Pokemon: Psychic Master

"Ka-kah, Ka-kah—"

So bitter, so bitter! Gastly muttered under its breath while conjuring two ghostly blue flames, launching them at a nearby boulder from tricky angles.

The flames exploded upon contact with the stone, scattering into shimmering blue sparks before fizzling out midair. The rock now bore a sizable dent and was charred black.

In this moment, it wasn't clear if Gastly's rapid improvement in Will-O-Wisp mastery was fueled by the bitter taste or the spicy burn of the training food it had just eaten.

Johan had noticed long ago that his Gastly learned quickly and grew at an extraordinary pace. Whether it was due to innate talent or the result of Gastly's thousand-year slumber, it had a unique potential, now blooming into full force.

Moreover, Johan could see through his Pokédex that Gastly was in "excellent" condition, which was a key factor in a Pokémon's growth.

However, Johan couldn't shake the feeling that Gastly was venting its frustrations on that rock, as if blaming it for the bitter training cubes. This suspicion made Johan take a couple of cautious steps back.

"Ka-kah!"

With gritted teeth, Gastly gathered a ghostly flame the size of its own head, hurling it forcefully at the stone.

Boom!!

Sparks scattered everywhere.

This particular use of Will-O-Wisp didn't quite match Johan's initial plan for the move, but he chose to turn a blind eye for now.

After all, Gastly needed to vent. Johan had made it endure one of its least favorite flavors—bitterness. He hadn't expected Gastly to endure it so well and had even prepared to comfort it.

My little Gastly is growing up, Johan thought, feeling a sudden wave of pride as if his child had finally matured.

However, the oversized Will-O-Wisp caused flames to scatter across the grassy field, and some of the stray sparks landed in a nearby patch of dry grass.

"Gastly!" Johan quickly intervened.

Causing a forest fire would be the least of their worries—if they ended up in front of Officer Jenny for questioning, that would be a much bigger problem.

"Ka-kah!"

Luckily, Gastly was mindful. It immediately doused the few flames that looked dangerous.

But just as it was about to ignore a small, harmless ember, Johan suddenly shouted, "Watch out!"

Huh?

Gastly didn't know what was happening, but it trusted Johan without question and swiftly darted backward.

"Shaaa!!"

A dark shadow shot out from the underbrush!

It was a massive, sinister-looking snake with sleek black scales, sections of its body covered in gold armor-like plates. Several scars ran along its body, and its crimson fangs gleamed dangerously as it wielded a tail sharp as a blade.

A Seviper.

However, this Seviper wasn't in the best condition.

One of the ghostly flames from Gastly's training had landed on it, burning a patch of its head, leaving it in a burned state.

The reason Johan had noticed it at all was that the Pokédex had alerted him when Seviper made its move to strike.

[Seviper]

Type: Poison

Ability: Shed Skin

Moves Known: Bind, Swagger, Bite, Lick, Poison Tail, Feint, Screech, Glare, Poison Fang

Mood: Angry, Embarrassed (It had spotted prey and was planning to ambush.)

Status: Good health, Burned (Due to 'Will-O-Wisp').

Friendship: -50 (You were already marked as its prey.)

Turns out, the commotion from Gastly's training had caught Seviper's attention, and it had been lying in wait for the right moment to strike. Unfortunately for it, one of Gastly's stray flames hit it instead.

"Shaaa!!"

Seviper's eyes gleamed red with fury as it locked onto Johan, its body coiled tightly like a loaded spring, ready to strike.

It was clear: Gastly wasn't on its menu—Johan was.

"Ka-kah!"

Noticing Seviper's intent, Gastly's gaze hardened.

Suddenly—

Whoosh!

Seviper shot forward, aiming directly at Johan like an arrow, moving with terrifying speed!

"Gastly, Confuse Ray!"

Johan remained calm and didn't back down, giving his command swiftly.

In his mind, Seviper targeting him was actually advantageous—this way, Gastly could perform better.

"Ka-kah!"

Gastly let out a mischievous laugh, summoning a small, shimmering orb that glowed with eerie light. It shot toward Seviper, its path erratic and difficult to track.

However, Seviper was an experienced hunter. Sensing the threat from Gastly's move, it abruptly stopped, causing the Confuse Ray to miss.

Realizing it needed to deal with Gastly first, Seviper turned its focus. Its body coiled tightly, glowing with a menacing red light as it hissed at Gastly, preparing to strike again.

It had used Swagger.

"Gastly, hide underground."

Before Seviper could react, Gastly smirked and vanished beneath the earth, leaving Seviper confused.

Suddenly—

"Ka-kah—"

Gastly's voice echoed from behind.

Seviper twisted its head, its crimson fangs glowing with a toxic light—Poison Fang!

But what it saw wasn't Gastly.

It was a terrifying, enlarged face contorted with malice.

Spite!

Terror seized Seviper, and it froze mid-attack.

As its body stiffened in fear, its vision began to blur. Its eyelids grew heavy, and its coiled form slowly loosened.

Hypnosis!

This time, Gastly's Hypnosis was different from when it used the move on Flannery's Houndour. It was enhanced by Johan's psychological insight.

"It's afraid of Zangoose," Johan remarked.

Seviper and Zangoose had always been mortal enemies.

"Ka-kah!" Gastly finally understood.

It had seen a Zangoose before.

Soon, Seviper, half-conscious, began to see what it feared most. A Zangoose was charging straight at it, claws ready to strike.

Instinctively, it tried to retaliate.

But before it could act—

More Zangoose appeared.

Hundreds of them.

An overwhelming tide of Zangoose surged toward Seviper like a flood.

"Sha! Sha!!"

With a thud, Seviper collapsed onto the ground, twitching violently.

Foam gathered at the corners of its mouth.

Its body began to glow faintly as its Shed Skin ability took effect, curing its burn.

But it didn't wake up.

The mental trauma was too great, compounded by its fear of Zangoose.

Pokémon with strong wills or no natural enemies could handle something like this, but for Seviper—knowing its enemy was out there and having it exploited was another story.

With Seviper out of commission, Johan scanned the area.

"Looks like we wandered a bit too far from the town."

"Let's head back, Gastly."

Johan turned toward Mauville City.

"Ka-kah—"

Gastly, returning to its normal size, followed him closely.

The Seviper incident had eased the tension Gastly had built up during its earlier training, leaving it in a much better mood.

"Ka-kah?"

Are we just going to leave it?

Gastly asked, curious.

"That Seviper will probably hide for months before it feels safe enough to come out again," Johan chuckled. "Consider it a lesson learned."

It wouldn't surprise Johan if Seviper started having nightmares about Zangoose every time it tried to sleep.

"Ka-kah~~"

Gastly giggled mischievously, glancing back at the Seviper twitching on the ground, eyes narrowing playfully.

It licked its tongue.

Serves it right for targeting Johan. Nothing's that easy!

About half an hour later, Seviper stirred, its body still twitching slightly. It opened its eyes wide in terror, realizing the Zangoose weren't real. With a sigh of relief, it began to relax.

Then—

"Sha!!!"

Seviper let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed through the area.

Where are my fangs?!