The Hearthome gym battle

(Make sure to drop a review/ comment, it helps a lot! Also, always remember to check the Authors Note for those not-binge-reading the entire thing. Even if you are binge reading, I recommend you read them, as they provide more insight on the story, information on updates, and also, from now on, I will recommend fanfics that I like there.)

"Shadow ball, Phantom Force!" Fantina shouted out, as her Mismagius fired the ball of spectral energy at the Graveler, who was far too slow to even react as the attack exploded into smoke and energy, Mismagius then disappeared into a follow-up Phantom force, before reappearing behind the dazed Graveler to completely knock it out.

Nick sighed as he turned off the television, for third and fourth gym battles Fantina most often used either Gengar or Mismagius in these battles, but in certain battles she also used a Dusclops. Nick had spent hours studying the gym battles while his Pokemon practiced, he had Sven practice his aura-sphere in preparation for the gym battle, Sicarius was working on improving her agility. Bellator was doing general training, Nick didn't plan on using him due to his disadvantages against Fantina's ghost Pokemon, Ace was also working on general training as he needed the extra improvement.

Calvin's battle was about to commence in roughly two hours, so he decided to return his Pokemon for them to rest.

~N~

Nick sunk into his seat, as Ren and Janice sat next to Nick, "Do you think Calvin will win?" Ren asked in an attempt to start a conversation, Janice however remained silent, focusing purely on the battle.

"If Calvin of all people loses, then I stand not a single chance." Nick replied, staying silent when Ren gave him an odd look.

"Wait, now that I think about it, didn't Janice say she was going to show me her Pokemon…I guess they forgot."

The referee stood behind the psychic barriers, as Calvin and Leader Fantina walked to their sides of the stadium.

"Three versus Three, one switch allowed, and third gym badge battle!" The referee shouted, "The Leader will release her first Pokemon!"

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

"Begin!"

Instantly, Fantina and Calvin both reached for their Pokeball, Calvin reached into his belt while Fantina pulled a Great Ball from under her dress…

"Gengar, Scout will confuse ray!" Fantina shouted out, her large dress swaying with her movements as Calvin narrowed his eyes, "Inanis, enact."

Nick's eyes widened as the Gastly materialized on the battlefield, staring down her final evolution, a Gengar.

As a grin ran across Janice, "Just what the hell is that boy planning?"

Ren scoffed, "Still, sending out a Gastly against a Gengar…No matter what he pulls Calvin is destined to lose without incredible luck."

Nick listened intently, it seemed Ren and Fantina had the same sentiment, judging by the confident grin on Fantinas face.

"We'll see…" Nick muttered, he decided to place some faith in Calvin's capabilities.

Fantina's Gengar dashed at Inanis, leaping the air as the Gastly dissipated into gas before reappearing behind the Gengar, and narrowly dodged a shadow ball which grazed her non- body, She retaliated with a hex, and Gengar easily dodged the attack by swaying to the left.

Due to Gengar becoming a lot more "solid" upon evolution, it was no longer able to levitate in its form, which meant that Inanis held the aerial advantage…

But that didn't really matter.

Gengar "teleported" behind Inanis, who yelped in surprise as Gengar fired a weak shadow ball which collided against Inanis and caused her to repel in annoyance.

Nick narrowed his eyes, "Fantina…is playing with him?"

Calvin visibly scowled, "Inanis! Enact!"

The Gastly dispersed into gas, before morphing behind Gengar, "Now!"

Inanis instantly faded back into gas when Gengar attempted to hurl a shadow ball, then fired a confuse ray and a hex…

Gengar was then engulfed in a bright, green radiant shield, and Inanis uselessly fired the hex which dissipated against the wall, before dashing behind Gengar, as a wave of ghastly aura radiated from Inanis...

Calvin gritted his teeth, but a sly smile could be seen on his face, it was clear that his plan was to disorient Gengar so that Inanis could land a combo of moves, but he obviously didn't anticipate Gengar to know protect.

"Plan: Illusion!" Calvin shouted out, and Nick raised his eyebrows in confusion.

Inanis disappeared into gas, infesting the arena, as Gengar did the same…

Suddenly, the entire arena was engulfed by a gas substance…

And a wild grin spread across Calvin's face as Inanis was slammed by a shadow ball, but as the gas and smog engulfed Gengar, Inanis disappeared as several clones of the Gastly appeared, The Gengar frowned before firing several shadow balls which exploded upon contact with the clones, however, the added smoke from the attacks caused the arena to be near incomprehensible and foggy.

"You know what to do!" Calvin shouted, and Fantina seemed to grow more serious as her Gengar panicked, "Gengar, stay calm! Disperse the gas!"

Gengar leaped backwards cautiously, before inhaling, due to the Gengar's part poison typing they can absorb the toxins with minimal ease, however, as the clones surrounded Gengar, the real Inanis snuck behind Gengar and fired a confuse ray.

The attack of ghostly energy sent shockwaves through the Gengar's body, as the ghost's eyes suddenly lost its color.

In the Gengar's confusion, the clones continued to surround it, and one of them fired a hex from behind, Gengar suddenly snapped back, firing off a limp hex which hit nothing though, and was then placed back in Inanis's illusions.

From the heavy gas, one of the clones readied a Will-O-Wisp as several spheres of ghostly energy was absorbed into Gengar's body, who instantly fell limp as the effects of the condition caused him to recoil. This combined with the illusions gave Inanis the perfect opportunity to go on strike, "Commence!"

Inanis swayed to the left, as the clones followed it, Gengar groaned and hurled a shadow ball, but the attack hit nothing as the Gengar groaned in pain from the status effects inflicted upon it.

Nick whistled, "Damn, it seems Calvin might just win this battle!"

Janice smirked, "That brat must've strategized quite a bit."

Fantina scowled, before flamboyantly twirling her large dress, "Impressive, boy, Gengar is in quite the doozy!"

And a sly grin spread across Fantina, "But the difference in strength and power still makes it an uphill battle."

Calvin grunted, as Gengar suddenly snapped from the confusion just as Inanis fired off a hex, the ghost attack caused the Gengar to grit its teeth in pain.

"Sludge Bomb-"

"Phase Two!" Calvin shouted, and Nick's eyes widened.

"There are phases!?"

Gengar readied a sludge bomb, but was intercepted as a clone flew directly into it, the clone dispersed in smoke, and caused Gengar to stumble, Inanis instantly fired off a hex. However, much to Calvin's annoyance, the attack was blocked by a protect, and Inanis was knocked away by a shadow ball right after.

Inanis could be seen panting from the hazy arena, it seems the ghost Pokemon was already reaching its limit despite having only been hit once.

"Gengar, Shine!"

