John's Team
Tyrant - Slaking
Vordt - Ursaluna
Smough - Snorlax
Klee - Blissey
Port - Mantine
Zephyr - Pidgeot
Klaus - Wyrdeer
Luna - Clefable
Pixel - Porygon-Z
Euphie - Sylveon
Ornstein - Obstagoon
Wraith - H-Zoroark
Winston - Lickitung (Shiny)
The New Normal – 12-11 – Teacher Vs Student
Today was finally the day. The day where the teacher would fight against the student. The day where Agatha and Karen were finally about to have their battle.
It was time to see if the student had managed to surpass their teacher.
Us Elite Four members, and the delegation from Sinnoh, were promptly shuffled into the VIP room at the Indigo Plateau to spectate the match. The two Champions sat in the middle, while I sat on Cynthia's left.
"It's a little strange seeing Agatha take the field," Lance muttered, "For as long as I've been in the Elite Four, I don't think I've ever seen Agatha receive a challenge before. Most knew better than to do so – and there were often better targets."
"I know what you mean." Lorelei nodded, "I half-expected her to be in the booth with us today, just from muscle memory. She's normally always providing her usual biting commentary to these battles, or just not be present."
"Sounds like she's quite the handful." Lucian commented.
"She's an…acquired taste." Lorelei admitted, "It takes some time to warm up to her, though she was actually quite nice to me when I first became Elite Four! But if she loses, I think I'll be sad to see her leave – even if that seems to be her plan."
"Retirement hardly suits her." Koga spoke up, "She has never been one to peacefully settle down. I doubt that will change even if she leaves the Elite Four."
"She might take up an active role in managing that new Gym opening up in Lavender Town then." I pointed out.
"Why not become the Gym Leader herself?" Cynthia asked.
I snorted, and there were a few other chuckles from the Indigo group, "Yeah, not likely. Even when she was appointed temporary regent of Pewter I'm sure she just passed most of the responsibilities off to Karen so she could sit back and just bark out orders."
"She's better as an overseer than an actual Gym Leader." Lance agreed, "And I know she doesn't care at all for the prestige."
"Think Karen would beat her then?" Lucian asked me, "You're the most familiar with them."
"I would be surprised if Karen lost, and not because I think she's necessarily stronger." I said, "It's just because Karen has more reasons to win than Agatha does. And that difference in mindset does matter. I'm not saying that Agatha is about to sandbag here, but there's a clear incentive for her to pass on her legacy to Karen."
"Agatha would not be one to hold back." Koga nodded, "She may not seem like it, but she has her own honour. She understands the importance of ensuring a fair transition between Elite Four members."
"I can't say that I disagree…it's just hard to believe Agatha of all people would lose." Lorelei explained, "She just has that confidence and presence, y'know?"
"…We shall see." Was all Lance said as the announcer took to the stage, signalling for silence.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! RARELY DO WE GET BATTLES THAT HAVE A DRAMATIC BACKSTORY TO GO ALONG WITH IT! BUT TODAY IS THE EXCEPTION! THE MASTER IS BEING CHALLENGED BY HER APPRENTICE! WILL KAREN SURPASS HER MENTOR, OR WAS THE STUDENT TOO EAGER TO CHALLENGE THE MASTER?"
"NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HOW LUCKY IS IT FOR US TODAY TO BE ABLE TO SEE A GHOST AND DARK SPECIALIST FACING OFF?! CONSIDERING HOW RARE IT IS FOR TRAINERS TO SPECIALISE IN THESE TYPES?! I BET WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING A LOT OF UNIQUE TRICKS AND TACTICS BEING PULLED OFF BY BOTH TRAINERS!"
"NOW WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, PLEASE WELCOME OUR CHALLENGER, YOUR LATEST INDIGO CONFERENCE WINNER AND THE APPRENTICE HERSELF, KAREN!"
Karen walked into the arena, waving to the crowd with a Pokéball already in her hand as they cheered loudly for her. Her expression was tight, but determined, though I caught the way that her eyes narrowed ever so slightly which betrayed the slight hint of nervousness from her.
I didn't blame her; I would be nervous too in her position.
"AND NOW, IT'S THE ELITE FOUR HERSELF, THE LAST OF THE OLD GUARD, AND THE LONGEST STANDING ELITE FOUR MEMBER IN HISTORY! PLEASE WELCOME THE MASTER OF GHOSTS, AGATHA!"
