Chapter 118: Thrashing Gastly
Seeing the stunned faces of the crowd, Basalt felt a deep sense of satisfaction. After holding back for so long, he could finally let loose. Alright, I'm laying my cards on the table. Waylon? Gastly? You think you're so tough?
"When it comes to cheat abilities, my Emperor Drilbur isn't afraid of anyone," Basalt smirked.
"Drilburr..."
In the center of the sandstorm, Drilbur's eyes snapped open, cold and mocking. From the moment the sandstorm formed, it had closed its eyes, sensing everything within its domain. And now, it had found what it was looking for.
Looks like... we've got this. Seeing Drilbur's expression, Basalt knew. It had found Gastly.
In the swirling sand, Gastly was slowly approaching, planning a surprise attack. But while its stealth ability was impressive, it was still unrefined. In its invisible state, its movement speed was drastically reduced to only twenty or thirty percent of its maximum.
"Gasss~"
Although the howling sand passed right through its gaseous body, Gastly frowned. It could feel the faint Rock-type energy carried by the sand, and as it struck its body, it felt... its stamina being drained?
"Gasss~"
Gastly was surprised. The amount of stamina being drained was minuscule, but it was constant. Damn it. I can't drag this fight out. I have to end it quickly.
Swoosh!
Just as Gastly came within five meters of Drilbur, a large, heavy rock suddenly appeared, shooting towards it with lightning speed. It was at least thirty or forty percent faster than the rocks from Rock Tomb.
Smack Down!
"Gasss!"
Gastly was shocked. It had no choice but to drop its invisibility. Its speed returned to normal, but the rock had appeared so suddenly that it couldn't completely avoid it. It was grazed by the edge of the rock.
Vwoom!
A heavy energy pulsed from the rock, and Gastly's body wavered, its form becoming unstable.
It hit, but not completely, Basalt thought, a little disappointed. It had been the perfect opportunity. If it hadn't been for Gastly's incredible reaction time, the battle would have been over.
"Gasss~"
After stabilizing itself, Gastly quickly retreated, a look of fear on its face. That had been too close.
"How? Its stealth was broken?" Waylon was stunned. He looked at the swirling sandstorm and instantly understood. "It's the sandstorm!" Drilbur could sense things through the sand. But how could its senses be this sharp? His Gastly's stealth technique was said to be unbreakable unless the opponent's psychic power was greater. But Drilbur's psychic power was practically non-existent. How could it possibly surpass Gastly's? It didn't make sense.
But as the top trainer in the camp, Waylon didn't panic. Stealth was only one of Gastly's abilities.
"Gastly, Hypnosis!" he countered.
Vwoom!
Gastly focused its energy, its eyes glowing as an invisible wave of psychic energy shot towards Drilbur.
"Defensive counter!" Basalt commanded.
Drilbur's body immediately began to spin, entering its drill form. Gastly's attack was fast, but the hypnotic wave was just a fraction of a second too late.
"So fast!" the crowd gasped, not just at Drilbur, but at Gastly as well. The speed at which they executed their moves was on another level. The B-group trainers, the top talents in the city, felt they stood no chance against either of them.
"How did Drilbur's speed increase so much?"
"Yeah, its movements, its attacks, everything is so much faster."
"It's the Sand Rush ability!" Mr. Shane and Mr. Leo said in unison.
At the same time, as it spun, Drilbur launched a volley of rocks. The long-unseen combo: Spinning Rock Tomb! Boosted by Sand Rush, the rocks flew with the speed of lightning. And with its own speed slightly hindered by the sand, Gastly could no longer rely on pure speed to dodge.
"Gasss~"
With a flash of white light, Gastly split into six copies.
Double Team!
Thud!
The first rock hit an illusion. But the next two shot straight for the real Gastly.
Damn it! It saw through the Double Team too? That perception... Waylon's expression changed. A single Sandstorm had neutralized Gastly's speed, stealth, and evasion.
"Shadow Ball!" At the critical moment, Gastly fired two balls of black energy, shattering the incoming rocks.
"Venoshock!" Waylon pressed the attack. A glob of dark purple venom shot from Gastly's mouth. But the moment it entered the sandstorm, it began to sizzle and smoke as it reacted with the sand. By the time it reached the ground, it was less than half its original size. Drilbur, of course, had already used Dig and vanished. The remaining poison was quickly neutralized by the swirling sand.
And because Drilbur had dug into the quicksand from its Sand Tomb, it left no tunnel entrance. Gastly couldn't even use Haze to smoke it out.
The battlefield was now a swirling sandstorm with a helpless Gastly floating in the middle. The arena was eerily silent. It seemed... Basalt had already won. He could just wait for the sandstorm to wear Gastly down.
"Holy crap! Basalt is going to win!" Forrest exclaimed. His dorm neighbor, the guy who had just joined his group, was about to take down the camp's top trainer?
"So this is Basalt's true strength," Luna thought, a look of despair on her face. The gap between them... it was only getting wider.
"Drilburr!"
Just when everyone thought Drilbur was going to stall for a win, it suddenly appeared and fired another volley of rocks. Waiting you out is a last resort. If I have the chance... I'd much rather just beat you!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Gastly fired off a rapid succession of Shadow Balls, shattering the rocks. Though it was at a disadvantage, its reaction time was incredible.
"Drilburr!" Seeing that its Rock Tomb wasn't effective, Drilbur simply disappeared back into the sand just before a Shadow Ball could hit it.
The roles had been reversed. Now, it was Gastly that couldn't touch Drilbur.
"Gasss~"
Waylon and his Gastly were under immense pressure. They had never lost to a peer before.
The battle became a game of Whac-A-Mole. Drilbur would pop up, attack, and then disappear, while Gastly was left as a sitting duck in the air. After several rounds of this, both Pokémon were panting. Even without taking direct hits, the constant use of moves was draining their stamina.
"Looks like we'll have to wear it down after all," Basalt sighed. It felt... anticlimactic.
"Drilburr!" o(▼皿▼メ;)o
Beneath the sand, Drilbur was also frustrated. A win by attrition felt hollow; it didn't satisfy the burning anger in its chest. Damn it! Why can't the rocks be faster? Or why can't there be more of them?
Its Rock-type energy began to surge, fueled by its rage.
Fwoosh!
It burst from the ground again, a massive amount of Rock-type energy pouring from it. But this time, the energy flowed in a different pattern.
DIE!
Vwoom!
Hundreds of small, sharp rocks materialized above Gastly's head. They were smaller than the rocks from Rock Tomb, but there were far, far more of them.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The rocks rained down, covering a ten-meter radius, completely cutting off Gastly's escape routes. It couldn't even counter with Shadow Ball this time.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The first three rocks broke through its defenses, and then the rest of the volley slammed into it. When the dust settled, the blackish-purple Gastly's eyes were swirling.
"Gastly is unable to battle! The winner is... Basalt!"
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