Calvin frowned at the clear custom command, as Gengar was engulfed in a bright, dazzling light which caused Inanis to repel in pain as she was dazed, "Shadow Ball!"

"Venoshock!"

Fantina's eyes widened as all of the previous, heavy toxic gas all absorbed in one focal point, the attack smashed against Gengar who yelped in pain from the sudden attack.

Nick grinned, "I see, the intense gas which encased the entire arena was a tingency plan in case of an emergency so that Calvin can temporarily stun Gengar…"

"Now!" Calvin shouted, Inanis dashed at Gengar as clones appeared, and amidst the chaos one of them fired a hex, the ghost attack crashed against Gengar who groaned in pain as another wave of gas engulfed the arena, and just as Gengar was about to retaliate with a shadow ball it was struck by another venoshock, and Inanis disappeared…

Ren, Janice, and Nick all gaped in unison, as they recognized the move as phantom force.

"Scatter!" Calvin ordered, Nick was in pure shock at the awe inspiring moves by Calvin, who simply smirked as all of the clones transported using Phantom force and surrounded Gengar, who was still dazed and was recovering from the effects of Will-O-Wisp, and all of the clones crashed into Gengar causing an casing of smoke, and the real Inanis fired a confuse ray and created several clones.

As the Gengar recovered, it fired a sludge bomb which contacted one of the clones, and Inanis then fired a hex. The ghostly beam of energy struck the statused Gengar who reared back in pain.

Ren was peeled to the battle, "Holy shit…"

Janice chuckled to herself, "That brat might just win!"

Inanis swayed to the left, taunting the Gengar who leaped at her with a shadow punch. The Gastly snickered before disappearing into another phantom force, as the familiar toxic gas set back into the arena…

Gengar's eyes widened as the clones pounced on it, all of them dissipated into smoke as Inanis reappeared behind it and slammed it in with a Phantom Force, as it then fired a hex which propelled it into the air.

From the very start, Inanis held the high ground, even if she was seemingly doomed to lose…

Calvin's strategies had completely dominated.

Nick gulped, the skills that Calvin possessed were far out of his league.

It was fascinating just how impressive Calvin was, and he was going to demonstrate the full brunt of that. "Inanis, Phase Three!"

Nick leaned back on his seat, the small audience they had gathered had become a bit larger, and cameras were flashing.

He smiled softly, before returning to the battle.

Gengar dissipated into its non- form, before reappearing behind Inanis, who scowled and was slammed in with a shadow ball, but managed to pull itself into the air…

And enact Calvin's final plan.

He smirked, as he hovered over Inanis's Pokeball, it was clear she was reaching her limit, and keeping her in this long could prove costly. Her usage of Phantom Force is draining, and the moment Gengar goes down he needs to time his return of Inanis's return.

As Inanis hovered into the air, Gengar leaped at her, just as planned…

"H!"

Inanis flipped to the side, before closing her eyes and firing a Hypnosis, she flew through the air to dodge a shadow ball, much to Fantina's surprise. Moving while using Hypnosis was fairly advanced, and she hadn't expected Inanis to have mastered the move. In actuality, Inanis could move while using Hypnosis the moment he caught her.

Gengar attempted to resist the drowsiness, Calvin knew it wasn't likely that Inanis's hypnosis would be strong enough to instantly knock out Gengar, but the drowsiness it provides could several hinder the Gengars movements and provide Inanis a plethora of opportunities.

"Inanis! Finish this!" Calvin shouted, as a serious glance made way on his face, Inanis scowled before disappearing among smoke and clones, and then….

Gengar flinched in pain, as he twisted his body in order to use shadow ball-

But Inanis was faster.

Inanis had completely outspeed Gengar, who repelled in shock as the Gastly disappeared into a phantom force, and the both of them reappeared in the air, Gengar yelped in surprise as the clones crashed into it, smoke engulfing the arena as Inanis fired several beams of ghostly energy which caused Gengar to repel further into the air, as explosions continued to fill the arena, this time they were an explosive violet.

Nick gaped, the scenery was truly beautiful, as Calvin commanded Inanis, explosions of violet continued to engulf and encase the arena in a glitter of violet…

It was amazing.

Inanis grinned as the Gengar crashed against the ground with a loud thud! The seemingly unbeatable Gengar had fallen against the ground, and Fantina grinned widely.

"Great job, boy, never in my life would I have anticipated a feeble Gastly stand up to the might of a Gengar of all things." Fantina complimented, and Calvin smiled softly, "My plan wouldn't have worked if it weren't for Inanis and her determination."

Fantina smirked, "Well then…"

"Misdreavus, finish it!" Fantina shouted, before releasing her second Pokemon, a Misdreavus. The Ghost Pokemon laughed sinisterly, her laughter ringing across the battlefield as Inanis narrowed her eyes.

"Inanis, Plan B: Finale!"

Nick narrowed his eyes, he had assumed that Calvin would return Inanis, but it seems he had judged wrong…

The Gastly twisted its body, as it used its favorite move, double team as clones surrounded the Misdreavus, "Enact!"

The toxic gas encased the arena once again, as Misdreavus narrowed its eyes, before firing a hex into the air, the ghost energy hit one of the clones and…

"Venoshock!"

The high-concentration of toxic gas converged against Misdreavus who repelled back in pain from the sudden attack, as the Misdreavus teleported behind Gastly, who spun around in sudden shock as Inanis was slammed by a shadow ball, "Return!" Calvin shouted, as Inanis dissipated back to her Pokeball.

Calvin gritted his teeth in anger, Nick assumed that his plan hadn't worked out.

"Eize, tear em apart!" Calvin shouted, the Luxio growled the moment it materialized on the battlefield.

Fantina smirked, before swaying her large dress again and tapping on her side of the battlefield, "Misdreavus, confuse ray and shadow ball!"

The Misdreavus drifted to the side, as Eize glared at the ghost before pouncing it, Misdreavus chuckled to themselves before firing a sphere of ghostly energy, Eize glared at Misdreavus as the spheres were absorbed into Luxio's body, who crashed against the floor in pain.

Calvin smirked, all was going according to plan.

He turned around to see Nick…with Ren and Janice looking on intently.

The past weeks or so, he's been increasing Eize's resistance to the effects of confusion, that way he can fight well even under the effects of confusion in preparation for this battle, it still had work and his training would mean jackshit in the face of a confuse ray from a stronger Pokemon.

All of this was for preparation for this single fight, and Calvin also had one more reason for this.

It was to tap into Eize's latent potential.

Eize is at his best when he is pissed beyond belief, and a confuse ray is the best to make him enter that angered frenzy.

Luxio growled furiously at Misdreavus, wincing in pain but continuing onward, Misdreavus narrowed its eyes in apprehension, before firing a shadow ball.

