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What kind of divine power Venusaur possesses, Ash certainly won't reveal. For now, he keeps his focus on the battle.
Morty takes a deep breath, pushing the shock in his heart deep down.
Now that he knows why Venusaur is so strong, he can't afford to go head-to-head with it anymore.
He must exploit the special characteristics of Ghost-type Pokemon.
"Banette, use Mean Look!"
Technically, Banette shouldn't be able to learn Mean Look, but his Banette used some special methods to finally master it.
This move is essential to pair with another skill; without it, the other skill would lose its significance.
Despite struggling to float up from a pit, Banette's stitched seams had split open in several places, revealing a dark hollow inside, but its momentum hadn't diminished much; the previous attack hurt, but wasn't lethal.
A black beam flew out from Banette's body, hitting Venusaur at a speed as fast as lightning.
This skill prevents the Trainer from recalling their Pokemon into its Pokeball.
Unless Venusaur is incapacitated, Banette becomes unable to fight or is recalled, Ash can't swap Pokemon.
Ash had no intention of letting Venusaur dodge Mean Look; this energy, once targeted, is unavoidable unless he retrieves Venusaur into its Pokeball before the opponent makes a move.
Otherwise, there's no dodging it.
"Banette, use Curse!"
Upon hearing Morty's command, a strange ghostly purple light suddenly flared up on Banette's worn body.
That light condensed into a twisted rune, emanating a chilling aura. Meanwhile, Banette's own strength visibly drained away.
A Ghost-type Pokemon performing a curse must sacrifice half of its life force, causing the opponent's health to continuously drop; this attack can't be blocked by any move, not Detect nor Protect!
Until the Pokemon is recalled into the Pokeball, its health will continually deteriorate!
"Ash, make Venusaur dodge it!" Misty shouted from the audience.
The combination of Mean Look and Curse is almost certain to take down a Pokemon.
If it gets hit by the curse, even Venusaur's vast vitality will be doomed!
However, Ash showed no sign of having Venusaur evade or brace itself. Watching the curse rune taking shape, he smiled faintly and said:
"Venusaur, use Frenzy Plant."
"Venusaur!!!"
Venusaur let out an earth-shattering roar, slamming its four sturdy feet onto the ground!
"Boom——"
The entire Gym floor trembled violently at the stomp. Countless thick green vines erupted from the earth, each vine covered with hardened scales like dragon scales, with metallic gleams at their tips.
These vines surged angrily towards Banette like raging pythons!
Almost simultaneously——
The ghostly purple rune on Banette severed, snaking like a sinister serpent through the gaps in the spiraling vines, and embedded itself into Venusaur.
Meanwhile, countless hardened vines struck Banette solidly!
"Boom!!!"
A deafening explosion echoed in the Gym.
Banette's already damaged body took a direct hit from countless hardened vines, like a rag doll hit by a giant hammer, was blasted away, striking the Gym's barrier, then bounced to the ground, creating another pit.
Its body was covered in striking cracks, and its scarlet eyes lost all their luster.
This move inflicted massive damage on it, and coupled with the curse's backlash, its endurance was just like a flickering candle.
At the same time, Venusaur's body jerked. A ghostly purple aura emerged from within, clinging to its body like a barnacle, and began voraciously devouring its life force.
The curse had taken effect.
"Good!" Morty clenched his fists, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.
Losing face to face didn't matter, as long as the curse was effective, Venusaur would continue to lose its strength.
Given Banette sacrificed half its life force to cast the curse, even an Elite Four Peak Pokemon couldn't withstand for long!
He only needs to wait.
As for whether Banette can withstand Venusaur's subsequent assaults, Morty is confident.
Although Banette's strength now seemed like a flickering candle, Ghost-type Pokemon have plenty of unpredictable strategies; enduring a while against attacks isn't an issue at all.
By then, even if Venusaur hasn't lost the ability to fight, it can be heavily wounded, paving the way for the next Pokemon's appearance.
However, in the next second, Morty's expression froze.
The large flower on Venusaur's back suddenly bloomed with a soft, vibrant green light that mingled with the curse's ghostly purple, emitting a "ssss" sound as if water and fire met, negating each other.
Then, a scene unfolded that left everyone wide-eyed and open-mouthed——
The curse rune that had penetrated Venusaur was forcibly "expelled" by an invisible force!
The dark purple rune floated in mid-air, enveloped by a vibrant green light of life, dissolving and scattering at a speed visible to the naked eye, like snow meeting the scorching sun.
Within just a few breaths, the curse rune, strong enough to challenge Elite Four Peak-level Pokemon, completely turned into a wisp of smoke and dissipated into the air.
Venusaur shook its head, snorted loudly, and appeared as relaxed as if it had been bitten by a mosquito.
"How... is this possible..." Morty's voice was filled with disbelief.
That was a curse! One of the most insidious and pesky skills of the Ghost Type!
The combo of Curse and Mean Look would trouble even Champion-level Pokemon because the curse drains the target's health based on their maximum health.
No matter how strong you are or how high your life force is, should it be deducted by a percentage, you can only collapse in despair.
But what did Venusaur do? It expelled the curse directly!
Was he dreaming? How could such an unbelievable thing happen!!
Expelling a curse from the body should be a feat only the gods can manage, right? Even though Venusaur received the legacy of a Legendary Beast, it is merely at Elite Four Advanced Level, quite a distance away from true divinity!
"My Venusaur has unique abilities regarding life force; it is a natural counter to curse moves," Ash proactively revealed the reason Venusaur could break the curse.
Simply put, Xerneas's life force can suppress moves that deplete life towards death.
