The temperature plummeted. Even in my jacket and scarf, I shivered. Kenny wrapped an arm around me, but he was more excited than comforting. I pulled out my Pokédex to scan the shadow. The Pokédex cited multiple professors.

"Professor Oak's research, twenty years ago—under a full moon, this Pokémon likes to mimic the shadows of people and laugh at their fright.

"Professor Elm's research, fifteen years ago—to steal the life of its target, it slips into the prey's shadow and silently waits for an opportunity.

"Professor Birch's research, ten years ago—deep in the night, your shadow cast by a streetlight may suddenly overtake you.

"Professor Rowan's research, five years ago—lurking in the shadowy corners of rooms, it awaits chances to steal its prey's life force.

"Professor Sycamore's research, within the past six months—hiding in people's shadows at night, it absorbs their heat. It is said that if Gengar is hiding, it cools the area by nearly five degrees Celsius."

Cynthia raised one blonde eyebrow, her silver eyes like icefire. "Your Pokédex doesn't cite Professor Juniper's work?"

I skimmed the abstracts of attached articles. "Nope. Just the men."

Steven scoffed. "Who programmed the Pokédexes of Sinnoh trainers?"

"I'll fix it," Cynthia promised. "I could also add some of my own research on other ghost types like Giratina."

I pitied the curious soul who would already be frightened by all the information on Gengar suddenly encountering an eloquent, detailed paper on the Pokémon Devil.

Ace pulled up his sleeve to reveal a mega ring—the literal ace up his sleeve. "Gengar, bond with me and mega evolve!"

The round shadow morphed into a sleek monster right out of Pokémon trainers' nightmares. Kenny bounced up and down on his seat. "That's the Pokémon that evolved when Ace and I traded! Fantina gave one of her Haunter to Ace as a sort of symbol—you know, since it's both a ghost type and a poison type." That sounded like something Fantina would do. "Since it was a gift, it didn't evolve, but I helped with that. Now I have a mighty-strong Machamp, and Ace has an actual beast."

Aaron whistled. "Nice. But my bug types will beat you! Vivillon, use Quiver Dance and then Hurricane!"

"Gengar, ride the winds on Sludge Bomb and deliver a Shadow Ball!"

What resulted was performance-worthy; truly, Aaron and Ace could be wonderful Pokémon coordinators. Vivillon danced faster than before. The wind blew my and Cynthia's long hair, while Paul's shaggy hair shifted to cover half of his face, giving him a mysterious aura, and Electivire's fur buffeted slightly, annoying the electric type. Mega Gengar rode the wind like a surfer rides waves. Buoyed by poisonous liquid and gases and his own lightness, Gengar was a dark blur zipping around the battlefield. The Shadow Ball seemed to come from nowhere.

The winds slowed. I adjusted my scarf. My hair had become wavy again. Somehow, Cynthia's hair stayed perfect. Vivillon's flight wobbled. Although Gengar had made riding the Hurricane look easy, he was starting to tire too.

"Vivillon, finish off Gengar with Psybeam!"

"Quick, Gengar—Destiny Bond!"

Even with Vivillon's speed boosted from all those Quiver Dances, the shadow slipped through the ray of psychic waves, reaching Vivillon before Psybeam reached Mega Gengar. The ghost type's eyes glowed as Destiny Bond activated. In the same instant, he fainted from the super effective psychic-type move, reverting to his round shape. Vivillon fell immediately after.

The drone circled in an infinity symbol around the two Pokémon. "Gengar and Vivillon are both unable to battle!" Their respective icons blackened on the screen. This was a close, exciting match! "Ace the Gym Leader has two Pokémon remaining, while Aaron of the Elite Four is down to his last Pokémon. Both trainers must send out their next Pokémon at the same time. Ready?"

Aaron nodded. "You know what to do, Ace."

Ace beamed. The miniature Poison Barb piercing on his ear shone. "Yeah."

"Three!"

Kenny and I were on the edge of our seats in anticipation. Every trainer in attendance – not that there were many, with Ace's gym being insanely difficult to get through – knew that the battle was reaching its climax.

"Two!"

Cynthia wore a mysterious smile as though knowing something no other spectator did. Steven adjusted his sleeve cuffs while keeping an eye on the battle.

"One!"

Paul narrowed his eyes.

"Go!"

Aaron's Drapion dominated the battlefield. His impressive size intimidated the spectators, most of whom had only seen this Pokémon on TV. At the same moment, Crobat flew rapid circles around his opponent.

Aaron gawked. Apparently, this wasn't what he'd expected. He recovered quickly, though the drone caught his expression for viewers watching remotely. "Drapion, use Night Slash!"

"Crobat, Steel Wing!"

One of Crobat's wings became coated with a layer of metal. The weight caused him to tilt in his flight, but he stayed focused. Drapion aimed Night Slash directly upward. The two Pokémon clashed, the impact echoing with a metallic clang that made Steven perk up.

"That was a powerful Steel Wing."

"And a more powerful Night Slash," Cynthia countered. "It landed a critical hit. And with Drapion's ability, that means even more damage than most critical hits."

Like Cynthia said, Crobat took more damage than Drapion in the collision. His flight stuttered. Ace's eyes widened. "Quick, Crobat, U-Turn!"

Aaron's lips curled back in a snarl. "Drapion, Pursuit!"

Crobat returned to his Ultra Ball, but not before Drapion grabbed him, crushing him between his pincers.

I gasped. "No way can Crobat continue battling after that—especially after he also went up against Volcarona, Yanmega, and Leavanny."

"The drone can't make the call," Steven said, "because Crobat is safe in the Ultra Ball now. If Aaron can beat Ace's final Pokémon and force him to send out Crobat again, I doubt that Crobat can stay up for long."

"Ace's Crobat," Kenny put in, "carrying all poison types since before new Pokémon trainers were born."

"That's not fair," I retorted. "Scolipede, Greninja, Roserade, and Gengar were all awesome too."

Ace must have known the predicament he was in. If his final Pokémon couldn't beat Aaron's Drapion, then he would lose.

"I'm counting on you, Drapion!"

The differently colored Drapion finally made his appearance in battle. Besides the color difference, he was also slightly smaller than Aaron's Drapion, though his pincers were menacing.

Aaron's expression softened. "I was waiting for this."