Luxio leaped to the left, fury glinting in his eyes as he pounced on Misdreavus, the ghost type swayed to the left as Luxio crashed against the ground and landed firmly on his legs.

"Eize, continue." Calvin said firmly, there was no point in formulating a plan with Eize, his strength came from his unrelenting brutality, and this simple plan was the best way to awaken that brutality inside of him.

Calvin crossed his arm, staring at the battle intently as Eize's eyes continued to grow more and more furious, and for the first time he managed to catch Misdreavus, malicious intent in his eyes as his teeth were coated in a dark energy and he bit into the ghost type, "Thunder Fang!" Calvin called out, and electricity cackled from Eize as he continued to bite down onto Misdreavus, who yelped in pain as Eize then, with some difficulty, slammed the Misdreavus against the wall.

The Misdreavus winced in pain as Eize attempted to follow up the attack but Misdreavus flung a shadow ball against Eize which exploded into violet smoke and caused Eize to crash against the ground.

Eize continued to grow more and more furious, growling rampantly at the Misdreavus who laughed at his irrationality, After a while of anticipation, Misdreaus flew in for a shadow ball, and Eize instantly leaped at it with a thunder fang, the attack only grazed the ghost as to Fantina and Misdreavus's surprise, Eize bounced off the wall with his strong hind legs and cackled with electricity as he crashed into Misdreavus, who was knocked against the ground from the electric attack.

Misdreavus bounced against the ground, as Eize reared backwards in preparation for a follow-up, but to his surprise when he leaped at the Misdreavus, it simply faded away before reforming behind Luxio, "Shadow Ball!"

Calvin straightened his back, "Eize! Dodge!" He shouted, normally he wouldn't need to command his Pokemon to dodge an attack, but when Eize is so pissed off like he is now, there is a chance he will just charge in recklessly. That was the only real flaw in this "strategy".

Eize frowned, but followed Calvin's orders and leaped to the side, dodging the full force of the attack as the shadow ball exploded upon contact with the gun, "Will-O-Wisp!"

Calvin cursed, if Will-O-Wisp were to connect then things could become a massive pain for him and Eize, Luxio growled at the spheres of energy before leaping to the left, his hind legs ricocheting off of the wall as he jumped at Misdreavus who glared at him and then fired off a shadow ball, the attack knocked Eize onto the ground, the Luxio growled furiously before landing on his hind legs again and jumping at Misdreavus, who fired off a limp hex which only served to annoy the Luxio. Eize bit down with a thunder fang which cause Misdreavus to screech in pain. Calvin reached for his ears as the otherworldly sound pierced his ears.

The Psychic Barriers seemed to block the effects of the ear-piercing screech, but Eize took the full brunt of the attack. He flinched and panted heavily. Narrowing his eyes as he readied himself to pounce at the Misdreavus, who wiggled around in the air, grinning.

"Curse." Fantina called out softly, and Calvin's eyes widened. "Curse!? In a third gym battle!? Crap!"

Misdreavus grunted in pain as it was engulfed in a magenta light, Eize visibly paled as the two were linked together by the curse.

Eize scowled in pain as the ghostly energy assaulted his every body, he shrieked before pouncing the Misdreavus angrily, the ghost type was exhausted and injured from its usage of curse and fired a limp shadow ball which exploded in contact with Eize, who growled in annoyance as electricity cackled from his body as he charged into Misdreavus, the attack finally knocked out the Misdreavus.

Calvin didn't celebrate, however, as Eize likely couldn't fight for much longer.

He paled when the next Pokemon was sent out, he had expected a Duskull…

"Drifloon, Double Team and Ominous Wind!" Fantina shouted, the ghost balloon materialized onto the battlefield and instantly, clones of the Drifloon were formed.

Calvin sighed, Eize was still relentless despite his exhaustion and injuries.

He needed to make the most out of this.

Eize was at a clear disadvantage due to Drifloon's aerial maneuverability…

But none of that mattered in front of Eize, his determination would make it through, after all, Calvin knew that.

Eize breathed in, electricity cackled softly from his black fur as he glared at the sentient balloon which verbally taunted him with the many clones…

He dashed, dodging an ominous wind with Quick Attack and bounced off the walls to meet one of the clones, and in a brilliant feat of strength he used his powerful hind legs combined with electricity to leap off of the clones, the real Drifloon fired a ominous wind which Eize narrowly dodged and leaped onto one of the clones which exploded in smoke, before locking eyes with the real Drifloon who just fired the ominous wind. His claws sharpened as he latched onto the Drifloon, who missed an ominous wind as Eiz cackled with electricity and bit down onto the Drifloon, he was suddenly engulfed in a bright purple energy as he repelled in pain from the effects of Curse, but continued to assault Drifloon.

The Sentient Balloon finally knocked away Eize with an ominous wind, the attack crashed against Eize who was hurled at the ground at high speeds, Luxio was bruised and was barely even standing, Calvin gritted his teeth and reached for Eize's Pokeball…

"Lux!" Eize hollered, stopping Calvin dead in his tracks, as he hesitantly retracted his Pokeball.

Calvin barely managed to crack a small smile, Eize was still in the match.

Eize's eyes popped with anger and fury, as he shrieked at the Drifloon before rearing his tail back which glowed and then fired a thunder shock, Drifloon spun around as insad of the attack coming from the tail, a thundershock came from above it.

Calvin grinned in delight, he had trained Eize to use his tail as an anchor to summon electricity from above rather than using the tail as the source of the beam.

Drifloon spun around, dazed, before regaining its composure and firing off an Ominous wind, Calvin gritted his teeth and ordered for Eize to dodge, but his limp body was slammed by the Ominous wind. He screeched in obvious pain but fired off a thunder shock…

The electric attack ricocheted off the Drifloon, and Calvin's eyes widened in pure shock.

And somewhere from the stands, so did Ren and Janice.

Nick only felt bad for Calvin.

Drifloon was engulfed in a purple light, as it coursed with pure power and energy…

Calvin cursed to himself, "Ominous Wind has a small chance of boosting a Pokemon's power…"

He paled as Eize growled at Drifloon, "Eize! Now-"

Drifloon instantly fired off another Ominous Wind, Eize was too slow to dodge again as he was slammed by the attack and crashed against the wall, as he screamed in pain as the purple energy engulfed him again.

Calvin hastily withdrew Eize, the Luxio yelped but was forcefully withdrawn into his Pokeball. "Omnis, you're our last hope!"

In front of the powered Drifloon who coursed with energy, stood with a Porygon-2. Fantina's eyes widened in shock, and the rather large audience they had gathered swooned.

Calvin chuckled to himself. Omnis isn't affected by ominous wind or shadow ball, but he knows damn well that Drifloon is still a solid threat.