There was a slight moment of silence as the doors to Agatha's waiting room swung open…and no one came out. The announcer's face turned increasingly distressed until a few seconds later when Agatha finally appeared and hobbled into the arena. Literally.
She took painfully slow steps as her walking cane slowly tapped on the ground; her small steps only made it so that she was moving even slower. She took over a full minute just to reach her starting position, and judging by the shit-eating grin that she had on her face – and the amused roll of the eyes from Karen – she was clearly doing this intentionally.
"…She really likes to get on people's nerves doesn't she?" Lucian chuckled, "The announcer looked like he was about to get a heart attack when she didn't show up."
"I was expecting some grand entrance with her Ghosts." I admitted, "But this is pretty on brand for her too."
Once she finally made it to the starting position, she sent the announcer a mocking and impatient look which finally snapped him out of his surprise.
"TRAINERS, ARE YOU READY?!" Agatha let out a sigh, but nodded alongside Karen.
"THREE!...TWO!...ONE!...FIGHT!"
""Spiritomb.""
…Of course. Why did I expect anything different?
It was almost an amusing sight as two small stones were thrown into the arena, but that sight quickly turned serious as two cackling vortexes of Ghosts burst out from within them.
Karen's Spiritomb immediately launched a Taunt, and a bolt of Dark energy struck and wrapped around Agatha's Spiritomb. However, Agatha's didn't seem bothered by this as large spectral tendrils rapidly extended out from its centre, spreading out across the arena like shadowy appendages. The spectral limbs of Agatha's Spiritomb snaked through the ground and quickly surrounded the other Spiritomb, only for a powerful Dark Pulse to disperse them all.
But Agatha's assault was unrelenting, and a second wave of ghostly tendrils was unleashed once again. A few tendrils formed into menacingly sharp claws, while others shot out bolts of spectral energy in a volley of Shadow Balls towards Karen's Spiritomb.
"Icy Wind, Spiritomb! Charge forwards!"
Instead of trying to match Agatha's shadowy assault one-for-one, Karen's Spiritomb released a howling gale of Icy Winds, slowing down the many shadowy arms of Agatha's Spiritomb before her own disappeared into a blur of shadows as it used Phantom Force. Taking advantage of the slowness from the Icy Wind, Karen's Spiritomb reappeared right in front of Agatha's Spiritomb and smashed into it while also unleashing an explosive Dark Pulse right in its face.
The explosion of Dark energy right in front of Agatha's Spiritomb also dispersed all of its shadowy tendrils, giving Karen's the opportunity to slug it with a follow-up Shadow Claw.
"Split yourself."
However, Agatha had yet to reveal all of her own tricks. Instead, with an eerie cackle and a smile too wide to be natural, Agatha's Spiritomb began to split apart – the vortex of Ghosts that formed its 'body' splitting into many individual ghosts that broke away from the central 'body' through their own individual tendrils that had their own cackling 'faces' on them.
My eyes widened in shock at the sight. I had never seen this before.
These individual ghosts were still loosely attached to the central body, but it was clear that they could operate independently. The sudden swarm of ghosts all snaked through the ground, quickly surrounding Karen's Spiritomb from all angles while making sure to keep sufficient distance away so that a single Dark Pulse wouldn't instantly disperse them.
And then the attacks came.
They came from all angles, as each independent ghost had a mind of their own. Some fired Shadow Balls, others rushed forwards and tried to slash down with a Shadow Claw. A few were focused on defense, using Dark Pulse to try and counter Karen's own Dark Pulses.
It was an overwhelming amount of attacks, with dozens of different attacks being fired at Karen's Spiritomb simultaneously.
However, despite being completely surrounded and bombarded by all these different attacks, Karen didn't seem surprised at the manoeuvre – as if she had seen this before and had known to expect it.
"…Those attacks are weak." Cynthia pointed out, "It's quantity over quality right now."
She was right, and it explained why Karen was able to keep calm right now. The fact that Agatha's Spiritomb had broken up into many individual ghosts meant that each attack could come quicker and independently from each other, which was a huge advantage. BUT it meant that her attacks didn't nearly have the firepower as they did when her Spiritomb was 'whole'.
Not only that, but each ghost was frail. A single glancing blow from a Dark attack from Karen's Spiritomb was enough to cause the ghost to be knocked out.
However, against an unprepared trainer, the shock factor alone would have rattled them too heavily to properly respond.
Yet Karen was certainly not an unprepared trainer.
