Decidueye was getting frustrated. Where could the ninja be? He had followed the trail, albeit cautiously, and found that it tapered off after about twenty yards in an area of extremely tall grass and sparse trees. The owl pokemon could just barely see over the thick green grass, but he couldn't see into it at all, and so he had to fly up and land in one of the nearby trees. There was no canopy here, and so the grass blew to and fro in the wind, further obscuring the grass type's vision. Frustrated that he had allowed his quarry to escape detection, Decidueye was about to fire off a number of arrows into the tall grass when something slammed into it's back, sending it tumbling twenty feet from the branches of the tree. He landed face first, slumping forward. Summoning what remained of his strength, he peered over his shoulder through one eye and saw Kagetomo towering over him, leg raised in preparation of delivering a blow. His foot descended, and everything went black.

Kagetomo was impressed. All of Ash's pokemon that he had fought so far were well trained, even if they did tended to over rely on specific skills or traits too much. Yes, they would have made (and still possibly might) excellent ninja. But where were the other three? From what he had seen of Ash's Gengar, it was just as silly and impetuous as his Gligar, and it loved to battle. Why, then, would it have not attacked by now? And where were Zoey and Trevenant? He gazed at the trees around him, but all where an earthy brown in color. Not a single one was silver, and so it was impossible for Ash's Trevenant to be hiding among them. "Gengargar" came a laugh, right behind him. Kagetomo turned, making the mistake of looking the setting sun right in the eye, and felt something slam into him from behind. Upon scrambling to his feet, he realized what had happened. It set a trap! It deliberately waited until Decidueye engaged me and I was distracted. He scrambled to his feet, sending a shuriken flying towards the ghost pokemon. The second before it struck, Gengar vanished. Kagetomo crouched, eyes scanning his surroundings. That would be a problem. He turned and ran, hoping to turn the situation around.

Gengar followed the ninja at a distance, sticking always to the shadows. It was enjoying this little game of tag so far. It wasn't sure why Ash had agreed to this training in the first place if it was being honest. But it was still having fun, so it would continue to play. Kagetomo knew he was being followed. Why would the ghost type give up? It had him on the run, so why didn't it make another appearance? He had been running for fifteen minutes before he stopped. Now he was crouched with his back against a rocky outcropping, probably the edge of a cliff. Suddenly, the shadows blurred, and a purple form appeared behind him. Kagetomo remained still, and the pokemon kept coming at him. The ninja turned in one swift motion, throwing a dull yellow powder into the assailant's path. Gengar felt it's non existent muscles freeze up, falling to the gound paralized. "Your use of speed and shadows is commendable, Gengar. But you should not rush in without first devising a strategy or plan of attack." Kagetomo vanished in thin air, leaving a very aggravated ghost lying on the ground.

The second he reappeared, Kagetomo hit the ground with a roll, dodging the incoming branch like arm. He came to a stop, turning to find the tree pokemon bearing down on him. Why would a pokemon shaped like a tree throw away the advantage of surprise? Unless… Kagetomo side stepped and struck out with his left foot, aiming low. The tree toppled over his leg, hurtling to the ground. It slammed into the ground, it's form shimmering to reveal Zoey. He shook his head. Ash was right. Zoey used her ability as a crutch, not as an advantage. Zoey raised up on all fours, grinning at the ninja. Kagetomo sighed, taking an at the ready stance. The zoroark appeared to almost grin, before leaping forth with a howl. Kagetomo ducked, feeling the air shimmer around his head. And just in time, too. The air around where his upper body had been was rent with dark, inky shadows. Shadow claw. Kagetomo tensed his bent legs, kicking off the ground with the right and swinging around with the left to deliver a blow to the dark type. His frustration doubled when Zoey angled her body to the side, taking only a glancing blow and grabbing hold of his outstretched leg. Zoey spun, swinging Kagetomo around and into a tree, whereupon he landed with a sickening THUD. Zoey reared back, summoning a dark sphere at the opening to her maw. ""Better luck next time!" She said, firing off a dark pulse. Kagetomo rolled right, just barely dodging in time. The tree behind him shattered, bursting into a thousand splintered pieces. Kagetomo came up throwing shurikens, striking Zoey across her face. She growled in annoyance, leaping at the ninja in anger. She should be winning this! How is he still conscious after that throw? She thought in annoyance. She sailed through the air, convinced that this would be the end of it, until the ninja threw a yellow powder into her path. Zoey fell to the ground, paralized. What in the name of the Distortion World was that? "Your trainer was right, Zoey. You show great promise. But you must hone your talent with training and patience." the ninja said, standing above her. Pivoting on his feet, the ninja turned and ran through the dense brush, heading for the clearing this had started in. As he exited the underbrush, the hair on his neck stood on end. There, at the edge of the clearing was Trevenant. It was standing perfectly still, arms raised in imitation of tree branches. What gave it away was it's coloring. Usually, a Trevenant would be brown, with green leaves about it's body. This trevenant was silver, with red and orange leaves. This would have been adequate had it been fall, but it was currently summer. Because of this, Trevenant stood out like a sore thumb, and it didn't even seem to know it. Kagetomo sighed. Trevenant can be rather powerful pokemon, with access to moves such as seed bomb, hex, phantom force, wood hammer, will o wisp, and confuse ray. If it can learn to corner it's opponents instead of relying on stealth, it may be a great warrior. "Trevenant! I can clearly see you. Your unique color makes stealth impossible, but perhaps you can learn to rush down your opponents. For now, you are disqualified."