"At this level, such moves won't affect Venusaur at all. Let Yveltal come," Ash said with a confident face.
Of course, this statement was completely bragging.
Now, Venusaur merely received Xerneas's legacy without converting this power into its own.
Pokemons like Charizard and Gardevoir possess part of the gods' power, eventually turning it into their own.
Yet, Venusaur hasn't reached that stage.
Therefore, if Yveltal came here personally, Venusaur wouldn't last a second before collapsing.
"Yveltal... a name I haven't heard, but now I roughly understand. Seems dealing with your Venusaur can only be handled with conventional methods!"
Morty wasn't very familiar with gods from other regions, but it didn't stop him from recognizing Venusaur's uniqueness.
To defeat this Venusaur, none of the Ghost Type's unsettling moves would likely work; only through regular battle could it be defeated.
However... to make Venusaur endure the combo of curse and Mean Look, his Banette's physical strength was nearly at the freezing point.
Frankly speaking, now Banette truly isn't qualified to compete on the same stage with Venusaur.
But, as a Gym Trainer, he certainly wouldn't choose to give up; even with just a bit of strength remaining, he must fight desperately!
"Banette, use Trick!"
Morty's resounding voice echoed in the Gym.
Frenzy Plant had just been unleashed; generally, any Pokemon using such a powerful move will experience a brief lag period. It's common sense and Morty's only chance.
Since Venusaur cracked the curse in such an unbelievable manner, he can only seize this lag period for one last desperate attack!
Trick, a Ghost-type physical move.
The skill can 'defect' against items held by the opponent, attacking them from within, comparable in power to large skills like Thunder.
However, if the opponent doesn't hold any items, this skill fails, causing the user to fall into a lag. Hence, before using it, confirming the opponent holds an item is crucial, or the move will fail, and the user will become immobile.
Earlier, Banette used Knock Off, though it missed. Based on Ash's and Venusaur's reactions, Venusaur must be holding an item.
Therefore, Trick will succeed!
Even if this strike doesn't beat Venusaur, it must weaken Venusaur's strength as much as possible to set the stage for the next Pokemon to enter!
Banette struggled to float up from the pit, revealing a final eerie purple glow in its scarlet eyes!
In the next moment, a strange Ghost-type energy surged from within, converging like invisible tentacles towards Venusaur.
However, just as Trick was about to touch Venusaur, Morty heard the command that made his entire body stiffen once more—
"Venusaur, Frenzy Plant." Ash's voice rang out again, yet this command made Morty's heart stop, his pupils narrowed to a pinpoint, and his face filled with disbelief.
Frenzy Plant? Again?!
This is impossible! Venusaur just used Frenzy Plant, and twice consecutively at that!
A high-powered move like this can't possibly have no lag period, even Champion Peak Pokemons can't completely erase the lag of Frenzy Plant!
Nevertheless, Venusaur's response was a resounding roar.
"Anthea!!!"
Four sturdy paws again stomped the ground, countless hardened green vines, covered with tough keratin, burst forth from the earth!
The speed was astonishingly fast, the momentum even more fierce than before. Venusaur not only performed Frenzy Plant but also stronger than earlier!
Trick's energy hadn't even struck Venusaur's body before being shredded into fragments by the sprawling hardened vines.
Immediately, the vines relentlessly rushed towards Banette, engulfing its broken body entirely.
"Boom!!!"
Smoke filled the air and debris scattered.
When the vines receded, revealing the scene at the center of the field, Banette had completely lost consciousness, lying as still as a worn-out rag, unable to move again.
The venue fell silent.
No one had imagined Morty's first Pokemon would be defeated so effortlessly. The entire battle didn't even inflict any substantial damage on Venusaur!
Their levels were the same, yet the actual gap was so vast, significantly influenced by Morty's lack of information on Venusaur.
In opting for brute strength with Frenzy Plant to precisely hit the curse, which proved ineffective, Banette's own strength halved from the curse.
Then, attempting a desperate final effort, planning to cause as much damage as possible to Venusaur, employing Trick, a Ghost type's ultimate move.
Yet, Venusaur didn't endure Frenzy Plant's lag, countered with another Frenzy Plant, purely treating a grand move like a small skill!
In such an information void, despite equivalent levels, Banette was utterly defenseless, ultimately surrendering lying on the ground.
Morty's students watched in disbelief. They had never seen Morty being thrashed like this.
In their memory, Morty could hold his ground in battles even against trainers more formidable, often with a teaching approach.
Nobody had ever forced Morty to use his full strength.
This time, what Ash did was not only defeat Morty at full force but in a way that left him completely helpless!
"Banette is unable to battle! Venusaur wins!" After quite a delay, Maggie, acting as the referee, raised her hand and announced loudly.
Morty took a deep breath and recalled Banette into the Pokeball.
In the end, he hadn't managed any real damage to Venusaur!
Is this what it means to be the Rainbow Hero chosen by Ho-Oh? The trainer, Pokemon level, is on a completely different tier from anyone he's previously faced.
"I admit, your Venusaur is indeed strong." Morty's voice returned to calmness, but deep in his eyes was a new fervor of battle, "But this is just the first round; the battle has just begun."
He tossed the Pokeball high, and as the light flashed, an eerie silhouette appeared on the stage.
It was a Ghost and Poison dual type Pokemon, with a body entirely purple, its mouth stretched ear to ear bearing the signature wicked smile, and scarlet eyes glinting cunningly in the darkness.
Its edges appeared slightly blurred, as if ready to blend into shadows at any moment. Upon its arrival, the entire Gym seemed to drop a few degrees, an icy aura silently spreading.
Gengar, Morty's strongest ace, Ghost-type Pokemon with dual attributes!