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"Elite Four Peak..." Ash squinted his eyes, taking in the information of the Gengar.
This Gengar's strength was a notch above that of Banette, just a step away from Champion Level. Moreover, Gengar's speed and special attack were exceptionally outstanding, a typical speed attack type Pokémon, completely different from Venusaur's defensive stamina type.
"I didn't expect Gym Leader Morty to bring out his trump card Pokémon so quickly; has Venusaur forced him into a corner?" murmured a student watching the battle.
"That's not it! Gym Leader Morty must want a quick fight. I think that Venusaur must be Ash's trump card; as long as he deals with that Pokémon, the others will be no threat!" complained another bystander named Ah Xiang.
It seemed he harbored a blind admiration for Morty, like Victor did for his father.
On the battlefield, Ash, upon seeing Gengar, had a glint of nostalgia in his eyes: "Gengar... it's been a while since I battled with you."
Hearing Ash's words, Morty immediately understood that Ash must also have a Gengar, but it was unknown if Ash had brought it along for this battle.
"Return, Venusaur." Ash recalled Venusaur, "Thank you for your hard work. Now it's time for your predecessor to shine as well!"
"It's you, Gengar!" Ash tossed a new Pokeball, and another Gengar appeared on the battlefield!
In terms of size, Ash's Gengar was noticeably larger than the opponent's, and the aura it emitted was entirely different!
"So, you have a Gengar too. It seems you've been planning to use a Gengar against my Gengar all along." Morty, seeing Gengar, was slightly surprised, but his words reflected a sense of inevitability.
Ghost-type Pokémon are very tricky for regular Pokémon, but if it's ghost-type versus ghost-type, then it's a different story.
Ghost-types are inherently countered by other ghost-types, and both possess equally unpredictable traits. Battles between ghost-type Pokémon focus more on the trainer's command.
"Hoho, it's finally my turn to enter." Gengar floated in mid-air, arms crossed, an evil grin playing on its lips, and its crimson eyes looked down at its similarly sized opponent, "This time's opponent... seems to be a much smaller junior."
It spoke with a nonchalant tone, as if it didn't consider the Elite Four Peak Gengar as a threat.
"It...it spoke?!" Morty's pupils shrank instantly, subconsciously stepping back half a step, his face expressing disbelief.
Ghost-type Pokémon do possess high intelligence and are quite mystical, but it's the first time he's encountered one that could converse so fluently using human language.
Even for ghost-type Pokémon, they shouldn't be able to speak!
What is the origin of this Gengar?
"It's been a while since Gengar showed up." In the audience, Brock crossed his arms and wore a nostalgic expression, "Last time he appeared was at the Quartz Conference, where he was playing around and not fighting seriously at all."
Misty nodded, her beautiful eyes also filled with reminiscence: "When Ash first captured him, Gengar had already reached Elite Four Peak. Now, one wonders what level he is at..."
"Was this Gengar with Ash from the beginning of his journey?" Serena curiously blinked, her gaze fixed on the formidable purple figure, "And he can even speak, that's incredible!"
"More than just incredible." Misty shook her head, "When Ash captured him, he could already freely evolve and regress, and he's been alive for over a thousand years. If it weren't for Ash, he might still be scaring people at Maiden Gorge now."
"Over...over a thousand years?!" Serena covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes wide open.
A Gengar that's lived for over a thousand years? How strong must it be?
"But Ash rarely lets him battle." Brock added, "Because this guy is too strong, Ash feels he doesn't have the right to command him until he trains some Pokémon strong enough."
"Ash has always been like that." Misty's corners of her mouth raised slightly, her eyes showing a mix of helplessness and pride, "He always sets a bunch of inexplicable standards for his Pokémon."
Serena said nothing, merely casting her gaze back towards the battlefield.
The Gengar floating in mid-air was tilting its head, observing its fellow Gengar with great interest, its sinister grin irresistibly wide.
The way it looked was just like an old fox toying with its prey.
