Reading Guide.
"Dialogue"
'Toughts'
[Systems, Special Moves, Special Tags, Special Pokémon, Voice through devices.]
"Telepathy" Italics for telepathy
"Whoaaa!" Bolds instead of CAPS for SHOUTING!
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Pokémon League Year 750
The Nth Elite Four Challenge, held every four years
Time flies. Tetsuya was now a white-haired old man, his face deeply marked by the wheel of time.
Tetsuya looked up at the sky…
The wind was light, the clouds thin. Another four years had passed. The [Badly Poison spider] and [Badly Poison scorpion] had been successfully raised.
This time… he was determined to win!
"Come out, Ariados."
A massive blood-red one-horned spider appeared. Its sharp eyes gleamed, and two exposed fangs made a grinding "kacha" sound as it searched for prey.
Tetsuya, currently the Gym Leader of the Ecruteak Gym, was the strongest Gym Leader in the Johto Region. He had long coveted Koga's Poison Elite Four Position.
["The lead Pokémon sent out by Challenger Tetsuya is Ariados! This gentleman has now challenged the Poison Elite Four Position three times! Having passed sixty years of age, can he finally fulfill his dream this time…? Let's wait and see!"]
The host shouted into the microphone, his voice deafening.
The spectators at the scene were also stirred into excitement.
[Next! please, welcome our Poison Elite Four… Koooo-Gaaa!]
Amid the host's yelling and the crowd's shouts, an old man in ninja garb, also fully white-haired, appeared across from Tetsuya.
Koga, the veteran Poison Elite Four of the Johto Region, was known alongside Psychic Elite Four Will as an imprescriptible figure in the Johto Elite Four, though his strength was still slightly below Will's.
"Fwaha! Tetsuya, you're too obsessed. At your age, you should be enjoying retirement."
Koga looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar "old friend" across from him and said teasingly.
Tetsuya remained expressionless, unmoved by Koga's words.
"Ptooey~ Cut the nonsense. Make your move."
Koga gave a mysterious smile, shook his head with a grunt, and said, "Arbok, come out."
Arbok's gaze was chilling, its tongue flicking constantly.
Ariados and Arbok stared each other. The field fell silent, the atmosphere turning ice-cold.
Woosh…~
A light breeze swept across...
Arbok slithered forward in an S-shaped motion, its jaws opening wide. Its poisonous fangs gleamed with a cold light.
Ariados locked its eyes on the rapidly approaching Arbok.
In a flash, Arbok had closed the distance and was just about to strike.
A Spider Web suddenly spread out, right in front of Arbok, immediately binding it and stopping its advance.
"Fire Fang."
Seeing Arbok fail its first strike and fall into a disadvantage, Koga issued a command.
Spider Webs, thick and tough, were most vulnerable to fire.
Arbok's fangs became wreathed in flames as it bit toward the web.
"Now! Ariados."
Tetsuya seized the moment, as if he had been waiting for it all along.
Just as Arbok opened its mouth, Ariados shot a stream of Toxic directly into Arbok's mouth!
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[What… what does this mean? As an expert in Poison-types, why would Leader Tetsuya use a Poison-type move on a Poison-type opponent…-?]
The host spoke with a hint of confusion, but just as he finished, Arbok was already curled up on the ground in pain, writhing uncontrollably, leaving everyone puzzled.
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At that moment, Koga spoke. "Tetsuya, the power of your '[Badly Poison]' Ariados truly is something extraordinary…"
A flash of fear crossed Tetsuya's usually impassive face.
Koga? How could he know about the [Badly Poison] spider? Ever since Tetsuya began researching and raising it, he had kept it top secret; specifically to counter Koga, his greatest rival.
Now, on the battlefield, Koga stood across from him with an expression that said he knew everything. How could Tetsuya not be terrified!?
'Old bastard… is he bluffing me?'
Tetsuya steadied his mind. At that moment, Ariados had already taken down Arbok.
Koga's heart showed not the slightest ripple as he casually recalled Arbok. After all, the first five were only second-tier Pokémon he used to paralyze Tetsuya psychologically, meant to deliver a crushing mental blow. He tossed the Poké Ball to the pupil standing at his side.
He knew that Arbok was now a ruined snake. The poison of Tetsuya's spider was overwhelmingly potent, Arbok simply couldn't withstand it. Its Poison Gland had already ruptured.
Now, Arbok could no longer use any poison moves. It truly was no different from a useless snake.
With only one Ariados, Tetsuya surged forward unstoppably. Koga's next five Pokémon all suffered ruptured Poison Glands and were defeated!
The battle took on a completely one-sided turn. The host and the spectators all let out sighs of disbelief. No one could accept that Koga, who had held the position of Poison Elite Four for so many years, could be defeated so easily.
Even Tetsuya was suppressing the excitement in his heart, as if he could already see the light of victory.
Koga recalled his fifth Pokémon, Crobat, who had collapsed on the ground, and casually tossed the Poké Ball to his pupil once more.
Having lost five in a row, Koga revealed a sinister smile…
"Come out, Gengar!"
As soon as Gengar entered the field, Koga revealed the "Evolutionary Stone" on his left wrist.
A bond of the heart, a link of energy… It was a Key Stone!
Gengar Mega Evolved!
Visibly, only Mega Gengar's upper body could be seen. Its lower body was said to be hidden in a Distorted Space.
At this moment, Tetsuya's mind was racing.
Mega Gengar. As long as he could defeat it, he could claim the Poison Elite Four position. Then he would gain more resources, and his strength would rise to another level.
At that point, the name "Tetsuya" would surely go down in the history of the Johto League!
The words "fame and fortune" may seem simple, but how many had pursued them for a lifetime?
"Ariados, Toxic Thread."
Tetsuya commanded Ariados, already about to grasp the hand of Victini.
Dozens of poisonous purple threads seemed to come alive, lashing toward the airborne Mega Gengar.
Koga gave no command, only smiled lightly at Tetsuya.
"Tetsuya, still resorting to such amateur attacks!?"
Tetsuya ignored him, thinking Koga was only making one last show of bravado, grasping at words as his end neared.
…But what happened next left Tetsuya dumbfounded.
Before the threads could even touch Mega Gengar, they vanished beneath it. No matter how many Toxic Threads Ariados released, they were all swallowed up like stones sinking into the ocean, leaving no trace.
"Ariados, Megahorn!"
Gritting his teeth, Tetsuya launched an aggressive attack, brimming with killing intent.
Ariados leapt forward without hesitation. Guided by the trailing Toxic Threads, the sharp horn on its head suddenly grew several times longer, like a sharpened blade thrusting straight at Mega Gengar.
"Gengar, now!"
At Koga's command, the space beneath Mega Gengar visibly twisted. What lay within gave off an eerie sense of the unknown.
To the naked eye, the space seemed dim, filled with vague, translucent whirlpools spinning beneath Mega Gengar, forming a massive gravitational pull.
Ariados's entire body plunged into the Distorted Space and vanished without a trace.
Caught off guard by this sudden change, even with his vast experience, Tetsuya began to panic.
On the field, only Mega Gengar's ghostly grin and Koga's solemn face remained in view.
"Referee, I object! Ariados has now disappeared from the field. I cannot accept a battle like this."
Tetsuya could no longer stay composed. Indeed, Koga's battle style was unlike anything seen before; it was enough to raise serious doubts.