"Dark Pulse defensively. Look for opportunities."
A large shield of pure darkness formed around her Spiritomb, forming a protective bubble that blocked an entire barrage of Shadow Balls. It did nothing to stop the Shadow Claws that ripped through it, but Karen's Spiritomb was ready to punish that attempt as it lashed out with a quick Payback, snuffing out a few of Ghosts that gotten overeager with their attacks.
However, its shield had now faded away, and Karen's Spiritomb let out a pained shriek as it was struck by several volleys of Shadow Balls that all came from different directions. Gritting through the pain, it forced out another Dark Pulse, dispersing the attack and buying enough time for it to let out a Snarl.
The Snarl was weak, but with the individual Ghosts being as fragile as they were, they were momentarily stunned by the attack.
"Shadow Sneak forwards! Wipe them out!"
Making full use of this opportunity, her Spiritomb quickly disappeared into its shadow and rushed forwards, reappearing in front of a group of stunned ghosts as it tore them away with a large rake of its Shadow Claw while simultaneously launching an orb of darkness that detonated in the midst of another group.
Despite this progress, Karen's Spiritomb was given no opportunity to rest as a series of Night Shades slammed into it from behind. It tried to retaliate with a Payback, but another volley of Shadow Balls detonated into its side and interrupted the counterattack, momentarily forcing Karen's Spiritomb back onto the defensive.
As blows continued to be exchanged, I noticed something about Agatha's Ghosts. Even though there were an overwhelming number of them, not only were they extremely fragile, but they didn't seem to have the ability to react to attacks like I would expect. Whenever Karen's Spiritomb went on the offensive, they basically made no move to dodge, which was strange.
Perhaps this was a side-effect of splitting away from the original Spiritomb. They must not have much thinking power beyond basic commands.
Karen was gradually making progress clearing out Agatha's Ghosts, the individual ghosts being picked apart one by one, but they too were also taking a big toll on her own Spiritomb as its injuries began to pile on. Worse, the only healing move that Spiritomb had access to was Pain Split, but it was unable to use that move as Agatha's Ghosts were an invalid target. And a Rest would just doom it.
So the two Spiritombs continued to maul, slash, and blast each other with whatever attacks they could; there was hardly any strategy involved – likely because the Pokémon and trainers were too similar and too aware of the other for any tricks to work. It was only a matter to see if the emphasis on Ghost or Dark attacks would lead to the necessary edge to win the fight.
Would Agatha's swarm of Ghosts lead to her victory? Or would Karen's more potent Dark attacks and more centralised way of fighting keep her in the fight for long enough to clear out the swarm?
Eventually, the deciding factor for the battle came down to stamina. While Karen's Spiritomb was gradually being tired out, Agatha's swarm of ghosts were equally being thinned out – and for each ghost that was lost, it also led to a drop in attacking power. Furthermore, with Karen having frequently sparred against my strong bruisers, it was capable of carrying on with the fight despite the punishment it was taking.
The battle would finally come to an end as Karen's Spiritomb limped over the finish line – unleashing a tired and last second Dark Pulse that just managed to catch Agatha's final group of ghosts off-guard as they had tried rushing in with a Night Shade.
As that last group was dispersed, all of the ghosts were suddenly recalled back to the central 'body' of Agatha's Spiritomb. Karen wasted no time finishing off the fight with a final Payback, finally ending the fight.
It was not a glorious victory – far from it. It had been nothing less than a messy brawl where Karen's Spiritomb was always one step away from losing the fight. Karen's Spiritomb needed to have the willpower to constantly shield itself while maintaining its offense – and if it had tired out at any moment, then the battle would've been over.
And she still barely inched out a victory, one where she was forced to retire her Spiritomb shortly afterwards as it was too injured to continue fighting. It was an effective draw.
Seeing Spiritomb be withdrawn, I turned to Cynthia, "You ever consider something like that for your Spiritomb?"
"Nothing like what Agatha pulled off, no." She replied, "That was quite the eye-opener."
"Think you could win like Karen did?" I asked.
She thought it over for a moment before slowly shaking her head, "My Spiritomb's isn't nearly as proficient as Karen's is with its Dark Type moves, nor is it as mobile. Fighting against something like that…I would be more reliant on Protect rather than Dark Pulse to block, which isn't as effective against a barrage of attacks like that. I doubt my Spiritomb would have held on as well as hers did."