"Interesting, truly interesting." Gengar licked its lips, "It's been a long time since I've fought another Gengar, little one, don't disappoint me."
"L-little one?!" Morty's forehead veins bulged; despite how impressive this Gengar seemed, his own Gengar was at an Elite Four Peak Level, and when it came to ghost-type Pokémon, he didn't believe he'd lose to anyone!
Both were ghost-type Pokémon, and his Gengar had been around for decades now. Why would the other call his Gengar a 'little one'? Could it possibly have lived for over a hundred years?!
"Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Morty ordered coldly, deciding to respond to the disrespect with strength.
"Heh heh!"
Gengar thrust its hands forward vigorously, and a pitch-black Shadow Ball immediately condensed in front of it, dragging a long, dark tail flame, and with a shrill tearing of the air, it smashed towards Ash's Gengar overwhelmingly!
The all-out strike at the peak of the Elite, its power was astonishing!
"We'll use Shadow Ball too," Ash's voice was calm as still water.
"Hey."
Ash's Gengar didn't even make any charging moves, it just lazily raised a hand, and a similarly jet-black Shadow Ball instantly formed in its palm, then leisurely greeted it.
The two Shadow Balls collided in mid-air with a loud bang——
"Crack!"
There was no anticipated stalemate, no roar of energy clashing.
Morty's Gengar's Shadow Ball was like an egg hitting a rock, instantly shattered by Ash's Gengar's Shadow Ball, not lasting a second.
Black energy fragments scattered and splashed, flickering with a dim glow in the air.
And Ash's Gengar's Shadow Ball didn't pause for a moment, sweeping through those energy fragments with unstoppable force, solidly hitting Morty's Gengar!
"Bang!!!"
A dull impact exploded in the Gym, Morty's Gengar let out a sharp scream, its whole body like a baseball hit by a bat, flying straight out!
It tumbled in mid-air several times before heavily crashing to the ground, skidding for several meters before barely stopping, with serious injuries clearly visible on its ghostly purple body.
The entire venue fell silent.
Morty stood there dumbfounded, his mouth slightly open, his mind blank.
He knew Ash's Gengar was strong, but he hadn't expected it to be this strong.
The same Shadow Ball, his Gengar's all-out strike, seemed as fragile as paper in front of the opponent.
"Champion... Intermediate Level," Morty struggled to utter these four words, with a tremor in his voice even he hadn't noticed.
He finally saw clearly the real level of Ash's Gengar.
Champion Intermediate Level!!
Two entire levels above his Gengar! And one of them was a major level!
Such a gap can't be compensated for by attribute counter or tactics, his Gengar not losing combat ability from that move was because the opponent held back.
Otherwise, an Elite Four Peak level Gengar taking a Champion Intermediate level same-type counter move would definitely lose combat ability for sure!
"I see... this is why Lord Ho-Oh chose you?" Morty took a deep breath, slowly raised his head, and the shock in his eyes gradually turned into a sense of relief.
He had always thought that Ho-Oh choosing Ash was perhaps just a coincidence, or Ash was lucky to get the Rainbow Wing.
Even though Ash had many impressive achievements, Morty still didn't think he was worthy of the title Rainbow Hero, after all, that was their generations' millennia-long dedication!
They had guarded Bell Tower for a thousand years just waiting for Ho-Oh to return, yet Ho-Oh chose a fifteen-year-old rookie who hadn't even been out for a year!
How could he accept that?
So at first, he was full of expectations, waiting for Ash to come, wanting to defeat Ash head-on, to indirectly tell Ho-Oh that their family guarding Bell Tower for millennia was his best choice.
But now he understood.
A fifteen-year-old rookie with less than a year of experience yet has a Champion-level Pokemon, and this wasn't even his full strength.
That Charizard which had battled Lorelei, the Pikachu, had yet to make a move, and he might have other hidden powers, like the barrier surrounding the field that wasn't something an ordinary Pokemon could set up.
This talent, this ability, looking through the history of the entire Pokemon Realm, probably couldn't find a second one.
