"Go, Infernape!" Flint shouted, throwing his Poké Ball into the clearing.
With a blazing burst of fire, Pokémon's rendition of Sun Wukong came out, letting out a sharp, battle-hungry cry that echoed through the area.
---
Pokémon: Infernape
Gender: Male
Level: 42
Type: Fire/Fighting
Ability: Blaze
Held Item: Charcoal
Potential: Deep Purple
---
An Advanced-level powerhouse with Deep Purple potential.
Eric's eyes narrowed slightly. Flint might be hot-headed, but his title as a regional prodigy was entirely earned. This Infernape was incredibly dangerous.
"Haunter, Shadow Domain."
Haunter grinned wickedly and sank into the earth. Instantly, the ground within a ten-meter radius of the ghost turned pitch black. The freezing, suffocating weight of his Quasi-Grade 5 energy spread across the battlefield, dropping the ambient temperature to a chilling degree.
Flint blinked, caught entirely off guard. "What kind of move is that? It's not Trick Room... Infernape, stay alert!"
Haunter emerged from the edge of the shadow field, directly in Infernape's blind spot.
"Shadow Ball!" Eric ordered.
A hyper-condensed purple sphere shot toward the fire-type's back. But Infernape didn't even need a command from Flint. Relying purely on its raw, honed fighting instincts, the primate ducked under the projectile by a hair's breadth, spun on its heel, and swung a fist coated in flames.
Fire Punch.
The blazing fist grazed Haunter's side, the force behinf it sending him flying backward through the air.
"Kekeke..." Haunter winced, stabilizing himself.
"Don't let him breathe! Flare Blitz!" Flint roared.
Infernape surrounded himself with immense fire-type energy as it blitzed towards Haunter.
Haunter phased back into the shadows to dodge, but Infernape predicted the trajectory, pivoting sharply and slamming its fiery shoulder into the ground exactly where Haunter was meant to emerge.
The resulting shockwave forced Haunter out of the shadows, visibly fatigued.
Standing by the sidelines, Volkner and Cynthia watched the exchange with growing surprise.
'Who is this guy?' Cynthia thought, her quiet, observant eyes tracking Haunter's movements. She didn't expect Eric to be so strong. 'That Haunter's energy density is approaching Grade 5.' She found her competitive spirit flaring up. It was a step above even her Gabite!
'That Haunter is only at the Intermediate level,' Volkner noted, his brows knitting together. 'But it's actually keeping up with Flint's Infernape. That shouldn't be possible.'
Eric remained perfectly calm as he observed the battlefield.
He watched Haunter take another glancing hit from a Flamethrower.
The gap between Level 39 and Level 42 was a massive, structural boundary. While nowhere near the difference between an Advanced and a Pseudo-King Pokemon, the gap between Intermediate and Advanced level was still massive, especially with Pokemon similar in potential.
But Eric didn't panic. He could feel it.
The intense pressure of this fight was slowly pushing Haunter past that threshold.
"Hold your ground, Haunter!" Eric called out, his voice sharp. "Absorb the pressure! Push through it!"
"HAAAAUNT!"
Haunter roared as his Ghost-type energy surged.
Then it surged some more.
Haunter: Lvl 39 --> Lvl 40.
The dark, artificial shadow covering the ground suddenly expanded. The eerie, purple aura leaking from Haunter's body forcibly withdrew, collapsing inward into his core.
The environment suddenly became very eerie as everyone felt a chill run down their spine. Volkner and Cynthia instinctively held out a Pokeball, looking tense.
Even Haunter's Ghost-type energy was just a hair's breadth away from reaching Grade 5.
Flint took a step back, a chill running down his spine. "What the hell is that pressure?!"
"Now," Eric whispered, his eyes locking onto the Infernape. "Sweep him."
"Haunter, Sludge Wave!"
The speed of the attack was entirely different. A massive wave of highly corrosive purple sludge materialized instantly, crashing across the battlefield before Infernape could even bend its knees to dodge.
The sludge slammed into the fire-type, burning its skin and breaking its stance completely.
It also glowed purple for a second, indicating that it was poisoned.
"Infernape! Recover with Flame Wheel!" Flint shouted desperately.
"Hex," Eric interrupted.
Haunter vanished into the Shadows and instantly appeared next to Infernape, his speed on a whole different level than before. He was so fast that Infernape had no time to react this time and was hit with a Hex.
Infernape screamed in pain, falling to one knee.
"End it. Shadow Ball," Eric said.
Haunter created a much more concentrated Shadow Ball than before, then fired it point-blank.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion sent Infernape flying across the field, crashing heavily into a boulder. The rock shattered behind the sheer force of the impact, and the fiery primate slumped into the dust, completely unconscious.
Everyone was quiet for a moment.
Flint stood frozen, his eyes wide as he stared at his defeated partner. He slowly pulled out his Poké Ball and recalled Infernape.
He looked down at the Pokeball in his hand, then looked up at Eric. The hot-headed arrogance was gone, replaced by genuine shock and a deeply unwilling acceptance.
"I lost..." Flint gritted his teeth, his fists clenching at his sides.
He marched a few steps forward and pointed directly at Eric.
"Tell me your name! This isn't over! Next time we battle, my infernape will completely burn through those shadows!"
"Eric," he replied flatly. "And I wouldn't count on it."
Flint glared at him, burning the name into his memory. He then turned around, pointing his finger toward Cynthia, who was standing quietly near the edge of the clearing.
"And the same goes for you, Cynthia! Just you wait! Next time, I'm winning!"
With that, Flint turned on his heel and stormed off down the path, his fiery afro bouncing with every angry step.
Volkner let out a long, exhausted sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck and walked over to Eric.
"Sorry about him," Volkner said, offering an apologetic nod. "He's... passionate. But you're an incredible trainer, Eric. To break through the Advanced level mid-battle... that was impressive. We'll be seeing you around, I'm sure."
"Probably," Eric nodded back.
Volkner turned and jogged down the path, calling out to his hot-headed rival. "Flint, wait up! You're going the wrong way to Eterna!"
Their voices faded into the distance, leaving behind just Eric and Cynthia.