"I didn't think two Spiritombs fighting would turn into a brawl." Lucian admitted, "And I certainly didn't expect to see a Spiritomb split itself apart like that. But if anyone could pull it off, then it makes sense that Agatha would be the one to do it. If I had to fight against that unprepared, I would have lost at least one Pokémon to it."
His words ended there as both trainers sent out their next Pokémon.
"Banette!"
"Crawdaunt, stick to the plan!"
Crawdaunt exploded forth from his Pokéball as it jetted forwards with an Aqua Jet. Banette immediately tried to sink into the shadows, but a quick Dark Pulse from Crawdaunt cancelled that attempt.
Unperturbed, a Thunder Wave shot out from Banette that paralysed the incoming Crawdaunt, but not before he managed to slam down with a heavy Knock Off that sent the Ghost type crashing into the ground. Yet Banette simply allowed itself to be carried by the momentum of the blow and used it to disappear into the shadows, reappearing right behind the unsuspecting Crawdaunt and firing off a powerful Thunderbolt that was inches away from blasting Crawdaunt in the back.
"PROTECT!"
Reacting just in time, the Thunderbolt instead struck a hastily created Protect shield, which bought Crawdaunt enough time to spin around and swing his deadly claws around as they Crunched down hard on the Banette. Despite having just taken a big hit from a supereffective move, Banette didn't even seem bothered by the pain as it let out another haunting cackle and disappeared into its shadow again.
Another Protect shield was rapidly thrown up by Crawdaunt, but Banette wasn't looking to strike. Instead, it reappeared a short distance away as it sent a dizzying ray of light towards Crawdaunt. The Water type quickly tried to dash away with an Aqua Jet, but the Confuse Ray seemed to home in through the air as it followed after it, eventually reaching its mark.
The confusion was quick to set in, and coupled with the paralysis, ruthlessly crippled Karen's Crawdaunt. Banette's smile grew wide and sadistic as it saw the helpless state of its prey, and it rushed forwards with a spectral claw menacingly extended.
"Dark Pulse, Crawdaunt!"
A Dark Pulse immediately shot out from Crawdaunt, hoping to deter Banette's assault. However, Banette had actually been waiting for this as it rapidly darted backwards, floating just outside of the range of the Dark Pulse as it fired out another crackling Thunderbolt that speared Crawdaunt right in the chest.
"Did you think I was going for the same trick twice, Karen?" Agatha smirked at her student, "Your Dark Pulses are too obvious."
Karen grimaced but maintained her silence as her eyes remained focus on the battle. With the combination of both confusion and paralysis, there was no chance that her Crawdaunt could keep up the fight since Banette could slowly wear it down.
I had expected her to withdraw her Crawdaunt right then and there, but she surprised me with her next order.
"Crawdaunt, hang in there and try to break free!"
"Finish it off, Banette."
With a sadistic cackle, more Thunderbolts rained down on the helpless Crawdaunt as it tried its best to form Protect shields to block the incoming barrage of attacks. Yet, dazed and paralyzed as it was, the Protect shields would either not form at all, or most would form in the wrong places.
However, Karen then made a move that caused the spectators next to me to sit up straight in their seats.
Just as another Thunderbolt struck her Crawdaunt, a sudden red beam of light enveloped the Water type, recalling into its Pokéball while Karen instantly sent another Pokémon out.
"WEAVILE! GO!"
Weavile immediately dashed forwards, rushing forwards in a blur that was so quick that Banette had no time to comprehend the sudden switch of opponents while it was still preparing another Thunderbolt in its shadowy claws. In the few precious moments that it took Banette to comprehend the switch, cancel its next Thunderbolt, and plan a retreat, it was already too late.
Weavile was on top of it.
A quick Dark Pulse and Taunt flinched and disrupted any attempts to escape before Weavile began to brutally eviscerate the Ghost type with a storm of Night Slashes. Banette let out continuous cackles even as the Dark type cut deep into it, almost as if it found the pain amusing, yet it could do nothing in the face of Weavile's overwhelming offense.
It fell shortly after that.
I could see the alarmed look from Lucian next to me, "…Did Karen really do that?"
"Yes, she did." Lorelei nodded, "Karen timed it so that she swapped her Crawdaunt for her Weavile just as the former got struck by an attack to buy as much time for her Weavile to get in range of the Banette. She even had Weavile's Pokéball ready just so there would be as little delay as possible."
"I…I don't think I've seen that pulled off before." Lucian said, still recovering from his shock.
