"Gengar, Hypnosis!"
Ash's command caught everyone off guard.
Even Grey hadn't expected that the usually impulsive, carefree Ash would actually go for a status move like Hypnosis!
"Heh heh, Dojo Master Grey, you didn't see this coming, did you! This is Gengar's and my trump card!"
Ash planted his fists on his hips and puffed out his chest, looking for all the world like the battle was about to swing his way.
After all, as long as Gengar's Hypnosis landed, Riolu would fall asleep.
It wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. At that point Riolu would be a fish laid out on the chopping board, just waiting to be carved up!
Ash figured that not even someone as strong as Grey could break this setup.
For him and Gengar, this was a strategy they'd put everything into.
Luckily, that Night Shade just now had shaved down the power of Crunch, and only because of that had Gengar managed to hang on.
Now, all his hopes were pinned on Hypnosis!
"Gengar, you can do it!"
Ash clenched his fist and cheered Gengar on.
"Gen!!!"
Gengar's blood-red eyes twisted eerily, its pupils spiraling into blue swirls like the spinning pattern on a Poliwhirl's belly.
A psychic field spread out from it as the center, ripples of faint violet light visibly shimmering in the air.
Those mental waves wrapped all around Riolu's head, and the glow on its forehead immediately started flickering, bright and dim.
Riolu's eyelids began to droop against its will, and the psychic light on its head slowly faded away.
It staggered forward a half-step, then collapsed onto the floor with a dull thud, dragged into a forced sleep.
Hypnosis—successful!
"Alright! You're awesome, Gengar! We did it!"
Seeing his plan work, Ash jumped nearly a meter straight up. He was one step away from rushing onto the field and hugging Gengar to celebrate.
With Riolu asleep, beating it was basically guaranteed!
This round? Free win!
Ash had even started thinking about where he'd go for a big celebratory dinner tonight, his grin so wide he nearly forgot they were still in the middle of a battle.
Fortunately he snapped back to reality quickly enough. Still floating in midair on the platform, he jabbed a finger forward. "Gengar, use Shadow Ball!"
Even with Riolu asleep, Ash chose to go for the strongest finishing blow he had!
"Gen!"
Gengar's movements sped up, only taking about five seconds from gathering power to throwing.
Two Shadow Balls flew from its hands one after another, blasting straight toward Riolu!
If Riolu couldn't wake up in time, there was a very real chance those blows would knock it out of the fight on the spot.
Gengar's base power was nothing to sneeze at, and Riolu's special defense was on the low side.
Ash took a quick look at Grey, curious what kind of expression he'd be wearing.
But Grey's face was as calm and relaxed as ever.
As if it weren't Riolu lying there asleep.
Or rather, as if Riolu being in that state just… didn't matter much to him at all.
In a flat, even tone, Grey said, "Sleep Talk."
"What move is that?"
Hearing the command, Ash's first reaction was pure confusion.
But it didn't take him long to catch on—obviously this had to be some move that counters sleep!
So he'd been waiting for this, huh?
"Rio zZ…"
Lying on the floor, Riolu slowly got back onto its feet, a little snot-bubble puffing in and out of its nose, the sound from its mouth clearly still that of someone snoring.
Everyone wanted to know which move Sleep Talk would roll for Riolu.
A flash of white light burst forth, and Riolu's figure went blurry.
Only afterimages were left behind where it had been. Trying to pinpoint Riolu's position by sight alone now would be next to impossible.
Quick Attack!
First use of Sleep Talk and it rolled Quick Attack—Riolu's luck wasn't bad at all.
With its speed shooting up, Gengar's Shadow Balls whiffed completely, smashing into the floor behind Riolu and kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
Riolu took the chance to close in on Gengar, but since it was just a Normal-type Quick Attack, it couldn't actually hit a Ghost-type like Gengar.
Whoosh!
The white streak passed straight through Gengar's gaseous body.
Seeing this, Gengar let out a cackling laugh, its grin turning progressively more twisted.
If Riolu had been awake, it might have been wary.
But as long as it was asleep, and Sleep Talk's result was this unstable, Gengar had no reason to be afraid at all.
This round, the advantage is mine!
Gengar's smile grew more savage, a Shadow Ball forming in its hand in an instant as it drew back to hurl it at the Riolu that had just phased through its body—
And then…
"Rio zZ…"
That same familiar snoring sound rang out again.
A chill shot up from the bottom of Gengar's heart, and before it could even react, its plump body was slammed away by a massive force!
Boom!!!
It shot across the field like a kicked rubber ball, crashing into the dojo wall hard enough to make the entire building give a faint shudder.
By the time it slid down to the floor, spirals were spinning in its eyes, its expression utterly blank. It clearly had no idea what had just happened.
"Gengar is unable to battle. Since all of the challenger's Pokémon can no longer continue fighting, the winner is Dojo Master Grey."
Silver announced the outcome, and on the dojo's big screen, Ash's large avatar icon faded to black.
This dojo challenge ended with Grey as the victor—again.
"Not bad. I'd give that last Hypnosis a solid seventy out of a hundred."
Grey applauded as he walked slowly up to Ash, giving him a nod of approval. "Using Night Shade to weaken Crunch and then taking that hit head-on so Gengar could land Hypnosis afterward."
"I have to admit, it was an extremely bold tactical idea. And it's because you have that kind of boldness that you were able to pull it off as well as you did."
"So…"
Grey took out the Fighting Dojo's badge and held it out to Ash. "This badge is my acknowledgement of you. Please, take it."
Ash stared at the badge lying in Grey's palm. Then he reached out— and pushed Grey's hand back.
"Dojo Master Grey, I lost this battle. I can't accept this badge."
[???]
[What's this kid saying?!]
[This is the Fighting Dojo's badge! Even if the League Conference doesn't officially recognize it yet, it's still a badge given out by Dojo Master Grey!]
[Yeah, everyone's seen what Grey can do. Why would this kid say no?!]
[Now this is the Ash I know.]
Ash's words set off a tidal wave in the livestream chat.
A lot of viewers just couldn't understand why he would refuse Grey's badge.
It was proof of strength, something only Trainers acknowledged by Grey could receive.
And yet Ash turned it down, just like that.
Without even the slightest hesitation.
"Dojo Master Grey, I'll challenge you again next time! I'll keep coming back until I defeat you fair and square—and then I'll take that badge. Until that day, I hope you'll hold onto it for me!"
Ash's voice was earnest and sincere.
He knew the gap between himself and Grey, so he'd dug a "hole" for his future self to fill in.
"Of course. I'll be looking forward to our next battle."
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