"Go! Banette!" Agatha called, releasing the Ghost-type onto the field.
"Sucker Punch!"
"Quick Attack!"
Banette lunged like a shadow, aiming to intercept Crobat—but Crobat darted away with Quick Attack, narrowly avoiding the killing blow. Every time Banette vanished, Crobat escaped with speed, locking the two in a stalemate.
"Phantom Force!" Agatha commanded.
"Tailwind, then Toxic!" Alex countered.
Since Sucker Punch failed to connect, Agatha switched tactics—Phantom Force was slower but stealthier. Alex, in turn, saw an opening to prepare the field for his next Pokémon.
Banette vanished into the shadows while Crobat began flapping his wings, building up Tailwind to boost his team's speed.
Suddenly, Banette reappeared behind Crobat, fist glowing with Ghost-type energy. But Crobat was ready—his fangs glowed with poison as he bit down on Banette's arm. Both Pokémon landed clean hits. Banette was badly poisoned, while Crobat fainted from the powerful Phantom Force.
Alex returned Crobat and sent out Aegislash, who now had the speed advantage thanks to Tailwind. Aegislash usually stayed by his side as a bodyguard, but today, Alex decided to give him some battle experience with other Ghost-type Pokemon.
"King's Shield."
"Burning Jealousy!"
Banette launched a fiery blast, but Aegislash raised his shield in time, negating the damage. The poison continued to wear Banette down.
"Night Slash!"
"Taunt!"
Aegislash surged forward, shifting into Blade Form and slashing with dark energy. Banette was left barely hanging on. But before falling, it landed a Taunt—locking Aegislash in Blade Form.
Then Banette collapsed, finally succumbing to poison.
Agatha released Gengar next to capitalize on Aegislash who was weaker in Blade form and slower despite the Tailwind.
With Aegislash stuck in Blade Form and Gengar's speed advantage, Alex decided to swap out.
He tossed out Ceruledge, matching Gengar's speed and ferocity.
"Phantom Force!" they called out in unison.
Both Ghost-types vanished into the shadows.
"You don't know what happens when ghosts clash in the shadow realm, do you?" Agatha asked with a grin.
"No, care to explain?" Alex replied.
"Wait and see," she said cryptically.
A minute later, Ceruledge reappeared, exhausted, with only a sliver of health left. Agatha, with a raised brow, silently returned Gengar.
"Well done. Your Ceruledge is well-trained," she admitted. "Battle in the shadow realm staggers damage with killing blows unfolding slowly. Your Ceruledge dealt a killing blow, then knew to escape before taking more blows. My Gengar managed to get a hit in too but not enough to finish it off."
"Well done, girl," Alex said, gently caressing her armored cheek.
"Cerrr…" she purred under his touch.
"Back to it," Agatha said, releasing her next Pokémon, a Mismagius.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Shadow Sneak!"
Tailwind had expired while the Ghosts dueled in the shadow realm, so Ceruledge was now slower. Despite her weakened state, she bravely slipped in a parting strike before Mismagius landed a point-blank Dark Pulse, knocking Ceruledge out. But Mismagius was left with less than half her health.
Alex retrieved Ceruledge before releasing his second Crobat.
"Snowscape!"
"Crunch!"
Mismagius's Snowscape activated instantly because it had Priority +1. Snow fell and covered the battlefield, but Crobat charged through and finished her off with Crunch.
Agatha's next choice was Froslass, who melted into the snow like a ghostly whisper—Snow Cloak, no doubt.
Alex knew Crobat wouldn't last long in this matchup, so he focused on setting the stage again.
"Tailwind!"
"Double Team!"
A gust of wind cleared the snow from Alex's side, while Froslass blurred into a dozen shimmering illusions.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Ice Beam!"
Crobat honed in on the real Froslass, landing a solid hit, but took a point-blank Ice Beam in return.
"Again!" both trainers shouted.
Crobat fainted from the exchange, while Froslass was left with less than half her health.
Alex released Aegislash once more to finish the job.
"Aurora Veil!"
"Swords Dance!"
Froslass raised a protective screen as Aegislash powered up his attack.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Shadow Ball!"
Boosted by Tailwind, Aegislash struck first, leaving Froslass with only a fraction of health. But she retaliated with a close-range Shadow Ball, blasting Aegislash in Blade Form. He barely survived, teetering on the edge.
Fortunately, he had the advantage in speed with Tailwind.
"Again!"
"Destiny Bond!"
