Seeing the scene before them, Misty widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Huh? Is Kai's Gengar actually going to battle!?"
Ash's jaw dropped. "No way… if that thing comes out, then how's anyone supposed to fight?"
Just as they had said earlier it was exactly because they understood its power that Ash least wanted to face Kai's Gengar.
Brock rubbed his chin and sighed. "Looks like Gengar's appearance is unavoidable… But honestly, I'm not even worried about that part. What worries me is that Harrison doesn't know anything about Kai's Gengar. He has no idea how terrifying that thing is. How's he going to handle it?"
The three of them fell silent, each giving Harrison a sympathetic look.
Meanwhile, in the resting area, Harrison was completely unaware of their concerns.
When the break ended, he slapped his cheeks hard to force himself to stay calm, then walked toward the battlefield with a determined expression.
"No matter what… I have to win this battle!!"
But when he took his place at the trainer's podium and saw Kai's Gengar floating beside him… his heart skipped a beat.
What's with this Gengar?
He had watched all of Kai's previous battles but had never once seen this Gengar fight.
Could this be his hidden ace?
And why did it feel like this Gengar was looking at him with a… rather wicked smile?
Originally, Harrison had planned to use his Hypno in the fourth match, but with a Gengar a Ghost-type that countered Psychic-types right there, he could only give up that idea.
With no time to come up with a new strategy, he quickly made a decision as the referee signaled the battle to begin.
"Go! Swellow!!"
He threw the Poké Ball high, and with a flash of blue light, a large bird Pokémon soared into the sky.
Seeing the Pokémon, the announcer identified it at once, his voice full of surprise.
"Oh! Another Pokémon from the Hoenn region! Looks like Harrison has brought us another surprise!"
If he could, Harrison would have preferred not to use his Hoenn Pokémon in the Johto League.
After all, he had come here to catch new Pokémon and challenge the Silver Conference with them.
But his opponent was too strong. He had no choice but to use everything he had.
Kai raised his head and studied the bird Pokémon.
As Swellow, the evolved form of Taillow, its feathers were mainly dark blue with crimson markings on its neck, tail tips, and forehead.
Known for constantly migrating to warm regions, Swellow was a master of graceful flight. It soared elegantly at great heights, then dove swiftly to strike prey with its sharp talons.
Kai was very familiar with this Pokémon.
Having played many Hoenn-based games, he knew Hoenn Pokémon almost as well as Kanto's.
Besides, Ash himself had also caught a Swellow during his Hoenn journey, so even the audience wouldn't find this species unfamiliar.
Too bad I don't have a Flying-type, Kai thought with mild regret. Otherwise, this would've been a fun aerial showdown.
But all his other Pokémon had already battled recently, and none particularly needed training now.
No other choice. It was time to let Gengar play.
Turning to Gengar, Kai jerked his chin forward. "This one's yours."
"Heh heh heh…" Gengar grinned widely as it floated onto the battlefield.
"Leave it to me. Finally, I get to have some fun."
As it reached the center of the field, Gengar didn't say anything not wanting to cause a stir.
It simply curled a finger and beckoned to Swellow, a smug, taunting look on its face.
That single gesture instantly ignited Swellow's fury.
True to the "Swellow" name, it was proud to the core. Ever since its Taillow days, it refused to bow down to anyone. Now fully evolved, it would not allow any slight to its dignity.
The battle began, and Harrison went for a fierce offense right away.
"Focus Energy!"
Swellow gathered its spirit, sharpening its senses to increase the chance of a critical strike.
Then, with a flash of speed, it dove down, wings glowing "Aerial Ace!"
Kai stood calmly in the trainer's box, hands in his pockets, not even bothering to give Gengar commands.
He was leaving this entire fight to it.
Just as Swellow was about to strike, Gengar's body suddenly morphed into the shape of a bird-catching net. Swellow crashed straight into it, tangled up!
"What!?"
Not only Harrison, but the entire audience gasped in shock.
