based on the usual streams, Grey and Riolu's relationship should be really good.
So why hadn't either of his two Riolu evolved?
The audience couldn't figure it out.
No way both Riolu just slept in every morning and only came out at night to throw hands, right?
"Mi-o~"
At that moment, the camera abruptly swung over to the side, landing on the little Riolu collapsed in the middle of a pile of food.
It was chomping away, mouth stuffed full, with empty snack bags and burger wrappers scattered all around.
"Mii-oo~" (So tasty, so tasty. That's a wrap for today, hehe~)
Little Riolu flopped down in a comfy-looking spot, placing both hands atop its slightly bulging belly—which was already a fair bit bigger than Grey's battling Riolu's.
Honestly, next to Little Riolu, Grey's Riolu really did start to look like the "little" one.
[If this thing evolves into Lucario, would it really be able to fire off Aura Sphere?]
[Any Trainers from Sinnoh here? Do you guys have Riolu like this over there?]
[I'm clipping this, no question. This has gotta be a Kanto-exclusive Riolu with Gluttony as its Ability.]
[Yeah, yeah, this is Riolu (Kanto form), Abilities Gluttony and Thick Fat.]
Watching it eat until it passed out, happily patting its full stomach, the viewers more or less put the pieces together.
This was one of those "when the top beam's crooked, all the lower beams lean" situations.
Crack—!
A crisp sound like shattering glass split the silence.
The set of fangs formed from Dark-type energy brute-forced a jagged tear through the Night Shade!
Riolu seized that fleeting instant. Veins bulged on its forehead as it forced its way forward, pushing against the leftover tide of ghost-type power.
"Gen!"
The energy fangs clamped down precisely on Gengar's round belly. The super effective Dark-type hit brought a searing wave of pain, dragging a shrill scream out of Gengar.
Purple-black ghost-type energy spewed wild from the bite wound. The curtain of darkness shriveled up like a punctured balloon, deflating in an instant.
That one brutal strike had almost taken Gengar out of the fight completely.
"Rio…"
Riolu wasn't in much better shape. Night Shade attacked from all directions, and Crunch could only block one side.
The rest of the onslaught had still landed, leaving Riolu gulping for breath, its stamina clearly not in a great place.
Grey lifted his hand and jabbed it toward the field. "Riolu, Zen Headbutt!"
Riolu barely managed to gather a faint violet-pink glow at its forehead as it prepared to step forward and slam into Gengar again with everything it had.
Hearing Grey's command, a faint smile flickered across Ash's face.
"Gengar, Hypnosis!"
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