"Psybeam! Protect if needed!" Calvin ordered, and Omnis hovered in the air before firing the beam of psychic energy which was easily dodged, and Omnis then followed it off with a shock wave, the attack penetrated through the air, only to dissipate in contact with a green protective shield.

"Gust And Twister." Fantina commanded softly, and the Drifloon spun around dramatically as a large gust of wind was summoned, "Omnis, hold your ground with Magnet Rise!

Fantina narrowed her eyes as Omnis stabilized himself in the air with a magnet rise, the gust of wind summoned by Drifloon did little to him, Drifloon's twister however did. The draconic wind assaulted the Porygon-2, who attempted to frown before firing a Psybeam.

The Psybeam was blown back by the harsh draconic wind however, as Drifloon then fired a shadow ball, Calvin frowned at the sight…

"Why is he using a ghost type move against a normal-"

The Shadow ball crashed against the magnetic field, and Omnis was suddenly thrown off balance as Drifloon instantly followed its attack with a Twister.

"Fuck! Shit!" Calvin groaned, "Ghost Type moves directly interfere with the magnetic and gravitational field of this world, it is essentially otherworldly energy…"

Omnis arched backwards in pain as the powered up Twister slammed against him, Calvin hadn't anticipated this at all. Porygon-2 Were notorious for their insane defenses and bulk, yet against Drifloons hyper-powered abilities…

It would be rough.

Drifloon dashed with incredible speed and matched Omnis, "Agility!" Calvin hollered, he needed to take advantage of every single trick he got to win this match.

"Tailwind." Fantina ordered softly, and Calvin's heart dropped…

As the heavy winds engulfed the stadium, Drifloon moved with incredible agility, matching Omnis and even blowing him completely away in terms of speed, meeting him head on.

"Thunder wave, Gust." Fantina called out, Calvin's complexion turned death serious as he ordered Omnis to dodge whatever he could.

Drifloon used the wind boost to completely overwhelm Omnis, who attempted to zip away with an agility, but was caught by a gust of wind which halted him. Calvin felt himself visibly pale as Omnis was struck by a thunder wave, and then a gust.

Electricity cackled against Omnis's body, as his movements were hindered…

"Drifloon, finish it."

Calvin chuckled to himself…

"Omnis, magnet wave." Calvin called out.

He hadn't planned on using this during this gym battle, but god damn it did he want to win.

Magnet Wave was a move that was still very much a Work-In-Progress, Omnis, despite being a normal type, was most similar to a psychic or electric type. And due to his natural talents with the two typings and magnet rise…

He could theoretically use his psychic powers combined with electric and magnet rise to manipulate electricity in such an intricate way…

That the entire Arena is filled with electricity.

It could prove to be lethal to use the move incorrectly, but he knew Omnis could take whatever was thrown at him.

He was his partner, after all.

Drifloon fired a twister, the wind didn't faze Omnis however, as his entire body continued to crackle with electricity, his eyes glowed a bright blue as electricity continued to form in the arena, as Drifloon panicked from the large concentration of electricity.

Omnis stabilized himself with Magnet Rise, as the Electricity around the room began to intensify…

The Psychic Barriers intensified, as the electricity was now engulfing the entire arena and even as the wind continued to assault them…

Omnis winced in pain, but continued as his blue eyes slowly morphed red, "NOW!" Calvin shouted at the top of his lungs.

The Violent Electricity all merged into one point, Drifloon panicked and fired dozens of twisters all to no avail, as the violent electricity assaulted its body, and a giant thunderous crash came. A piercing light engulfed the entire battlefield as the now even larger audience cheered, the light pierced Calvin's eyes…

But he couldn't look away.

Amidst the smoke, was a severely burned Drifloon…

And a Victorious Omnis.

Calvin finally let out a breath of relief…

And he saw cameras flashing…

He felt at the top of the world.

~S~

Nick spent the evening analyzing Calvin's battle against Fantina and found himself being amazed by the intricate planning by Calvin. It may not have seen much, but that boy had a counter for everything up until that unlucky ominous wind boost by the Drifloon.

He managed to piece together some bits of info on Calvin's entire plan. It was clear that he had done an abundant amount of research in preparation of this battle.

After getting some pointers from Calvin(the cheeky little bastard would only give him hints instead of explaining his strategy, darn him.) He thinks he figured it out.

It was clear from the very beginning that Calvin was abusing the entire "Leader sends out their Pokemon first" rule, as Calvin had likely prepped for every single one of Fantina's Pokemon. But, that rule wasn't guaranteed, and he had to beg Calvin for hints before finally figuring out his strategy on what would've happened if the rule didn't apply to the battle.

He would send out either Omnis or Inanis.

He would use teleport. Nick didn't even know Porygon learned teleport until he specifically scoured the web for it and found out Porygon could learn it, just not many did teach their Porygon the move. And teleport allowed the user to retract to his Pokeball, and could thus give Calvin a free switch to his preferred Pokemon if timed correctly.

However, he lucked out and avoided the unnecessary details for his plans as he was lucky and the "Leader sends out their Pokemon first" rule was applied to his battle.

It just so happened that Fantina released Gengar as her first, because that decision seemed to set the bar for Calvin to climb to victory. Inanis, despite being seemingly at the evident disadvantage against Gengar, was actually the best fit to combat Gengar.

All of them except Omnis and Inanis would be overwhelmed by the Gengar's sheer power and agility, and Omnis was a vital part of Calvin's overall strategy; which means he can't risk losing him against Gengar. So, logically, Inanis was the perfect Pokemon to counter Gengar.

Then, was Misdreavus. Nick knew that Calvin had counter measurements to every single one of Fantina's Pokemon and after Inanis went down, it became apparent that Eize was indeed the perfect counter to Misdreavus.

His brute strength and willpower meant he could storm through anything and everything that Misdreavus hurled his way.

The main thorn in Calvin's flawless plan was Fantina's weird decision of releasing Drifloon. Drifloon was a wild card that Calvin had a counter for, but that counter wasn't Eize. He had assumed that Fantina would opt for the much more stable Duskull as her final Pokemon. The Pokemon was sturdy enough to withstand Eize's attacks, and was able to hinder Eize significantly with Will-O-Wisp which made his predominantly physical attacks useless; and Eize would be placed in the back hand from Duskull's phantom force and powerful physical attacks.

So Drifloon appearing as Fantina's final Pokemon threw Calvin out of the loop, and forced him to rebalance. Eize was handily defeated, and things went horribly for Calvin when the power-up from Ominous Wind struck.

Calvin had mapped out the entire fight up until Drifloon's appearance.

Nick was amazed.

This was a great learning experience for him. He had always been an adaptive fighter, it was a part of his Ranger training after all. Planning was always good for him, but he always found it easier to adapt and improvise on the spot. But Calvin's amazing performance with his research and planning truly opened a new gate for him.

