Beneath the deck of the victory, a luxurious space hidden from ordinary passengers lay concealed.
The heavy soundproof door slid open silently under Cliff's control, and a gust of air—a mix of salty sea breeze and the cold scent of metal—rushed toward them.
This was the victory's exclusive battle arena.
The arena was paved with expensive alloy, polished to a mirror-like shine, reflecting the matrix of cool lights on the ceiling, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.
Surrounding it were dark, reinforced glass observation rooms, currently empty. Only Ariel, Dar, and Cliff, acting as the witness, stood there, making the vast space feel somewhat desolate.
"The facilities here should allow you both to enjoy yourselves to the fullest."
Cliff's voice carried a hint of imperceptible respect as he stepped back to the edge of the arena, leaving the space entirely to the two about to battle.
Dar's eyes, always squinted, swept across the arena. With a faint smile playing on his lips, he took a Premier Ball from his waist, his movement as light as picking up a flower petal.
"Then, please guide me, Ruth."
As he spoke, the Premier Ball was gently tossed. A red light bloomed in mid-air, and a Gengar, entirely purple-black with a huge, eerie grinning mouth, floated out.
It had no physical form, its body warping slightly under the lights. Its crimson eyes were full of craftiness and the excitement of a prank about to succeed.
The moment that Gengar appeared, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
Ariel's gaze was as calm as water; he was not affected by the opponent's cold aura.
Ariana had said that Lambda's successor was like a ghost. Now it seemed even the Pokémon he used perfectly matched that description.
He reached back to unclip a Poké Ball from his waist and threw it decisively.
"Weavile, prepare for battle."
A flash of red light later, a lithe and elegant Weavile landed steadily.
It was entirely black, with the crests on its head and neck as red as blood. Its narrow eyes were cold and sharp, and its claws glinted with a chilling light under the lamps, forming a stark contrast to Gengar's eeriness.
"Gengar against Weavile?"
Dar chuckled, his voice still ambiguous in gender.
"In terms of types, I'm at a huge disadvantage. You must go easy on me."
Though he spoke words of weakness, Ariel could feel that the aura emanating from Dar had not relaxed in the slightest.
This man was like an elusive mist.
"Let's begin."
Ariel wasted no words.
The signal for the battle was ignited by Weavile's low growl.
"Shadow Ball."
Dar's command was light, as if carried by the wind.
Gengar grinned and rubbed its hands together in front of its chest. A highly compressed ball of ghost energy formed instantly, whistling sharply as it flew straight toward Weavile's face.
"Ice Shard, knock it down."
Ariel's command was concise and swift.
Weavile's movement was like a phantom. It didn't even move its feet; with just a flick of its wrist, several shards of glinting ice crystals flew out, accurately colliding with the Shadow Ball in mid-air.
"Boom!"
The clash of energy triggered a small-scale explosion. Purple ghost energy and white frost aura scattered, forming a brief mist of energy.
However, the moment the mist spread, alarm bells rang in Ariel's mind.
It's gone!
The Gengar that was originally floating there had vanished without a trace.
"Below!"
Ariel's pupils contracted suddenly. Relying almost entirely on battle instinct, he barked out a command.
"Weavile, jump and use Icy Wind!"
Weavile's reaction speed was astonishing. Following the order, its legs exerted sudden force, and its entire body leaped high.
The moment it left the ground, a massive, pitch-black shadow lunged from the floor where it had just been standing. It was Gengar's Shadow Punch!
Had it been half a second slower, Weavile would have been hit squarely by this attack from the shadows.
While in mid-air, Weavile adjusted its posture. Ice-blue energy gathered in its mouth, and a sharp Icy Wind blasted out, chasing the black shadow that had just emerged from the ground.
The same unchanging smile remained on Dar's face. He seemed to have anticipated Ariel's response long ago.
"Confuse Ray."
Just before the Ice Beam was about to hit, Gengar's form flickered out of existence and reappeared, dodging the attack.
Immediately after, a multi-colored glare erupted from its crimson eyes, like a spinning kaleidoscope, aimed directly at the mid-air Weavile.
This move was too insidious!
Using Shadow Punch as a feint to force Weavile to jump, making it unable to find leverage in the air and turning it into a sitting duck for Confuse Ray.
Once it fell into a state of confusion, Weavile's speed advantage would vanish, and it would be toyed with by Gengar.
Ariel's mind raced at high speed.
It can't be hit!
"Close your eyes! Use your claws to Slash the ground!"
Ariel's command blurted out, sounding somewhat absurd.
But Weavile didn't hesitate for a moment. It closed its eyes in the air, avoiding the mind-clouding multi-colored light, while curling its body to descend at a rapid pace.
"Swish!"
The moment its glinting claws touched the ground, they carved out a piercing silver flash.
"Metal Claw!"
The hard alloy floor was easily sliced like tofu under Weavile's claws. Then, Weavile landed steadily with a spin, using the momentum of its descent to lunge fiercely at Gengar.
This move used the impact of the fall to resolve the crisis of being suspended in the air and served as an unexpected counterattack!
Dar's squinted eyes seemed to open a sliver, flashing with a hint of approval.
"Interesting."
He said softly. Gengar understood perfectly; its entire body turned into a nebulous shadow and merged into the ground, easily dodging Weavile's Metal Claw.
Ariel had long been prepared for this move. He knew very well that when battling Ghost-type Pokémon, the worst thing was to lose composure after losing sight of the target.
"Weavile, calm down and sense its location."
Ariel's voice was steady, like injecting a sedative into his Pokémon.
After landing, Weavile didn't rush to look. Instead, it crouched down, its ears twitching slightly and its eyes tightly shut, using senses other than sight to capture the nearly non-existent energy fluctuations.
The entire battle arena fell into an eerie silence for a moment.