Chapter 116: The Terrifying Gastly
Waylon's offer was, in essence, giving Basalt two chances to challenge him. If he won either, he would be promoted.
The crowd gasped. That's arrogance. But as arrogant as it was, no one thought he was out of line. Comparing the strengths of Drilbur and Bronzor against his Gastly, it was clear that winning would be an uphill battle. From a position of strength and status, Waylon had earned the right to say it.
"Are you... serious?" Basalt asked, his brow furrowed. He looked closely at Waylon, but he saw a hint of helplessness on his face. It was clear this wasn't his idea, but Gastly's.
"I'm serious. I'll stand by my word," Waylon said with a nod. He then looked at Mr. Shane, who remained silent, implicitly giving his approval.
"Basalt, hurry up and agree!" Forrest whispered, nudging him with his elbow. "Two chances! At the very least, the first battle will wear Gastly down a bit. If you're lucky, you might even do some damage."
Basalt took a deep breath, stood up, and nodded. "Alright." He was annoyed at being looked down upon, but as a pragmatist, winning was more important. And the only way to shut Waylon up was to beat him.
He had been hesitating about whether to use Sandstorm, but now, the decision was made. He would use it.
On the battlefield, the two trainers took their positions.
"Go, Bronzor!"
"Bronz..." Bronzor appeared, its psychic energy immediately sweeping out and locking onto the floating Gastly. But the moment its energy touched the Gastly, it felt a chilling cold. Not only that, but it discovered that Gastly's gaseous body was actually absorbing its psychic energy.
"Bronz!" Bronzor's "eyes" widened, and it quickly retreated. This Gastly's psychic power... was no weaker than its own.
"Gasss~" Gastly floated forward, a strange smile on its face as it laughed at Bronzor.
"We're in for a treat. We actually get to see one of the upper-tier trainers battle," Forrest said excitedly. As B-group members, they rarely got to see the A-group's top trainers fight. This was all thanks to Basalt.
"Both trainers, ready! Battle, begin!"
"Flash!" Basalt commanded, taking the initiative. Flash was a Normal-type move, but since it wasn't a damaging one, it was effective against Gastly.
Vwoom!
A blinding white light erupted from Bronzor, as bright as burning phosphorus, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. His plan was to disrupt the opponent with Flash, then trap it with Confusion.
But he suddenly had a bad feeling. The field was eerily quiet.
"Bronz!" It was Bronzor that cried out in alarm. It had suddenly lost its psychic lock on Gastly.
A moment later, the light faded. Bronzor was alone on the field. Gastly was nowhere to be found. Bronzor's psychic senses covered the entire arena, but it couldn't find a trace of it. It was as if it had vanished into thin air.
"That kind of stealth..." Basalt was shocked. His Bronzor was known for its powerful psychic senses, yet it couldn't find the Gastly? "It's not hiding in another dimension like a Gengar, is it?" he thought, his face paling. He had considered the possibility of losing, but he had never imagined that his Bronzor wouldn't even be able to track its opponent.
"Gasss~"
Suddenly, Gastly's voice came from behind Bronzor. It spun around, ready to attack, but Gastly had already vanished again.
"Bronz..." Bronzor was frustrated. It still couldn't find it.
"Gasss~"
A moment later, Gastly reappeared, once again behind Bronzor. It was toying with it.
"Lick," Waylon's voice finally came, calm and collected.
Slice!
A long tongue shot out and swept across Bronzor's body, leaving no saliva but a trail of crackling electricity.
Lick, the Ghost-type move, with a chance to paralyze.
Bronzor was paralyzed.
"This..." Basalt's face was grim. In the games, Lick had a 30% chance of causing paralysis. But this Gastly's Lick had clearly been specially trained; the probability was much higher. This wasn't just luck. Gastly's stealth and Lick were both special techniques. Waylon's background was not simple.
"Bronz..." Bronzor struggled against the paralysis, trying to turn around. But its movements were already slow, and now, they were even slower. It couldn't keep up with Gastly's movements. No matter which way it turned, Gastly was always behind it.
Vwoom!
A strange, ghostly flame appeared and enveloped Bronzor.
Will-O-Wisp!
"This guy... if he can win so easily, why bother with paralysis and burns? What a waste of time," Yao said with a shake of his head. He knew Waylon's Gastly well. When faced with a weaker opponent, it liked to toy with them, inflicting poison, paralysis, and burns to inspire fear.
But when the ghostly flames touched Bronzor, it surprisingly didn't get a burn.
"It resisted Will-O-Wisp?" Waylon was surprised. He had seen the battle with Houndour and knew this Bronzor was somewhat fire-resistant. But his Gastly's Will-O-Wisp had also been specially trained; its corrosive power was much stronger than normal flames. He hadn't expected it to be ineffective.
"Bronzor, Gravity!" Basalt was still trying to fight back.
In the games, Gravity was super-effective against a levitating Pokémon like Gastly. But in the real world, Gastly weighed only 0.1kg. The increased gravity would barely affect it.
"Finish it with Shadow Ball," Waylon said, losing interest in toying with it. If his Will-O-Wisp didn't work, his poison moves probably wouldn't either. There was no point in dragging it out.
"Gasss~" Gastly nodded, disappointed. It gathered its energy and fired a ball of shadowy energy that slammed into the clumsy, paralyzed Bronzor.
"Bronz..." It cried out in pain as the cold, ghostly energy seeped into its body, but it didn't faint.
But after two more Shadow Balls, it couldn't hold on any longer.
"Bronzor is unable to battle! The winner is... Waylon!"
Gastly had won without taking a single hit.
"The gap between Bronzor and Gastly is just too big. It was a complete stomp."
"Yeah, Waylon is the top trainer in the camp. Basalt used all his strength just to make it into the lower tier of A. How could he possibly win?"
"You know, I've always wondered... where did Waylon come from? His Gastly has clearly had special training, but there are no prominent Ghost-type training families in Metro City, are there?"
The crowd murmured, their gazes fixed on the indifferent Waylon. His origins were a mystery.
Even though Bronzor had been utterly defeated, no one said it was weak. The opponent was just too strong. Even Yao, the other upper-tier A-group member, had to be extremely cautious when facing Waylon. Gastly's abilities were just too bizarre.
On the battlefield, Basalt clenched his fists, speechless. Gastly was even stronger than he had imagined. The next battle would be tough.
"Drilburr..."
But then, he heard a familiar cry, and his confidence came flooding back.
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