Exiting its Mega Evolution state, Sableye, now a Intermediate Elite level, struggled to contend with Lapras's assault, whose strength rivaled peak Elite level.
As Sableye reverted from Mega Evolution, Bridges, engaged in battle with Dragonite's mother, sensed it immediately.
He never anticipated that without Dragonite's protection, this young trainer could still put his Sableye at a disadvantage.
Upon seeing the imposing Lapras, Bridges had a sudden realization – another Elite level Pokémon!
Who was this young trainer, really?
Bridges had never been so eager to uncover someone's identity.
With this thought in mind, he retrieved two more Poké Balls, releasing Froslass and Banette, who is a Junior Elite level Pokémon.
"You two, go help Sableye."
Froslass and Banette nodded and floated toward Sableye's location.
These two Pokémon were the last ones Bridges had with him. He hadn't expected such a challenging situation on this outing.
Both the earlier encounter with Phoebe and now this unknown young trainer had caught him off guard.
As he watched Dusknoir and Spiritomb continue to struggle against Dragonite's mother, Bridges clenched his teeth in frustration.
The world was truly unfair!
He had worked so hard and desperately to reach the level he was at, yet a teenager effortlessly achieved it.
Back then, he had paid such a heavy price to break into the Elite level – his wife, daughter, even his humanity and conscience – yet this brash girl achieved it just as easily.
Meanwhile, Gengar and Mismagius, who had been observing the battle alongside Yuga and Lapras, noticed Froslass and Banette's rapid approach toward Sableye. They exchanged glances and vanished into the ground.
When they reappeared, they stood in front of Froslass and Banette.
Suddenly, Gengar and Mismagius each launched a Shadow Ball and a Mystical Fire at Froslass and Banette.
However, being Elite level Pokémon, Froslass and Banette had extremely sharp instincts and easily evaded the attacks based on intuition alone.
After dodging the strikes, Froslass and Banette found themselves facing two pseudo-Elite level Pokémon and felt a wave of disdain.
Gengar and Mismagius, on the other hand, after a quick look at Yuga and Lapras battling ahead and the distant one-on-two battle in the sky of Dragonite's mother, didn't show any fear. Instead, they were full of fighting spirit.
The reason their companions had come here was because of them, and they didn't want to be mere bystanders in this battle.
Yuga, who had been focusing on commanding Lapras's battle, shook his head in resignation when he sensed Gengar and Mismagius's departure.
He could feel their determination and understood their feelings at this moment.
At this moment, Yuga seemed to establish an unprecedented strong connection with Gengar and Mismagius.
His King of Ghost ability was enhanched without Yuga realizing it, and Yuga, who was focused on fighting, failed to notice this in time.
Feeling the support coming from Yuga, Gengar and Mismagius's confidence soared. Once again, they launched Shadow Balls and Mystical Fire, now even larger and more intense, toward Froslass and Banette.
Sensing the threat emanating from the Shadow Balls and Mystical Fire, Froslass and Banette grew uncertain.
What had suddenly gotten into these two? They seemed to be on fire, as if they had consumed the blood of a Flame Chicken.
Seeing Gengar and Mismagius go all out, Froslass and Banette put aside their initial arrogance and began to take the battle seriously, simultaneously using Shadow Balls.
Two massive Shadow Balls, along with Gengar's and Mismagius's, collided, causing a powerful explosion that toppled all the trees and grass around them.
The destructive force of Elite level Pokémon was terrifying indeed.
The four Pokémon quickly found their respective opponents: Mismagius faced Froslass, while Gengar took on Banette.
Mismagius swiftly ascended into the air, looking down upon Froslass. Although it was not as powerful as Froslass, it displayed an equal level of confidence.
Around Mismagius, waves of heat churned, forming rings of flames that converged to create a sea of fire, surging towards Froslass.
Froslass, with its primary Ice attribute, naturally feared Fire-type moves. Sensing the heat emanating from Banette's Mystical Fire, it retreated rapidly, countering with a Blizzard.
Despite the type disadvantage of Fire against Ice, Froslass's Blizzard managed to suppress Mismagius's Mystical Fire due to its superior overall strength.
The interplay of the red flames and the blue-white snow created an unexpected beauty in the battle.
In contrast to the head-on confrontation between Mismgius and Froslass, Gengar and Banette adopted a typical Ghost-type Pokémon battle style.
Banette used its skilled move, Shadow Sneak.
Unlike typical charged moves, Shadow Sneak allowed the user to conceal its form while charging, making it difficult to predict even if the opponent expected a sneak attack.
Shadow Sneak was indeed a mysterious yet powerful move.
Furthermore, Banette excelled in using status-affecting moves commonly associated with Ghost-types, such as Curse, Grudge, and Will-O-Wisp.
However, Yuga's Gengar was no ordinary opponent. Unlike most Ghost-type Pokémon, Gengar hailed from the Ghost World, granting it exceptional invisibility. Combined with Gengar's remarkable speed, it proved challenging for Banette to land its various moves.
Gengar's weakness lay in its fragility, so training its invisibility and speed was paramount to avoid being a liability.
However, even with the added strength from Yuga's King of Ghost abilities, Gengar and Mismagius still struggled against the Elite level Pokémon.
First to suffer was Mismagius, locked in a battle of attrition against Froslass.
After experiencing a Life Evolution, Froslass, though it potential is much lower than Mismagius, it still possessed superior capabilities than Mismagius. It began by covering the battlefield with a localized hailstorm and then used its Snow Cloak ability to disappear from Banette's view, launching an attack.
Initially, Mismagius froze under the onslaught of Froslass's Ice Beam, which lowered its speed, followed by successive hits from Shadow Balls.
When the hailstorm finally subsided, Mismagius is still standing, albeit battered and lying on the ground. Fortunately, unlike the fragile Gengar, Mismagius had decent Special Defense. Otherwise, the situation could have been dire.
Gengar was distracted for a moment when he saw his partner being knocked down. And he was attacked by Banette, who had been watching from the dark for a sneak attack, and Gengar also fell down.
At this time, Gengar and Mismagius felt a sense of guilt and self-blame. They believed themselves useless, unable to avenge their previous trainers or support their current one.
In the midst of their remorse and frustration, the energies emanating from Gengar and Mismagius, lying side by side, suddenly intertwined. They both emitted strong energy fluctuations.
They were about to break through to the Elite level!
Froslass and Banette exchanged a determined glance, they were extremely sure, because they were both also experienced it once.
They couldn't allow them to break through!
This is the common thought in the hearts of Froslass and Banette.