And so, he took up the challenge.

He used Calvin's battle as the prime source of analysis alongside other battles.

Nick also occasionally checked the online forums for battling, and saw that the battle had pulled quite a bit of traction. Calvin seemed to be a figure of talent even before Nick met him. Considering he had the rather sappy title of "The Moonlight Walker". Nick also found himself in a rabbit hole where he found out that Calvin earned that title after hopping through roofs under the moonlight to chase after thieves which he found quite hilarious.

Oh wait- he was getting off track.

He decided to share some of his plans with his Pokemon; Bellator seemed to be quite annoyed that he didn't get an opportunity to fight. Nick tried to convince the rather envious Kirlia that he was at a massive disadvantage and that Ace was the better option against Fantina's Pokemon, but he didn't seem to accept his words very well.

Oh yeah- how could he forget! He also phoned Janice and Ren in order to have some advice. Ren gave some interesting tips about Fantina's usage of illusions with Mismagius and Gengar's usage of Hypnosis; He also said that there was a higher chance that Fantina was going to use Mismagius than Gengar in Nick's battle. So Nick took that into account when he was prepping.

Janice, on the other hand, recommended that he led with Sven. The Lucario with foresight could damage the ghost types greatly, and Fantina loved to lead with either her strongest Pokemon. Nick then ran some tests and found out over the One-Hundred and Sixty-Five battles she's participated in over the current season so far; more than ninety-percent of the time she led with her strongest.

Since Sven at this point was arguably Nick's strongest Pokemon, he figured it would be best for him to release it first.

He did think of releasing Sicarius first; The Sneasel was the fastest of the entire team(Sven was still barely slower than her), and could overwhelm whatever Fantina threw at her with Night Slash. But she was still too frail compared to Sven. So, at the end, Nick still ended up choosing Sven.

And so, everything was ready.

He awoke the next day, ready to fight against Fantina.

~S~

"Three gym badge battles, Three Pokemon, one switch per leader and challenger, the challenger releases first!" The referee shouted, "Begin!"

"Lucario, go!" Nick shouted, throwing his black jacket to the side. His eyes narrowed as Fantina readied to release her Pokemon…

Nick's eyes widened as Fantina released a duskull.

"Shit!"

He had anticipated a Mismagius or Gengar, even a Drifblim or Dusclops. But he didn't expect a Duskull as Fantina's lead.

"Sven, foresight!" Nick ordered, Sven closed his eyes in concentration…

"Duskull, do your thing." Fantina commanded softly, "Quick Palm! Aura Sphere!"

Sven gritted his teeth as Duskull disappeared into wisps. Lucario twisted his body to the left, watching as the Duskull reformed only to disappear again…

"Use your Aura!"

Lucario concentrated, closing his eyes as Duskull reappeared to the right of Sven, but he was one-step ahead of Duskull and slammed the ghost type with a Force Palm which sent the non- ghost flying against the psychic barriers which illuminated upon contact.

"Now!" Nick shouted and Sven readied an Aura Sphere, the ball of pure energy forming in his palm as he reared his arm back in preparation for the impact.

"Duskull! Compose yourself-"

The ghost was still too disorientated, as he attempted to dash to the left but was engulfed in a light which exploded in a piercing light.

Nick grinned, but turned serious as Duskull disappeared.

"Enact." Fantina ordered confidently, smirking.

He scowled as Duskull disappeared with a phantom force before slamming into the back of Sven, who groaned and attempted to retaliate with a force palm.

A ball of fire mixed with ghostly energy impacted against Sven, who visibly paled as trickles of fire assaulted his physical form. "Confuse ray!"

"Force Palm." Nick called out calmly, narrowing his eyes as Lucario gritted his teeth in visible pain. "This isn't good…"

Sven slid across the ground, Duskull dashed at him and Sven's palm glew in energy. Nick cursed to himself and shouted out a command as Duskull disappeared into purple smoke. Sven leaped backwards, his palm crashed against Duskull who shrieked in pain before firing a confuse ray. The purple spheres of ghostly energy were absorbed into Sven.

Sven reached for his temples, barking and screaming in pain and discomfort. "Sven, I know you can do it! Break free and finish it with Aura Sphere!" He said firmly, and a light of reasoning clicked inside of Sven's eyes.

Nick looked on hopefully, and Sven managed to break free and dodge a shadow ball, leaping to the left as he then dashed at Duskull again, rearing his arms back as he readied an aura sphere.

"Duskull, Return!" Fantina hollered, as the wisps of ghostly energy reformed and was forced back into the Pokeball.

An ominous wind dawned upon the battlefield, Nick composed himself as he narrowed his eyes.

Sven released the aura sphere, which exploded in the air and casted away several of the thick fog.

"Mismagius, reveal yourself!" Fantina shouted, and Nick frantically ordered out a flurry of commands.

The ominous wind suddenly engulfed the entire battlefield. Sven scowled as the harsh winds assaulted him repeatedly, "Aura Sphere, damn it!"

The ball of blue energy encased the entire arena in a bright light, illuminating the dark stadium to reveal a grinning Mismagius, as clones of the Mismagius formed.

"Confuse ray!"

Mismagius drifted to the left, as wisps of ghostly energy were fired at Sven, who shifted to the left, "Shadow Ball!"

The ball of ghostly energy slammed against the ground and exploded against Sven. As Mismagius then fired another confuse ray which impacted against Sven again. Duskull's confuse ray was likely just a small hindrance and Sven was able to easily snap out of Duskull's rather feeble illusions…

But Mismagius was another story.

Mismagius's illusions were a massive issue. Sven had minor burns all over his body from Will-O-Wisp and were now under the complete control of Mismagius's powerful illusions.

"Sven! Snap out of it and use Force Palm!" Nick shouted, and Lucario seemed to latch onto the one sense of reasoning and leaped at Mismagius with a Force Palm. His attack…

Completely missed.

Sven shrieked in pain as burns continued to assault him, he gritted his teeth and leaped to the right with another force palm.

Mismagius chuckled sinisterly and Sven snarled as the effects of confuse ray continued to haggle him downwards.

"Sven…" Nick muttered, before shaking his head. "Sven! Now! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Nick grinned as one flicker of determination was lit in Sven, as he regained control for a split second and leaped at Mismagius, who grimaced and fired a shadow ball which exploded upon contact with an aura sphere. Sven then jumped out of the explosion, as Mismagius disappeared with a phantom force…

Nick grimaced, but that grimace was quickly turned upside down as Sven located Mismagius with aura and slammed them in with an aura sphere head-on.

The attack slammed Mismagius against the ground as a bright explosion blinded the arena.

