At this point, both sides had lost one Pokémon each, and Magmortar, in exchange for taking a full-power Hydro Pump, had taken Sharpedo off the field.

So technically speaking, Sato still held a slight advantage.

After recalling Sharpedo's Poké Ball, Sato didn't waste time and immediately "sent out" his next Pokémon.

"Gengar."

"Gengen~"

There was no visible 'throw' from Sato. With its golden eyes, Gengar silently appeared on the battlefield.

"…Battle continues!" The referee wasn't in the mood to say even one extra word and gave the announcement quickly.

"Magmortar, Fire Blast!"

"Gengar, Shadow Ball."

On the first exchange, both sides seemed to be probing each other. Fire Blast and Shadow Ball collided mid-field and exploded on impact.

When the smoke cleared, Gengar had, as expected, vanished.

Flint frowned. As a pure Fire-type Pokémon, Magmortar had already struggled to learn Thunderbolt; it had few other tools to deal with a Pokémon hidden in the shadows.

"Magmortar, Sunny Day!"

If you can't hit it, then buff up!

Flint clearly wasn't one to hesitate and gave his command decisively.

Magmortar obediently cast a bright "sun" and threw it into the sky above the field. Harsh sunlight poured down, and the temperature instantly rose.

And just as Magmortar threw the "sun," Sato's voice rang out.

"Toxic!"

Splat~

The words had barely left his mouth when Magmortar's back was splattered with a dose of poison. White smoke hissed up from the sizzling impact, and Magmortar let out a pained roar.

"Venoshock."

Splat~

Sato's command and Gengar's attack once again came nearly simultaneously. No one knew when Gengar had snuck up beside Magmortar, but the Venoshock hit it full force.

Venoshock doubles in power against a poisoned target!

This combo alone nearly cut Magmortar's health/stamina in half. The two-meter-tall brute now looked almost pitiful under Gengar's relentless assault.

"MAGMORTAR, LAVA PLUME!"

Flint shouted, and Magmortar reacted instantly. Its cannon-like arms extended forward and unleashed a massive plume of smoke filled with glowing embers.

Sato figured it out by now: this Magmortar specialized in "smoke-based" tactics. Both Clear Smog and Lava Plume were launched incredibly fast.

Before Gengar had even finished its Venoshock, the Lava Plume was already blasting straight toward it.

No way to dodge!

Empowered by Sunny Day, Lava Plume hit Gengar head-on, dealing major damage.

---

"Toxic and Venoshock, huh? Doesn't that hurt Magmortar? And yet it still reacts that fast!" Mark clutched Joseph's arm, worried about Gengar but also impressed.

"…Flint is one of Sinnoh's young stars. As a candidate for Elite Four, of course he has some deadly moves."

Volkner, cold as ever, chimed in with a flat voice… but there was unmistakable pride hidden in his tone.

"Joseph! LOOOOK! The stone-faced guy smiled~" Mark pointed dramatically at Volkner's slight smirk, looking as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"…I didn't!" Volkner instantly returned to his usual expression and denied it firmly.

"No, you did~"

"…I did not!"

"You totally did~ I just saw you smile!" Mark said with full confidence, like a dumb rooster that had just won a fight.

"…Fine, I smiled." Volkner gave up the struggle, deciding not to speak to the idiot next to him anymore.

"Hehehe~ I knew it…"

"Enough. Watch the battle!" Joseph grabbed Mark's head and turned it toward the field, stopping him from digging any deeper.

---

On the battlefield, Gengar and Magmortar were locked in a stalemate.

Gengar's movements were erratic and unpredictable. Against Pokémon with weaker willpower, it wouldn't take long for them to mentally break, and then Gengar would finish them off with ease.

But maybe Magmortar had soaked in too much magma over the years. Its pain tolerance was freakishly high. Even under Badly Poisoned status, it could still track down Gengar's attacks and counter immediately.

And thanks to those cannon-like arms, Magmortar's moves were lightning-fast and had wide coverage, making it difficult for Gengar to dodge completely.

To make matters worse, Gengar had been Burned!

And in terms of stamina, the Ghost-type Gengar couldn't compare to the physically bulky Magmortar.

'Hang in there, Magmortar! At least take Gengar down with you!' Flint silently prayed in his heart.

With the threat of Destiny Bond, he didn't dare switch to another Pokémon. His only option was to keep Magmortar trading blows with Gengar.

Both fainting together… that was the best outcome Flint could hope for.

Meanwhile, Sato, watching the heavily breathing Magmortar, understood exactly what Flint was trying to do.

In full-team battles, if a Ghost-type Pokémon didn't take down at least one opponent, it was a disgrace…

Taking down only one meant an average performance.

Beating two meant it had done its job.

But taking out three? That was excellence.

Sato remembered how, three years ago at the Young Elite Tournament, Phoebe could easily go 2v1, and if her opponents were weak, 3v1 wasn't rare either.

Sato didn't think he was on Phoebe's level when it came to Ghost-types yet, but letting Gengar get beaten by Magmortar that easily…

'She'd totally mock me next time we meet,' Sato thought. But his voice didn't hesitate. "Gengar, Hex."

Hex: doubles in power if the opponent has a status condition. It was essentially an upgraded version of Venoshock, effective against any abnormal status.

Just as Gengar appeared once again, unleashing a black beam of energy at lightning speed, Flint was about to give a command.

…Only to realize something was wrong with Magmortar.

BOOM!

Magmortar crashed to the ground, while Gengar landed quietly, enduring the flames that still sparked across its body.

"Magmortar has lost the ability to battle. Gengar is victorious. Trainer Flint, please send out your next Pokémon."

"Hex, huh… What a troublesome move." Flint muttered to himself as he slowly recalled Magmortar into its Poké Ball.

Looking at the barely-standing Gengar on the field, Flint didn't feel relieved. If anything, he looked even more serious.

"Trainer Flint, please send out your next Pokémon!" The referee raised his voice again to keep things fair, since Gengar was still suffering from Burn damage.

"Guess this is how it has to be… Flareon, it's on you now." Flint sighed helplessly and threw his third Poké Ball.

A flash of red light, and the small Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.

"Battle continues!"

"Flareon… Roar!"

Sato: "…"

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200 Ps - Chap

Patron/Romeloff