Morty Sr, former Leader of Ecruteak Gym and current head of the Matsuba Family, was a renowned Trainer capable of observing events thousands of miles away through the power of Ghost-type Pokémon.
Back then, in order to allow his own Gengar to achieve perfect evolution, Sato had paid the price of a Duskull with Ace level potential just to ask for Morty's help.
But from the outside, it appeared as if Sato had simply trained at Ecruteak Gym for a while, and that he and Morty had a good relationship.
Only the two of them knew that their connection was purely transactional.
Now, after so many years, the child who once "trained" under him had grown into someone at the same level. Morty looked at him with a faintly complex expression in his eyes.
'Why isn't he my son!'
Soon, Sato and Morty Sr. stepped onto their command platforms, staring at each other across a battlefield many times larger than standard size.
Once the referee finished announcing the rules as usual, both Sato and Morty simultaneously sent out their first Pokémon.
Gengar!
Gengar!
Same-species showdown!
In the very first match of the Elite Four Tournament, both Trainers had sent out the same Pokémon.
Aside from a bit of surprise, the other competitors and the few internal spectators on the stands began to shake their heads one after another.
It was expected for Morty to use a Ghost-type Pokémon, after all, that was his specialty.
But Sato, leaving his Dark-type Pokémon with a type advantage unused, had chosen to challenge his opponent in their strongest field.
Sigh… so young!
But no matter what others said, the battle on the field wouldn't be restarted.
The moment the referee's flag dropped, both Trainers issued commands at the same time, and the Pokémon moved instantly.
"Imprison." "Imprison!"
'Oh ho~ Even the commands were the same.'
With both sides using Gengar, whoever got sealed would basically be crippled.
Sato and Morty exchanged silent glances, each seeing the intense fighting spirit in the other's eyes.
Imprison VS Imprison
It would come down to which Gengar could cast it faster.
But in the end, faint red light clashed in the air and dissipated into nothingness.
Both sides' Imprison strategies -dirty tricks- had failed, and the battle reset to zero.
Looking more closely, there wasn't even a trace of the two Gengar on the field; they had already activated Invisibility on their own and taken the fight straight into their own space.
For a while, the two Trainers stood silent on stage, while murmurs filled the crowd below.
At this point, it seemed the Trainers had little role left to play, the outcome would depend on the two Pokémon's autonomous combat ability.
One minute…
Two minutes…
Five minutes…
Soon, ten minutes passed just like that. Aside from occasional energy ripples breaching the space, there were no other visible changes on the field.
Fortunately, the Elite Four Tournament wasn't open to the public. The spectators were at least mid-to-high level officials within the League.
So even though they couldn't see anything, the audience remained composed. No one threw bottles or shouted for a refund.
They simply blamed the battle for being too high-level to understand. Otherwise, how could so many people stare at an empty battlefield and still offer commentary and analysis, nodding in agreement from time to time?
It must be because they themselves were too weak…
Then, more and more spectators began to nod and sway their heads, joining in the great 'acting' showdown.
Suddenly, a burst of uproar and commotion erupted from the audience seats as one Gengar was violently thrown out from the invisible space, landing hard on the ground and lying motionless.
Big heads, small heads, round ones, flat ones… all kinds of heads slowly floated up with the same reaction: three question marks above them.
Whose Gengar was that!?
Did it… lose?
How did it lose?
Soon, the other Gengar slowly walked out of the invisible space as well, then pressed its palms together and… nod toward the fallen Gengar?
Shua~
"Red-side Gengar has lost the ability to battle. Blue-side Gengar is victorious. Contestant Morty, please send out your next Pokémon!"
The referee raised the flag high and announced, instantly stirring another wave of commotion.
Those spectators who had just been bragging about Morty's strength now looked like they'd been thoroughly slapped in the face.
They simply couldn't comprehend how, in a Ghost-type mirror match, Morty's Gengar was the one that lost.
Were they throwing the match?
Of course, no one dared to shout that out loud. At most, they just muttered it in their minds.
On the field, Sato's golden-eyed Gengar, panting slightly, returned to his side. That calm expression on its face seemed to say that a small win like this wasn't even worth mentioning.
Sato smiled and asked, "Wanna keep going, or should I let someone else have a turn?"
Gengar blinked its big golden eyes, shook its head, and then vanished into Invisibility, returning to Sato's shadow.
Seeing this, Sato didn't push. He already had his second Poké Ball in hand, ready to throw.
…But across the field, Morty still hadn't recovered, frozen in disbelief.
His Gengar had lost to Sato -a Trainer not even specialized in Ghost-types- and it had lost in autonomous combat!
His Gengar… had lived for centuries, a ghost who had served generations of Matsuba Family heads.
'H-How… how could it lose to a kid's Gengar!?
But really, without having gone through what Sato had, or understanding the experiences he and Gengar had shared, it was hard to comprehend why the golden-eyed Gengar had won.
◓---
After spending more than a month repairing Spacial Rifts, Gengar had developed a whole new understanding of Spatial energy, far beyond basic "moves" like Spatial Barriers.
Now, Gengar could fully create semi-Spacial Rifts on its own, as well as Spatial Slash and other advanced offensive moves/techniques.
Its ability to move between real space and dimensional space was far more fluid than that of ordinary Ghost-types. And none of that was something a Gengar could learn just by living long enough.
So really, this first battle couldn't be called a "mirror" match between two Gengar.
Because Sato's Gengar… Wasn't the same!
---◓
Finally, a red beam shot out from Morty's side, retrieving the fallen Gengar.
Glancing at Sato playing casually with the Poké Ball in his hand, Morty knew, after losing a round, it was his turn to send out the next Pokémon.
Pop!
A flash of blue light, and a Dusclops appeared on the field. Its glowing red eye made it look particularly eerie.
Sato was clearly surprised to see the Dusclops. It was extremely rare to see a non-fully evolved Pokémon competing in the Elite Four Tournament.
As for whether Morty didn't know Dusclops could still evolve? That possibility was almost nonexistent.
After a moment's thought, Sato put the Poké Ball in his hand back onto his battle belt and took out another one.
On the other side, Morty's eyes flashed with a trace of irritation…
Sato was doing it on purpose, just to make a point!
Pop…
This time, a flash of red light. A Weavile with a red crown of feathers on its head, a mocking grin on its face, and white claws scraping against each other stepped onto the field!