"I lost the first match, but I won't let you win the next one so easily. Go—Haunter!"
After recalling the Gastly that had lost its ability to battle, Morty threw another Poké Ball onto the battlefield.
A flash of white light appeared.
When the light faded, a purple Pokémon floated before Ash. It was Gastly's evolution—Haunter. Its floating purple body and disembodied hands gave it the eerie appearance of a ghost.
"Kirlia."
Ash calmly spoke a name.
The Poké Ball at his waist automatically opened, releasing another Pokémon onto the field. Floating gracefully opposite Haunter was Kirlia.
"Kirlia~"
Kirlia floated lightly in the arena. Its delicate appearance and gentle expression made it look almost like a cheerful young girl.
"That's Master's Kirlia," said Emiya Shirō while observing the battlefield.
"A Psychic-type Pokémon. Psychic-types and Ghost-types restrain each other."
"Master's Kirlia is already at the Champion level, while Morty's Haunter is only in the late Elite stage. There's an entire tier of difference between them."
"This battle is very advantageous for Master."
Although Ash looked calm during the previous match, Shirō had been extremely nervous. For a moment, he had even thought Sceptile might lose.
"This is troublesome…" Morty muttered as he looked at Kirlia.
"I thought it would be easier this time."
"I didn't expect that in less than half a year of traveling through Johto, he would already raise his Pokémon to the peak of the Champion level."
For the first time, Morty felt a sense of powerlessness in battle.
"But no matter what, it's still valuable experience for me to fight with all my strength."
"Haunter—use Mean Look!"
"Haunter!"
Haunter's eyes suddenly glowed red. A dark light shot toward Kirlia.
The move itself had no offensive power, but it locked onto the opponent, preventing them from escaping.
In other words, Ash could no longer switch Pokémon in this battle.
Unless Kirlia lost the ability to fight or defeated Haunter, she could not return to her Poké Ball.
"Haunter, use Confuse Ray!"
A beam of multicolored energy shot from Haunter's hands and rushed toward Kirlia. If it hit, Kirlia would fall into a confused state.
"Confusion."
At Ash's command, Kirlia's eyes glowed blue.
An invisible psychic barrier formed instantly.
Haunter's Confuse Ray collided with the barrier like it had struck a transparent wall. The two energies clashed for a moment before Kirlia's stronger psychic power completely blocked the attack.
"Use Disarming Voice."
A soft yet powerful blue ripple of sound spread from Kirlia's mouth.
The high-frequency sound caused many spectators to instinctively cover their ears. Haunter tried to block the sound as well, but it was still affected.
Disarming Voice was a Fairy-type move. Against Ghost-types, it only dealt half damage, but it was still effective.
"Release your psychic power," Ash continued calmly.
Kirlia stretched out her hands. A vast surge of blue psychic energy erupted from her body, materializing visibly before everyone's eyes.
Both Kirlia and Haunter possessed abilities that restrained each other. In this battle, the victor would be determined by who could maintain the stronger offensive pressure.
"Psychic Hand."
The blue psychic energy instantly condensed into a massive giant hand that swept toward Haunter with unstoppable force.
"Haunter, use Shadow Ball!"
Haunter quickly condensed two dark Shadow Balls and hurled them toward the incoming psychic hand.
Boom! Boom!
Two explosions echoed across the battlefield.
But when the smoke cleared, the giant psychic hand remained largely intact.
"What?! It didn't work?" Morty frowned.
He had never seen a technique like Kirlia's Psychic Hand before.
In reality, the Shadow Balls had done some damage. However, the hand was formed entirely from Kirlia's psychic energy. Any damage could simply be repaired with more psychic power.
If Morty looked closely, he would notice that the giant hand was slightly smaller than before.
"Psychic Shuriken."
Suddenly, the massive psychic hand shattered apart.
The blue energy instantly transformed into countless kunai-like blades of psychic power, raining down toward Haunter.
There were simply too many.
With that overwhelming number of attacks, there was almost nowhere left for Haunter to escape.
"I can't dodge it… Haunter, use Payback!"
Looking at the countless blue psychic blades filling the battlefield, Morty immediately realized that avoiding the attack was impossible. Instead, he ordered Haunter to endure the attack and counter with Payback.
Payback was a Dark-type move. After enduring an opponent's attack, its power would double when retaliating. It was a very useful counterattack technique.
"Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!"
The psychic blades struck Haunter one after another.
Haunter cried out as the attacks pierced through its body.
Although Kirlia's attack manifested as physical blades, they were actually condensed psychic energy—essentially an elemental attack.
Because of that, Haunter's invisibility provided no protection.
The attack dealt real damage.
From the very start of the match, Haunter had already fallen into a disadvantage.
Meanwhile, Ash quietly observed the battle.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun slowly as he analyzed Kirlia's condition.
"Kirlia's cells are gradually reaching saturation," Ash murmured.
"Even if this battle didn't happen, a few more hours of training would probably have been enough for her to evolve."
Through his enhanced perception, Ash could clearly see the activity within Kirlia's body.
During battle, the cells inside a Pokémon constantly grow and develop.
However, cells make up an enormous biological system. Fully developing every cell is extremely difficult.
As long as a living creature moves or fights, its cells naturally continue growing, gradually unlocking its hidden potential.
But among the countless cells within the body, the growth of just one or two cells alone would hardly make any noticeable difference.
(End of Chapter)
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