Nick had a cheeky grin, but that grin turned into a grimace when Mismagius dispersed into white smoke, and a New Mismagius appeared behind and shot a hex at Sven. The ray of ghost energy exploded into purple smoke as Sven was slammed against the wall from the force of the attack.

"Sven!" Nick shouted, gritting his teeth. Sven was reaching his limit, and it was becoming evident. The power of Hex's move increases if the victim has had some sort of inflicted condition. Such as a burn or paralysis.

Any other Pokemon would be knocked out from the attacks he has taken. He's used aura sphere, a move that he hasn't mastered and thus very draining to use. Not only that, Duskull also inflicted a burn on Sven which meant that Sven was passively receiving damage and his attacks were also being hindered as a by-product.

Nick grunted, he had underestimated the difficulty gap between the second and third gym. Calvin had to spend the latter half of a month training and prepping his team just to win by the skin of his teeth. Things were getting rough for him. He was relying solely on his experience as a trainer and the training his Pokemon had gone through.

"One final Aura Sphere!" Nick shouted out desperately, Sven's eyes glowed a bright red as a wave of aura bursted from him. He concentrated the aura energy into his palms, as the piercing light engulfed the entire arena.

Mismagius grinned mischievously and dispersed into smoke, Sven however was unfazed as he simply shut his eyes, the sphere of aura energy becoming more and more intensive.

"Shadow ball!"

Mismagius appeared behind Sven, twisting its half- body as a sphere of ghostly energy was formed. Sven hastily turned around and fired the aura sphere. A blinding light forced Nick to cover his eyes, as the force of the explosion collided against Shadow Ball. As the smoke cleared, Nick frowned.

Sven collapsed against the floor, as Mismagius dissipated into wisps, before reforming. The ghost type breathed heavily and seemed to be exhausted, but Sven was defeated.

"You did great, bud. Better than the others would've done, I'm proud." Nick whispered softly as he returned Sven. He looked at the stadium, crowds of people had formed, likely due to gym battles being a large part of entertainment for such a crowded city like Hearthome. He spotted Ren and Janice, Calvin was probably watching through television.

"Sicarius, now!" Nick shouted, before unclipping the Sneasel's Pokeball and throwing it into the air. Seconds later, Sicarius appeared on the battlefield.

"Magi, Double Team and Confuse Ray-"

"Boost Strategy!" Nick hollered, He created a strategy for Sicarius, it was quite simple and took around one week of practice. It was a spin on the Dire Strategy he created for Bellator. Albeit it's not as annoying as Bellator's, but it's certainly effective.

Mismagius morphed into wisps again, as several clones of it reformed and dashed at Sicarius, who remained unfazed. She created her own clones and to the Mismagius's surprise, dozens after dozens of these clones formed. At this point, Sicarius was a master of double teams. Not many people train their Pokemon to use Double Team to such an advanced extent, so Fantina seemed to be quite amused by the large number of clones.

However, as the Mismagius clones clashed with Sicarius own, Fantina's eyes widened in shock when the clones all suddenly crashed into each other, they were spread out and due to the smoke from the collision and destruction of the clones, smoke filled the arena.

"Now!"

A sly grin spread across Sicarius's face, as the smoke cleared…

More clones erupted from the smoke and instantly barraged and overwhelmed the Mismagius clones, destroying more of them.

Mismagius, instead of counterattacking, erupted into a bright light. Nick suspected it was trying to use a move, but didn't bother to think much about the bright light, as the move was probably disrupted by Sicarius's attack considering nothing happened.

The clones then crashed against each other again and smoke erupted once again.

Finally, as it all settled down…

Sicarius dashed. Her claws smooth and sharp, as she moved with a quick attack and with a sudden burst of speed, she caught Mismagius off guard, and a sharp, black stick formed in her palms. Instantly, she lifted the attack up, an ominous energy illuminating from the stick as she slammed it against the Mismagius.

Mismagius hurled through the air and crashed against the wall, as Sicarius had an evil grin on her face. Mismagius had been defeated.

Nick had a massive grin on his face. All of that smoke and dust was all just to confuse Mismagius enough for Sicarius to use hone claws and sharpen her senses to the absolute maximum. Through that, her senses were at their peak and her power alongside accuracy would be unrivaled.

Sicarius was ready to face whatever Fantina hurled her way.

"Duskull, again!" Fantina called out, and the masked ghost appeared on the battlefield again. Its injuries from battling against Sven still seemed to be evident, but were healed bit by bit.

Fantina narrowed her eyes, Nick thinks that she had already caught onto his strategy, but that didn't matter. Sicarius still had the overwhelming advantage.

"Sicar, Taunt and Night Slash!" Nick shouted, and Sicarius dashed at Duskull. Taunt was one of the most basic moves of the Sneasel line, they relied on it a lot in the wild. Taunt was an advanced baiting move using the user's dark type move to emit a taunting feeling, it corrupts the victims mind and forces them to act irrationally.

Sicarius swayed to the left and right, concentrating on emitting her dark type energy. Duskull's eyes widened, as the dark energy slowly corrupted it. Sicarius instantly took it as an opportunity to dash at Duskull, forming a Night Slash and leaping into the air, swerving the large, sharp stick.

Taunt not only angers the opponent, but it tends to dissuade them from using certain moves. Like Will-O-Wisp, if Duskull were to use Will-O-Wisp on Sicar, it could be detrimental.

"Duskull, snap out of it!" Fantina shouted firmly, and her voice of reasoning seemed to only anger the Duskull even more.

Sicarius then crashed down against the Duskull, slamming it in with the Night Slash. Nick knew that a Duskull in such a forced situation like this is very disadvantageous for Fantina.

The Duskull line were by no means offensive powerhouses. They were known for their defensive utilities which wore down the enemy and used their decent offensive capabilities to finish the opponent off, but without those defensive utilities and just pure offense…

They are mediocre.

"Duskull, Hex and Shadow Ball!" Fantina hollered, it seems she has gone in for the full offensive route. Makes sense, no point in letting Duskull be brutally beaten by Sicarius when he could be doing something.

Nick had a confident smirk, he knew he was going to win this. All of the cards were in play for him to summon a victory, all he needs to do is not mess up.

Sicarius moved with immense speed as she dashed to the side of Duskull, Duskull fired a shadow ball which exploded against the ground but missed Sicar and slammed Duskull in the side with a Night Slash. The Dark Type attack collided in impact against the Duskull…

All was coming together.

Duskull fired a limp hex, the ghost type attack exploded when slammed against Sicarius who winced in pain, and was then slapped by a Shadow Ball.

Nick gritted his teeth, he might have underestimated Duskull…But that didn't matter, it was still going down.

"Again!"

Duskull shuddered as Sicarius suddenly disappeared, leaving a trail of dust as she reappeared with immense speed behind Duskull, her palms were imbedded with dark energy as her palms slammed against Duskull with a Faint Attack.