"Incredible!" the announcer shouted. "Gengar actually transformed its body like that! How is that even possible? Did it use some kind of mass hypnosis on all of us!?"
Ash and the others, of course, knew better.
Back when it was still a Gastly, Kai's Gengar had already shown astonishing shapeshifting skills, which could turn it into humans, Pokémon, and even objects. Not to mention, it could speak human language. It was completely unlike any other Gastly they had encountered.
Harrison quickly snapped out of his shock. "Swellow, get out of there!"
Swellow struggled frantically in the net, but Gengar's body was too strong; there was no breaking free.
Then Gengar suddenly burst out laughing, let go, and returned to its original form.
Swellow flapped hard, retreating upward with a look of alarm.
Its instincts screamed at it: this Gengar was not only powerful… it was downright nasty.
Harrison rubbed his temples, trying to stay calm, but couldn't shake the dread in his chest.
"Don't be scared," he commanded. "Attack from a distance! Air Slash!"
Swellow flapped its wings sharply, sending two crescent-shaped blades of compressed air straight at Gengar.
Gengar grinned, then sank into its own shadow and vanished.
The Air Slash blades passed harmlessly through the space where it had been.
"It… disappeared!?"
The announcer and the crowd searched around frantically. Unlike Kecleon's camouflage, this was a real disappearance. Gengar was gone.
"Where is it?" Harrison's voice trembled.
For the first time in this tournament, he felt something worse than being overpowered: uncertainty.
Fear comes from the unknown…
Swellow scanned the battlefield from the air but still couldn't find it.
Then— a noise from behind.
"Behind you!!" Harrison shouted.
Swellow whipped around just in time to see a giant flyswatter slamming toward it.
BAM!
It was struck down hard, crashing onto the icy arena floor.
Dazed, Swellow looked up only to see Gengar floating smugly above it again.
Now Swellow understood: this Gengar wasn't trying to beat it quickly. It was playing with it.
Furious, Swellow let out a sharp cry and shot back into the air.
Pride and anger burned hotter than reason.
A blue flame-like aura flared around it. It folded its wings and dove at Gengar at top speed.
"It's Brave Bird!" the announcer shouted. "Swellow is furious after being toyed with and is going all out!"
Harrison's Swellow was no ordinary Flying-type this was one of his trump cards.
But even Brave Bird wouldn't easily land on Gengar.
Gengar's eyes flashed. Ripples of glowing rings Hypnosis poured out toward Swellow.
But the enraged Swellow didn't even try to dodge. It charged straight through.
"Swellow…" Harrison whispered, torn.
Hypnosis wasn't guaranteed to hit. And Brave Bird could potentially knock Gengar out if it landed clean. But if it failed…
Gengar's grin widened. Too naive.
The Hypnosis waves suddenly pulsed faster, turning a dark purple-black.
Swellow's eyes flickered. Just for an instant, its mind dulled but that was enough.
Its vision blurred. Its consciousness faded.
Still flying at top speed, it veered downward, and before Harrison could do anything—
BOOM!
Swellow slammed into the frozen ground, shattering the ice into shards. Snow sprayed everywhere. Gengar hovered above, untouched.
"Swellow!!!" Harrison cried out, horrified.
Everything had happened too fast.
The announcer's voice rang out over the silence:
"An astonishing… um… battle! Kai's Gengar has defeated Swellow in its own unique way! Yet again, alongside his Steelix, this Gengar has shown us something incredible!"
Gengar floated back to Kai's side, grinning like a mischievous imp.
"Not bad," it said smugly. "Didn't even break a sweat, but that was pretty fun."
Kai could only shake his head.
If Harrison heard that, he'd probably explode from rage.
Having your ace get toyed with and crushed, only for your opponent's Pokémon to call it "playtime"… that was humiliating for any trainer.
Fortunately for Harrison, it didn't look like Gengar planned to fight again.
But the situation was dire with his fourth Pokémon defeated, his path to victory was slipping away fast.
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