The air between the two prodigies grew incredibly dense as the battle commenced.
"Haunter, Shadow Domain," Eric commanded, his voice perfectly calm despite the overwhelming pressure radiating from the Pseudo-Legendary in front of them.
"Kekeke." Haunter grinned maliciously and immediately sank into the ground as the shadows expanded, covering the field.
Cynthia didn't panic as her grey eyes were focused and observed the battlefield in front of her.
"Don't let him dictate the field," Cynthia ordered, her voice echoing with elegant authority. "Gabite, Sandstorm."
Gabite stomped its foot and let out a roar.
Sandstorm(I++)!
The ground trembled as a violent, swirling vortex of heavy sand and jagged rocks erupted around the dragon. But this wasn't a standard, widespread weather effect. Gabite's Sandstorm was at the Intermediate level. Instead of just indiscriminately filling the areawith debris, Gabite controlled the energy in the sandstorm, and made it denser around him, hiding its figure.
Coupled with its Sand Veil ability, Gabite vanished into the sand completely, becoming incredibly hard to locate.
Eric's eyes narrowed.
His system finished scanning Gabite's Energy density.
Ground - Grade 4 (Peak)
Dragon - Grade 4 (Mid)
It was quite close to Haunter's Quasi Grade 5 level.
The battlefield was now a clash of two entirely different domains—Haunter's pitch-black floor, and Gabite's raging, blinding sand tornado above it.
"Haunter, flush it out. Sludge Wave into the storm!"
Haunter emerged near the edge of the shadows, spitting a massive, highly corrosive wave of purple sludge directly into the center of the sandstorm.
"Gabite, part it with Dragon Claw, then use Crunch!"
Inside the swirling dust, a pair of brilliant, draconian green claws flared to life. With a single, devastating swipe, Gabite literally tore the Sludge Wave in half. The toxic liquid splashed harmlessly to the sides.
It then moved with incredible speed, but Haunter still couldn't tell its location!
"Get back into the shadows!" Eric yelled.
Haunter immediately began sinking into the shadow, but unaware to Haunter, Gabite was already on him! The Crunch grazed Haunter's side before he could sink in completely, the super-effective move causing him to wince in pain. But Haunter didn't take that without counterattacking as he fired a Ghost Ball point-blank at Gabite!
BOOM!
The attack pushed Gabite back several feet. It grunted in pain, not expecting the Shadow Ball to pack that much of a punch.
Cynthia's eyes widened slightly at the force.
"Will-O-Wisp!"
"Counter with Stone Edge!"
Gabite slammed its arms into the ground, summoning two massive, jagged pillars of glowing rock that shot toward Haunter the moment he emerged. Itwas using the sandstorm to track him.
Haunter dodged the Stone Edge and fired an eerie purple flame at Gabite, but Stone Edge wasn't the real attack. It was a distraction.
Gabite blitzed forward.
"Dragon Rush!" Cynthia commanded.
Gabite shot forward, surrounded by draconian energy. The air shrieked as the Pseudo-Legendary closed the distance in a fraction of a second, not minding the purple flames and powering through it.
"Protect!"
Haunter threw up a shimmering green barrier, but the force behind the attack was a lot higher than expected. Protect held for a few moments, then cracks began to form as it shattered.
It gave Haunter enough time to dodge, but they were too close by.
"Dragon Claw!"
The attack struck Haunter squarely, sending him flying backwards towards where Eric was.
As he was flying, he cast Hex as a counterattack. Gabite screamed in pain from the attack and went down on one knee, but Haunter was already unconscious.
"That wasn't bad," Eric muttered as he recalled Haunter.
"You did good. Now get some rest."
Cynthia also recalled her partner with a soft, affectionate smile.
"You did beautifully, Gabite," she whispered to the Poké Ball before clipping it back onto her belt.
She turned to Eric. All the tension she had was released after the battle. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the thrill of the fight, and her grey eyes sparkled with their usual, calm brightness.
"That was an amazing battle, Eric," Cynthia said, walking over to him. "Your Haunter is really strong. Had the level gap been closer, who knows who'd come out on top."
Eric nodded. "It was my first time facing someone who used Sandstorm. It gave me valuable insight. I won't lose next time, though."
Just as Cynthia had said earlier, battling was her true solace. The intense, high-speed clash of tactics and energy had perfectly cleared her head, pushing her worries to the back of her mind so she could process it properly.
"Well, shall we get going? I have a ghost that still needs to evolve."
Cynthia nodded in her usual manner as they resumed their journey through Route 205.
---
Meanwhile, far south of Route 205, the icy winds of Sinnoh howled across the sprawling Jubilife City port.
A plane from Kanto had just docked. Among the crowd of tourists and merchants disembarking was a tall man wearing a heavy, unassuming grey trench coat, a scarf pulled up tightly to obscure the lower half of his face.
Lex stepped onto the freezing concrete, his single eye scanning the towering skyscrapers of Jubilife.
"I'm here, kid," Lex murmured, his voice muffled by the scarf.
He pulled out his heavily encrypted smartphone, opening the League's public database. He had managed to track Eric's initial flight records before his underworld contacts went completely dark due to the League being on high alert.
But finding a single, highly competent teenage trainer in a region as wild and expansive as Sinnoh was going to be an agonizing task. Eric didn't leave many physical tracks, and after the incident in Lavender Woods, Lex knew the kid was overly cautious.
'His last confirmed location was the Jubilife Battle Pavilion,' Lex thought, scrolling through the local leaderboard archives.
He found the entry. Challenger 88. A flawless sweep of the Beginner Tier, right up to the Pavilion Master, where he had narrowly lost.
The data was three days old.
Lex gritted his teeth. Eric could be anywhere in Sinnoh right now. Finding him won't be easy.
But Lex was an assassin. He possessed infinite patience when it came to his prey. He needed to stay alert if Eric participated in any more league events to narrow down his position.
But for now, he would begin his search in Jubilife. Who knows, Eric might still be here.
"You're making me work. Good. Just you wait, I will make our reunion worth it. Kuhahaha!"