The masked ghost fell backward in pain…

Nick's eyes widened.

"Why is this thing so damned durable!?"

He had to be honest, he's never fought against any member of the Duskull line. Most of the info he's gathered were from videos and the Pokedex. In his old timeline, during his fights against Fantina she didn't use a Duskull against him. She used the same team against him both times he challenged him. Both times she used a Drifblim, Gastly, and Misdreavus. So he had no experience fighting a Duskull, as they were also pretty rare.

But, he couldn't truly grasp the sheer magnitude of how durable these things are until now. Duskull had just taken several boosted attacks from Sicarius, all of whom were super effective.

"Gah! Night Slash, Faint Attack!" Nick shouted out, and Sicarius complied. She dashed at Duskull, forming a Night Slash as Duskull fired a limp shadow ball which exploded against the ground and hindered Sicarius, but she leaped forward and reared the Night Slash back…

Both Nick and Sicarius's eyes widened when the Duskull was erupted in a bright light, reminiscent to the bright light Mismagius emitted right before Sicarius defeated her. Fantina smirked confidently, as the bright light which erupted from Duskull stopped.

Duskull was revealed once again…

Almost completely uninjured.

Nick paled in realization.

"Wish!"

Right, He had dismissed that bright light which engulfed Mismagius when Sicarius went in for the final attack against Mismagius, she was using wish not some random move!

However, Fantina's strategy could've been countered if she had sent any Pokemon not Duskull. Any Pokemon would be fainted from Sicarius's attacks, but not that damned Duskull. That damned Duskull lived enough attacks for Wish to activate and heal its injuries…

Things were starting to look rough for Nick. He gritted his teeth and cursed the world, as Fantina stood at the opposite end of the stadium, grinning.

"Duskull, snap out of it!" Fantina ordered, and Nick grimaced visibly as Duskull seemed to snap out of Sicarius's taunt. The masked ghost dispersed into wisps, reappearing right behind Sicarius. The Sneasel hastily turned around and swiped away a shadow ball from the Duskull which exploded against the ground to the side of them.

Nick breathed in, it was becoming progressively worse for him…

"Sicarius! You need to finish it right now-"

The masked ghost fired wisps of flames merged with ghostly energy. Sicarius attempted to dodge, but yelped as Duskull fired a shadow ball and stopped her in the tracks. The Will-O-Wisp hit Sicarius, and Nick felt himself quiver.

This was getting worse and worse.

"Sicarius! Finish it, right now!"

The Sneasel groaned in pain. Duskull yelped as Sicarius pounced it, claws sharpening as dark energy oozed from them. A furious glint could be seen.

Nick sighed, it seemed Sicarius was getting a bit…

Feisty.

Then, hell broke out.

Duskull fired a shadow ball, Sicarius dodged it and ignored the pains from the burns all over her body as she fired an icy wind to hinder Duskull, before dashing at it and used Night Slash to slam them in the chest.

Then, Duskull seemed to become slightly agitated and fired a hex. The ray of ghostly energy was amplified by Sicarius's burnt state, and the attack crashed into her. She stumbled backwards in pain before leaping at Duskull again. She snarled as Duskull fired a shadow ball, which narrowly missed and grazed Sicarius. She then leaped at Duskull and used a faint attack, the sneaky attack caught the Duskull off guard and the masked ghost was pinned to the ground.

The entire stadium was quiet, which didn't help calm his nerves. He knew Hearthome city was massive and how much gym culture had an impact on the city, but he hadn't expected so many people to attend a random gym battle, it was nerve-wracking. He had no problem fighting in crowds, but when you are already in a pressuring battle, the crowd doesn't help.

Both Duskull and Sicarius seemed to be reaching their limit. Sicarius dashed at Duskull and used night slash to slice their corporeal body in half, the wisps remerged and Duskull fired a hex. The ghost attack shot through the air and struck Sicarius, she repelled in pain.

Sicarius twisted her body to the left to dodge a follow up confuse ray, before leaping forward and pinning the Duskull to the ground with a Faint Attack.

The battle reached its climax when Sicarius threw Duskull into the air, before finally defeating it with a Night Slash to the chest. Duskull's corporeal body shriveled and became unstable. "Return, Duskull!" Fantina shouted, waving her large dress in circles.

She whispered something to Duskull's Pokeball, before unclipping a Great Ball. She held it high in the air, the red stripes across the glistening blue surface shined in reflection against the stadium lights.

"Haunter, it's time." Fantina's soft voice rang throughout the stadium from her microphone.

The ghost materialized onto the battlefield, grinning evilly as it eyed the Sneasel which stood in front of it. Panting and exhausted, Sicarius flashed a cocky grin back. Determination lit in her eyes.

"Sicar, don't push yourself too much," Nick said softly.

The Sneasel simply smirked, before dashing at Haunter. The Haunter dissipated into shadows before reappearing behind Sicarius, she predicted this however and slammed the side of Haunter with a Night Slash. Her burns continued to spread, she winced in pain, but she continued.

Sicarius leaped to the right and lunged at Haunter with a Faint Attack. Haunter swayed to the right to dodge the attack before firing a Sludge. The sludge of poison caused Sicarius to shudder in pain, as the oozing liquid dripped from her body.

Nick gritted his teeth, before barking out orders to Sicarius. Clones of Sicarius appeared, but the Haunter quickly shut them all down with a powerful Sludge Wave. The wave of toxins slammed themselves into Sicarius, who screeched in pain.

His eyes flashed, as he reached for Sicarius's Pokeball…

No.

Sicarius still stood mighty, stumbling on her feet, but still standing.

"Icy Wind and Ice Shard!" Nick hollered, Sicarius dashed with brilliant speed despite all the deterrences. Nick could tell she was significantly slower than usual, just by how Haunter was keeping up with her with ease.

Sicarius leaped into the air, as Haunter followed and disappeared and reappeared behind him. She grinned and fired an Icy Wind around her. Haunter repulsed in pain from the sudden burst of cold win, as Sicarius stabilized herself on the ground with a massive Night Slash, which served as a pole. The audience gasped at the amazing display of balance on Sicarius's side, as she used the massive pole that is Night Slash to give her the buoyancy needed to lunge at Haunter with an Ice Shard.

Haunter was smacked in the face by the cold attack from Sicarius, who attempted to follow it off with a Night Slash…

But Haunter was faster, and fired a Shadow Ball which exploded in contact with Sicarius.

Nick cried out, as Sicarius fell to the floor. He hastily returned Sicarius back into her Pokeball.

"Return, Sicar!" Nick shouted out, before unclipping Ace's Pokeball. "Ace, you've been waiting for this for far too long! Your debut match has arrived!"

