After a long silence, the Dusknoir finally made a move.
It floated right up to Caleb, its crimson eyes locked onto his.
With the power of Viridian Force, Caleb only needed a brief glance to understand what those eyes were saying.
"So, we really are doing this," Caleb muttered.
For powerful and prideful wild Pokémon, battle was often the only way to earn their respect and trust.
If he couldn't defeat this Dusknoir, there was no way it would allow the Gastly and the others to leave with him.
With that in mind, Caleb took a deep breath and decisively reached for a Poké Ball at his waist.
"You're up—Garganacl!"
In a flash of white light, a massive Pokémon made entirely of interlocking white blocks appeared in front of him.
The moment Garganacl entered the field, it locked eyes with Dusknoir and let out a ferocious roar.
Enemies meeting face-to-face—it was almost ready to throw punches immediately, if not for Caleb standing there keeping things in check.
"Huh? Wait, are we battling already?" Flint, who had just snapped out of his nightmare and was still confused, blinked at the scene with an eager tone.
Battling was what he did best, after all.
Standing nearby, Cynthia shot Flint a sideways glance, the kind usually reserved for idiots.
She was used to his brash personality, but she was genuinely curious about Caleb's battling style.
After all, she'd never seen him battle in person before.
Judging by the tactics he'd shared and his performance in the Ho-Oh Cup, she figured he had to be the complete opposite of someone like Flint.
Dusknoir made the first move.
While both were slow Pokémon, Dusknoir had 10 more base speed than Garganacl.
It raised its hands, and strange lights began to swirl and coalesce in its palms.
Then the glowing orbs shot toward Garganacl like living entities.
Confuse Ray!
A classic move that causes confusion.
Starting with a dirty trick like this—yep, a true veteran Ghost-type. Caleb figured this Dusknoir might actually be his type.
But Garganacl had the Purifying Salt ability!
It made it immune to status conditions and halved all damage from Ghost-type moves.
That was one of the big reasons Garganacl had become a meta favorite.
Everyone knew Ghost-types loved stacking debuffs—without their status moves, what were they even?
And with their already limited offensive tools getting halved, Garganacl was practically their natural enemy.
Without paying Confuse Ray any mind, Caleb issued a command. "Salt Cure!"
Garganacl, already prepped, grabbed a hunk of salt from its own body and hurled it straight at Dusknoir's head.
Direct hit.
Salt crystals began to spread across Dusknoir's form...
"I think I know exactly how this is going to go," Green muttered as she watched the all-too-familiar scene unfold.
You can't fool me by just slapping a new name on that SubToxic strat!
If she had to guess, the next move would be...
"Protect!"
As Dusknoir lunged with an Ice Punch, Caleb barked the command.
A greenish barrier flared up, completely blocking the hit.
Meanwhile, the salt crystals spread even further.
Dusknoir finally realized it had walked straight into a trap.
At this rate, it'd just get worn down into a rage.
But what could it do? Garganacl's bulk, combined with Protect stalling, made it nearly impossible to chip away at.
And if it wasn't mistaken... Garganacl probably knew Recover too...
Dusknoir was no fool. It could force a draw with Destiny Bond, but who knew what other nasty tricks that human might have?
So it chose to forfeit.
"Wait—what? It's over already?" Flint scratched his head.
In his eyes, the whole battle was just three moves back and forth—and then both sides just stopped!
"What, you think you've got a better way to break that strategy?" Green asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course! You just have to power through it!" Flint said proudly. "Hit 'em with Flare Blitz and charge in!"
Green gave him a long, dumbfounded look.
How was this guy even an Elite Four member?
Caleb had won—and no one was happier than the Ghost-types watching from the sidelines.
With their boss defeated, they were free.
Gastly was the first to kick off the celebration.
Caleb, amused by the timing, quickly tossed a red-and-white Poké Ball while it wasn't paying attention.
Zing!
A flash of red light wrapped around Gastly, pulling it into the ball.
Click! The ball barely wobbled three times before sealing shut with a satisfying ding.
That... was way too easy.
Caleb bent down and picked up the ball, a little in disbelief.
"Congrats," Cynthia said with a smile.
"If you run into any trouble while training it, let me know. I have a friend who's quite the Ghost-type expert."
She was probably referring to Shauntal, the Ghost-type Elite Four from Unova—and also a brilliant novelist.
Cynthia's close friend, just like Diantha and Caitlin before her.
"Thanks," Caleb replied.
He never imagined he'd get a new Pokémon and immediately have people lining up to share secret techniques.
Opening the Poké Ball again, Gastly popped out and floated cheerfully around Caleb, cackling like a villain.
"Gya-gya-gya!"
Definitely sounded like a little antagonist.
Still, first impressions mattered.
He walked over to the sleeping Pachirisu nearby and pulled a Pokéblock from its fluffy tail, handing it to Gastly.
It was a Pokéblock made from a Jaboca Berry.
The ghostly little paw formed from Gastly's misty body clutched the pale yellow Pokéblock tightly.
Smells amazing.
Gastly unrolled its crimson tongue and wrapped it around the block, slurping it into its mouth with a contented squint.
Oooh... Rare stuff~~
!!!
The very next moment, golden light erupted from Gastly's body.
The gaseous form couldn't contain the energy—it burst into a cloud of black mist that scattered in all directions.
...Did Gastly just... explode?
"Gya!"
Seconds later—
The black mist reconvened into a floating, fog-like orb.
Gastly was back.
And now it was very excited.
First thing it did? Lick Caleb.
"Num... num... num... NUMB..."
Caught off guard, Caleb took the hit full-on. A paralyzing sensation spread from his face to the rest of his body, and he collapsed instantly.
Lick—Ghost-type physical move. May cause paralysis.
Gastly: (?°3°?)
It was just saying hi in its own way.
...
After munching on a Cheri Berry stashed in Pachirisu's tail, Caleb recovered from paralysis.
Looking at the group of Pokémon in front of him, he couldn't help but laugh.
A lot had happened today—but the outcome was undeniably good.
Garganacl, Nacli, Naclstack, Duskull, Dusclops, Dusknoir, Gastly, Misdreavus, Mismagius, Chansey, Cofagrigus, Drifblim, Corsola, Shedinja...
His Gym had just gained an entire squad of new powerhouses.
Now the question was—who would be the first challenger to show up tomorrow?