"Agatha seems to be happy about it." I pointed out, "Look at her grinning."
Like I had indicated, Agatha was standing there with a proud grin. To me, that wasn't at all surprising. Utilising every little bit to win was likely exactly what Agatha had taught Karen. And timing a swap like that was the small advantage Karen needed to cleanly avenge Crawdaunt's defeat – because with it being so injured and crippled, Karen had no choice but to retire it from the fight.
I wondered who Agatha was about to send out next to counter the agile Weavile from Karen, but that answer quickly revealed itself as she sent out one of her many Gengar.
"You know what to do. Keep your distance."
Gengar's tongue extended playfully as it vanished into its own shadow, narrowly dodging out of the way of a Night Slash from Weavile. It appeared as far away from Weavile as possible, and Teleported again before Weavile's admittedly incredible speed could close the distance.
However, all it was doing was evading. It had made absolutely no move to attack back, which was really unusual. Even Karen must have thought so, as she was staring at Gengar with narrowed eyes, trying to decipher Agatha's plan.
The only irregularity I noticed was that Gengar's eyes had momentarily flashed purple, which repeated itself a few times as it kept Teleporting around with its shadow. That stopped after Karen landed a Taunt, and the Gengar suddenly just froze there as rage suddenly set into its eyes.
…For some reason, that didn't seem right to me. But I didn't have time to question it as Weavile darted forwards and finally landed a single Night Slash onto the Gengar…which instantly knocked it out?
What?
Gengar had crumpled from that one attack, which shouldn't be possible. No matter what, there was no way Agatha's Pokémon could be that frail as to be knocked out from one attack.
But before the confusion could set in for all of us audience members, Agatha started to cackle as a purple spirit floated out from Gengar's fallen form and wrapped itself around Weavile, instantly causing its eyes to roll over as the Dark type instantly collapsed.
It was the telltale sign of a Destiny Bond.
And judging by the frown on Karen's face, she was not expecting that. And she certainly wasn't happy about it.
"Wait. What just happened?" This time it was Lorelei asking, "I'm actually so lost."
"Me too." Lance admitted, the confusion evident in his eyes, "I…what?"
"…Ah, I understand her strategy." Koga said slowly, and all of us turned to him as we looked to clear our confusion, "Let me explain what happened."
"Her Gengar must have continued to damage itself as it continued to evade Weavile's attacks." He explained, "Then, when its health was low enough, it switched to making use of Destiny Bonds instead. So as soon as it was Taunted, it just stood there and allowed itself to be taken down by Weavile, bringing the Dark type down with it. Everything had been planned in advance to specifically take down one of Karen's key threats."
"That was the only way that Agatha could catch Karen unawares with a Destiny Bond. A standard Destiny Bond strategy wouldn't work against someone so familiar with it."
Koga almost sounded impressed, which I supposed made sense. This was the kind of tactic that Koga would employ as well.
And the self-damaging component was necessary, as in official battles all Pokémon were required to be healed and checked by a registered Nurse Joy before they could be used in the battle. This was to ensure that there were no attempts to cheat with buffs that were pre-applied. Naturally, it also meant that Agatha's Pokémon would be at full health, which was why she had her Gengar damage itself the way that it did.
Lorelei sighed, "Yes…this does seem right up her alley."
"It is very creative." Cynthia nodded, "And don't overlook how nimble that Gengar was before it fell. To be able to constantly dodge away from a Pokémon as fast as Karen's Weavile is impressive."
Lance snorted, "So Agatha does use her brain than something other than just spewing insults and mocking others. What a surprise."
Despite his words, I could tell that he respected her for this creative knockout.
As our discussion went on, the announcer and the crowd were still mired in confusion – having no clue as to what just happened. Yet the fight must go on, and now the battle was evenly tied at 3-3 for each trainer.
It was still anybody's fight.
A.N. Just like with the battle between Koga and Will, I wanted to use this opportunity to highlight some of the more creative tactics that Agatha could make use of with her myriad of experience. Likewise, as a battle between a Ghost and Dark specialist should be, I felt it was only appropriate that both trainers had their own pack of tricks to dig into. I really tried to stretch my imagination to come up with interesting tactics for the both of them, so I hope they weren't too over the top and that you enjoyed!
The fight isn't over yet either! There'll be more tricks coming, I promise that!
And to anyone who wants to support me, please check out my p atreon at CartecTNN where you can read 8 advanced chapters! Thanks to those who have supported me already!