The dozens of people all cried out, Nick grinned at the reaction for Ace…His head would be massive after this battle. Well, actually, his head compared to his body already is massive.

Ace The Gible materialized on the battlefield, meeting the Haunter eye to eye…

"Make it quick, Ace!" Nick called out arrogantly, playing along with the crowd's excitement. "The crowd's cries for you only last for so long, after all!"

Fantina smirked, "Oh! I like your attitude, young man! Well then, let's see if that extravagant confidence of yours can truly meet the crowd's expectations!"

The audience went crazy, and the battle commenced.

Ace took Nick's orders to heart, as he instantly began with a Dragon Rage across the battlefield, Haunter dodged the attack by transporting itself right behind Ace with a Phantom Force, before firing a Sludge Wave.

The wave of toxins didn't faze Ace however, as a green radiant shield blocked the attack for him.

"Protect." Nick grinned, he had done a lot more prepping for this battle than one may think.

The green, protective shield faded, as Haunter fired a shadow ball. The ghostly attack was easily dodged by Ace who leaped to the right, and knocked Haunter out of the air with a Dragon Rage. Now that Haunter was grounded, Ace then fired a Sand Tomb. The gust of throttling sand caught Haunter off guard, and forced Haunter into a spiral of violent wind and sand.

Ace took this as an opportunity to fire off several Dragon Rages, the dragon attack pierced through the air and exploded in contact against the Haunter, who shrieked a disturbing scream in pain before finally breaking out, tired and exhausted.

Haunter instantly fired a shadow ball, which seemed to surprise Ace who had thought Haunter needed some time to recover. He was slammed by the shadow ball which exploded in contact against him, the ball of ghostly energy causing him to crash against the floor.

"Hypno-"

"Taunt!" Nick shouted out hastily, he couldn't risk being eliminated if Ace was eliminated. Ace already had a good grasp over utilizing dark energy through his constant usage of Bite. Through this, it wasn't very difficult for him to learn Taunt.

Fantina scowled, before ordering out commands to Haunter who dispersed into mere wisps as Ace dashed to the left in apprehension. Haunter glared in fury from the taunt and instantly fired a wave of toxins. Ace's eyes widened as he instantly propelled himself into the air with a sand tomb to avoid the Sludge Wave.

Nick grinned, Ace was incredibly intelligent for such a freshly caught Pokemon. Despite the fact that he was essentially completely wild, his intelligence and adaptive fighting style was beyond the others. He was adaptive enough to counteract opponent attacks without even Nick saying a word.

While mid-air, Ace fired a dragon rage. The burst of Draconic energy shot through the air and grazed Haunter who dodged the attack, before firing a blurb of sludge at Ace. The attack slammed him onto the ground, and the goo stuck him against the ground.

Due to this deterrence, Ace had to free himself from the goo, but Haunter had already fired a shadow ball. The sphere exploded into purple smoke and Ace repelled backwards in pain at the sudden attack.

Ace snarled at the Haunter, who didn't even make a flicker of annoyance before firing another sludge wave in anger. This time, Ace was slammed upfront by the attack. Nick cursed aloud, gritting his teeth before barking out orders to Ace.

"Ground him and use a sand tomb! Then, Dragon rage and when he has been freed from the spiral, Bite!" Nick hurled the sentence out rapidly, before stopping to catch his breath.

Ace nodded furiously, before preparing another dragon rage. Haunter's eyes glowered down at Ace, as it instantly lunged forward for a shadow claw, but Ace predicted this and as Haunter's claws grazed Ace, the ghost was slammed to the ground in an explosion from the Dragon Rage.

Now that Haunter was grounded, Ace could lift him into the air as a sand tomb. The spiral of sand sucked Haunter in, and the ghost type attempted to escape as Ace fired another dragon rage. The sphere of Draconic energy exploded once again, and Ace slowly closed the distance between them.

As Haunter grew more and more closer to escaping, Ace's attacks intensified.

Before finally, Haunter freed himself, glaring down at Ace and prepared a shadow ball, but the attack was interrupted as Ace instantly lunged at Haunter.

Nick yelped in excitement and grinned as Ace slammed Haunter to the ground with his body, before opening his mouth and biting down on the Haunter, infusing dark energy into the attack.

Haunter shrieked and yelped in pain, as the bruised Ace instantly let go, before preparing and firing a dragon rage. The draconic attack exploded into arrays of smoke, as Haunter seemed to disappear.

The ghost type zipped through the arena, its ominous energy radiating from it as fury and anger glinted in its eyes.

However, Ace wasted no time, as it fired a dragon breath. The beam of Draconic energy soared through the air, Haunter chuckled despite its battered and fading state, easily dodging the attack. It was then caught by Ace, however, who shot a dragon rage right after.

The blast of Draconic energy exploded into heavy smoke, as Nick's eyes widened as he covered his ears, as a screech of unfathomable pain and anger ran through the stadiums.

As the smoke cleared, Haunter floated. Its body is barely corporeal, instead fizzling like steam air.

"Haunter, return! Fantina shouted out.

Nick's eyes widened in shock.

He had done it.

He won again.

The cries for him rang through the stadium.

He knew most of it was because of Hearthome's large focus on public matches, but a part of him believed they were cheering because he had made an outstanding performance.

He turned to the stadiums…

And flashed an arrogant grin.

Author's note!

So, time for the lengthy shit.

This chapter was an absolute dooozzzyyyyyyy to write. Seriously. I never thought I'd have such difficulty with writing a chapter. Anyways, I genuinely hope you enjoyed this chapter :) let's move on!

Now, time to give my daily dose of recommendations!

So, first and foremost, I will be reccing two fics this chapter. These two fics will remain constant recommendations in all chapters now on.

Twisted Garden- Aleister is a brilliant master of the English language, far better than me, and his fanfic, Twisted Garden, really shows that. From the amazing concept, brilliant dialogue, and blossoming world building; I cannot recommend this fanfic enough. It currently only has five chapters, and is brilliantly amazing. Go read it and join its discord. (Also, join my discord!) I am more active on the Twisted Garden's discord than my own, so uhhh. Yeah, go read Twisted Garden and join its discord to support it, because it is actually a brilliantly crafted fanfic.

Catastrophe 23- Dom is also an amazing writer with English easily on par with Aleister. Not only is he an awesome and funny dude(he's active in the twisted garden discord server, even more incentive to read that fanfic), but his fanfic, Catastrophe 23(I know it better as A New World as it was its old name…) Is absolutely brilliant. The concept is interesting and well executed, the characters are realistic and cathartic, while the world building is intricate and well crafted. Basically everything about this fanfic screams fantastic, and it is truly amazingly amazing. Go read it.

And- yeah, that was it! I hope you had an amazing day, and remember…

Stay ballin'.