Unfortunately, Froslass's Destiny Bond activated the moment before the final strike. Alex had miscalculated, not expecting Froslass to have a Destiny Bond with Priority +1. Aegislash cleaved through her, but the spectral energy recoiled, dragging him down with her.
Both Pokémon collapsed.
Agatha was down to her last, while Alex still had two remaining. He hadn't expected the Ghost Gym to turn into a slugfest of exchanged blows rather than skulking shadows and status moves.
Then again, he'd prepared for their usual status trickery, forcing Agatha to adapt against a team packed with Taunt users.
"You've done well to make it this far with two Pokémon left," Agatha praised. "Let this battle remind you—never underestimate Ghost-types."
She released her final Pokémon, an Elite-ranked Dragapult.
"Isn't it against the rules to use Elite-level Pokémon against a registered team without Elites?" Alex asked.
"You've been holding back, avoiding registering your strongest. I know you've got a team of Dark-types. I also know about your starter reaching Elite rank. You are no longer a weak trainer in need of coddling. You are a powerful Elite trainer, and you should act like it," she replied in a scolding tone.
Alex felt like he was receiving a harsh scolding from his grandmother for tricking her.
"They're farm guards. I wouldn't use them in official battles," Alex replied with a sigh, tossing out Kommo-o—just shy of Elite rank, but his best hope.
Now, he felt like a child making excuses.
Once both Dragon-types squared off, the tension on the battleground was palpable. Dragapult was clearly stronger as an Elite, but not by much in terms of stats.
Kommo-o, however, was even more excited to get a chance to fight an Elite Dragon. He wanted to win with everything he had.
Alex, meanwhile, was debating whether this Dragapult had Infiltrator or Clear Body. He couldn't determine what held item it had either, so he was in the dark about what he was ultimately up against.
So, he chose the safe approach to see what would happen.
"Protect."
"Draco Meteor."
Dragapult shot a large mound of Dragon-type energy at Kommo-o, who simply tanked it with a Protect shield but was nearly tossed out of the battleground from the force.
Kommo-o's Protect was just Basic, after all, while the Draco Meteor would have knocked him out in a single hit.
Alex had now confirmed that this was not a Choice-item Dragapult—otherwise, Agatha would never have used that move. This meant that Kommo-o could survive at least one hit from physical moves.
"Clanging Scales."
"Dragon Darts."
Kommo-o was immediately hit with a pair of Dreepy. He withstood the damage and countered with Clanging Scales, which brought Dragapult to less than half health, though Kommo-o was left with only a sliver.
Alex had no choice but to use this move to guarantee a hit because of how fast Dragapult was. Any physical moves would be kited as Dragapult simply kept its distance.
"Brick Break."
"Again."
Kommo-o's Brick Break had Priority +1, which gave him just enough time to shatter the Aurora Veil covering Dragapult before succumbing to the pair of Dreepy that bombarded him. Kommo-o never even made it close to Dragapult, proving Alex right: physical moves would never reach it.
Alex retrieved Kommo-o, then released his final Pokémon for this battle: Dusknoir.
"Phantom Force," both trainers called out.
Both Pokémon responded and vanished from sight.
Alex didn't like his odds with this brawl in the shadow realm. He was fairly certain his Dusknoir would win in a physical altercation, but Dragapult could simply fly around and avoid exchanging blows.
The only feasible method Alex had was to use Phantom Force to guarantee a knockout while Dusknoir tanked a hit as he dove in.
A minute later, Dusknoir emerged with a sliver of health, while Agatha retrieved her fainted Dragapult.
Just as Agatha was about to congratulate Alex, Dusknoir fainted as well from the residual damage sustained during the fight in the shadow realm.
"Battle ends in a double knockout!" the referee declared before stepping back.
Alex was deeply disappointed in himself after the fight. He had always seemed to hold the advantage—but only because their past opponents were weaker. Now, faced with a stronger challenger, he couldn't even secure a win despite a 2v1 lead.
As he began to retreat, a badge struck him in the forehead.
"Take it and get out."
"But I—"
"And don't tell anyone I used an Elite against you," Agatha said as she turned to leave.
Alex was perplexed but kept the badge anyway. He never wanted to participate in an official battle again, if he could help it. Fighting under such limitations felt stifling. He would much rather contribute meaningfully alongside his Pokémon during a real battle.
Upon exiting the gym, Alex immediately checked the League Market for an update on his privileges. By now, he should have earned enough merit to unlock more of the League's secrets—maybe even gain access to regulated Pokémon.
When he finally checked, Alex was stunned by what he discovered.
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