What Ho-Oh chose was not some lucky boy, but a true prodigy.
"Gengar, can you still stand?" Morty's voice calmed down.
"Gha..." Gengar struggled to float up from the ground, still bearing the scars from the Shadow Ball, but those scarlet eyes still stared at its counterpart without any intention of retreating.
"Good." Morty nodded, a decisive glint in his eyes, "If we can't win head-on, then we'll use that."
He paused, then suddenly raised his voice: "Gengar, use Destiny Bond!"
Destiny Bond—one of the Ghost Type's ultimate moves. Once used, if it falls into a critical state, the opponent will also go down with it.
It's a life-and-death trade-off move and Morty's only hope for a comeback at this moment.
As long as Destiny Bond hits, no matter if the opponent is Champion Intermediate or Champion Advanced, it will fall because of his Gengar!
Now he just needs to land Destiny Bond, then follow up with a Mean Look, and he'd be in an invincible position.
Even if his Gengar is defeated by the opponent, he would drag down one of the opponent's Champion-level Pokemon.
If he couldn't defeat this Gengar, his last Pokemon, no matter how strong, might not be able to take down the opponent's three Pokemon consecutively.
Unlike other moves, Destiny Bond isn't an energy attack, but a causality-level lock.
Once the lock is successful, unless the opponent loses combat ability, Destiny Bond's effect will persist.
Now his Gengar had successfully locked onto the opponent, avoiding it was virtually impossible.
"Confuse Ray," Ash's voice remained calm, not panicking because of the opponent's use of Destiny Bond.
"Take this from me!" Ash's Gengar exclaimed jokingly, its eyes suddenly flashed with a bizarre rainbow light, the light like a tangible beam, instantly penetrating Morty's Gengar's eyes.
Morty's Gengar's body suddenly stiffened, its scarlet eyes began to blur and become scattered, its body started to wobble uncontrollably.
Destiny Bond's lock was abruptly interrupted at this moment.
"What?!" Morty's pupils suddenly contracted.
A confused Pokemon can't use any skills needing mental concentration, of which Destiny Bond happens to be one.
Ash actually used this method to break the Destiny Bond lock on Gengar!
"Gengar, Hypnosis."
"Hehe, sleep, sleep, just go to sleep~~"
Ash's Gengar's eyes flashed again, this time with a soft lavender light.
The light spread silently, enveloping Morty's Gengar that was still struggling in confusion.
Morty's Gengar's body wobbled, its scarlet eyes slowly closed, its whole body fell from mid-air, collapsing on the ground as if it were asleep.
Hypnosis, hit.
"Final strike, Dream Eater." Ash gestured with a broad sweep to deliver the verdict.
"Farewell, junior!" Ash's Gengar curved its mouth into a cruel smile, with a dark purple glow flashing in its eyes.
Invisible spiritual power transformed into tendrils, piercing into Morty's Gengar's body, starting to voraciously devour its physical energy.
"Ghaa—!!!"
The sleeping Gengar let out a sharp wail, its body twitching violently, its aura visibly weakening by the second.
Within merely a few breaths, it completely lost consciousness, lying immobile on the ground.
Morty's Gengar—lost combat ability!
In just a few short exchanges, Morty's Gengar had already been defeated, and this is the absolute crushing brought about by the level advantage!
When faced with an absolute level gap, reality is just this powerless.
Don't be fooled by the many times Ash has battled against higher-level Pokemon, but not everyone is Ash!
Normally, encountering a level-crushing Pokemon, the only path is rapid defeat, and only a very small number can turn the tables.
The audience was silent.
Morty's trainees each had their mouths wide open, eyes bulging, faces filled with disbelief.
Morty the Gym Leader had sent out his ace Gengar, yet not only did it fail to gain the upper hand, it was crushed by the opponent instead.
Throughout the match, Morty's Gengar didn't land a single effective attack before going down.
This... this is just too powerful?
The Gengar they pinned such high hopes on, just lost like that!
With the ace down, the hope for Gym Leader Morty to win is now nearly non-existent...