Pokemon: Rising From The Dark

Although Gengar had completed Mega Evolution, the tactical core of Aoki's Pokémon team remained Slowking. Slowking floated in mid-air, its eyes glowing with psychic energy. Eyes are the windows to the soul, and looking into Slowking's eyes revealed that it had already spread its psychic powers throughout the battlefield. The main purpose was to enhance Drapion, Weavile, and Florges with psychic energy, allowing them to move with greater precision. Unlike Honchkrow and Altaria, these Pokémon weren't as naturally agile, so Slowking's psychic support helped them avoid unnecessary damage in battle.

It was unfortunate that Aggron and Pupitar hadn't yet reached a level where they could fully utilize this support. If Aggron were more experienced, simply standing at the front line would force any opposing Pokémon that broke through to suffer heavy retaliation.

Meanwhile, Gengar burrowed into the ground, phasing through the earth as it rushed directly toward Bronzong. Attacking where the enemy had to defend was the most effective strategy. Three of Aoki's Pokémon worked together to suppress the three opposing Pokémon that had been preparing to swarm Moltres. Florges and Mismagius primarily guarded Aoki while dealing damage from a distance. Altaria was locked in an aerial battle with another flying Pokémon.

"Gengar, use Scary Face! Then Shadow Ball!" Aoki commanded.

Few Pokémon could detect Mega Gengar's movements underground, but Rocks' last remaining Pokémon, Banette, managed to track its ghostly energy.

"Banette, Shadow Sneak!" Rocks ordered.

Ghost-types were strong against each other, so this confrontation would be decided quickly. Mega Gengar's Shadow Ball struck Banette directly, but the Banette retaliated with its own shadowy attack. The difference was that Gengar took minimal damage while Banette was left severely wounded.

"Gengar, copy Honchkrow's ability!" Aoki instructed.

Normally, Aoki would have Gengar mimic Drapion's power to maximize its offensive potential. However, since Banette was already outmatched, it was more strategic to stack Gengar's Moxie ability to ensure dominance in later battles. A dark gleam flashed in Gengar's eyes as it internalized the Moxie boost.

"Shadow Ball, again!" Aoki ordered.

"Banette, counter with Shadow Ball!" Rocks responded, knowing it was a losing battle but having no other choice.

Banette wasn't a Pokémon built for special attacks, so clashing Shadow Balls with Mega Gengar—a specialist in high-powered special moves—was a terrible decision. Rocks was struggling to keep up. Unlike Aoki, he wasn't a Psychic-type Trainer and couldn't use telepathy to issue commands instantly. This delay made his team's coordination sluggish. When facing just Moltres, this hadn't been an issue, but now that the battle had expanded, the gaps in his reaction time were showing.

This was the advantage of a Psychic Trainer. Even though Rocks' Pokémon were stronger individually, Aoki was confident in maintaining the upper hand in a short-term battle. However, if the fight dragged on, things could turn against him. His psychic energy would deplete, Gengar's Mega Evolution had a time limit, and the opponent could adapt to his strategies.

Rocks had already realized that despite his Pokémon's superior strength, he wasn't gaining ground quickly enough. He shifted tactics, ordering his team to focus on defense while directing his strongest Ampharos to finish off Moltres. If he could take down Moltres first, his Dragonite could turn the tide. His Charizard was still recovering from using Belly Drum earlier, and Aoki's Slowking was constantly disrupting it with psychic interference.

Rocks was playing for time, hoping to defeat Moltres before turning his full attention to Aoki. But Aoki was also stalling—except for Gengar, who was growing stronger with each victory, his other Pokémon were wearing down the opposition slowly.

BOOM!

Gengar's Shadow Ball obliterated Banette's weaker attempt, then followed up with two more precisely aimed Shadow Balls that curved unnaturally in midair, striking from both sides. Banette, already barely at Champion-level, stood no chance against Mega Gengar.

BANG—BANG—BOOM!

Banette fainted instantly, leaving Rocks and Brownis in a dire position. Without a Pokémon to protect them, Brownis had no choice but to recall his only freely moving Pokémon, Charizard, to guard them against Gengar's ambushes.

But Gengar didn't press the attack. After defeating Banette, a surge of dark energy wrapped around it—another Moxie boost. Then it vanished underground again. Without Banette's ghost-sensing ability, they had no way to track it. Unless Gengar chose to reveal itself, Charizard was stuck playing bodyguard.

Realizing how badly the battle was going, Brownis pushed his Ampharos to fight more aggressively, trading blows with Moltres to end the stalemate.

GRUMBLE—

Ten minutes later, the wounded Moltres finally collapsed under Ampharos's Thunderbolt. It had held out as long as it could, but the type disadvantage was too much. Ampharos wasn't unscathed either—its body was littered with injuries from the fierce battle.

Brownis's focus on Moltres had cost him. Two of his other Pokémon fell to Aoki's team, and Gengar claimed another victory, stacking Moxie to three layers.

Both sides regrouped, their remaining Pokémon staring each other down. Aoki had taken out two of Brownis's Pokémon, but his own team was badly injured. With Moltres down, Ampharos was now free, and Charizard had mostly recovered.

Now, Aoki faced Brownis's two powerhouses—Ampharos and Charizard—plus three other remaining Pokémon. All he had left was a battered team and Mega Gengar with three Moxie boosts.