“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!
My bad, my bad.”
At that moment, Nessa stood on the battlefield, repeatedly apologizing to her Chewtle.
She had been in such a rush that she had actually forgotten to bring her Pokémon along.
No matter how anyone looked at it, that was ridiculous.
“All right, save the apologies for later.
Get ready first.
I’ll act as the referee.
Each side will use one Pokémon, and the side whose Pokémon is unable to battle loses.
Any objections?”
Hathaway cut off the little farce on Nessa’s side and announced the rules.
“No problem here.” Blake shrugged.
After taking off the work gear he still had on, he set it aside.
“Gastly!
Gastly!”
Gastly was clearly excited as well.
He floated over and gave Chewtle a provocative wink.
Chewtle immediately stopped sulking at Nessa and turned toward the opponent he had battled so many times without ever managing to beat.
“Chewtle!”
Chewtle called out twice at Gastly, looking full of fighting spirit.
“Good!
Chewtle, this time we’re definitely going to beat Blake and Gastly!”
Nessa shouted with equal enthusiasm.
“Good!
Looks like you’re both ready.
Take your positions!
Ready…
begin!”
At Hathaway’s command, the battle officially began.
“Gastly, use Haze!”
“Chewtle, use Shell Smash!”
Both sides gave their commands almost at the same time.
There was nothing wrong with Nessa’s choice.
Gastly was not known for physical attacks, so using Shell Smash to lower Chewtle’s defenses in exchange for greater attack power and speed was perfectly reasonable.
As for Special Defense, Chewtle’s was not exactly impressive to begin with.
Unfortunately, Blake’s choice immediately turned Nessa’s move into wasted effort.
Gastly controlled the Haze and spread it across the entire battlefield.
The offensive boosts Chewtle gained through Shell Smash vanished immediately.
Of course, his defenses also returned to normal, but there was no doubt that Gastly had come out ahead.
The Haze Gastly released did not disperse.
It still covered the field, and although its special effect had already taken place, its ability to obstruct vision remained very much intact.
In the darkness, Gastly’s advantage was magnified to an absurd degree.
At this point, not only Chewtle, but even Nessa and Hathaway could no longer locate Gastly after he blended into the Haze.
“Chewtle, use Rain Dance!”
“Gastly, use Toxic!”
Having battled Blake many times before, Nessa knew that if the Haze remained on the field, she might as well give up.
Among the moves Chewtle currently knew, Rain Dance was the most suitable option for dealing with it.
But Blake and Gastly obviously had no intention of letting Nessa and Chewtle have their way so easily.
Using the Haze as cover, Gastly had already crept close to Chewtle.
Just as Chewtle used Rain Dance, Gastly spat out a foul-smelling glob of dark purple sludge that splattered across Chewtle’s body.
That one hit made Chewtle’s expression twist with discomfort.
Even so, he forced himself to complete Rain Dance.
A light drizzle immediately began falling from above, washing away the Haze that covered the battlefield.
“Toxic, huh?
A very good choice.
Nessa’s going to have a rough time now.”
Hathaway strongly approved of Blake’s decision.
The greatest advantage of Ghost-type Pokémon lay in their unpredictable movement and their ability to use all kinds of status moves.
Blake’s opening choices had not only erased Nessa’s boost, but also inflicted ongoing damage.
There was no questioning how dangerous Toxic could be over time.
“Damn it!
Chewtle, use Bite!”
“Dodge it!
Plan A!”
Nessa gave her command in clear frustration.
It was always like this.
Somehow, Chewtle would end up poisoned, dizzy, asleep, burned, or suffering from some other irritating condition, and every time it was incredibly annoying to deal with.
“Gastly!
Heeheeheehee!
─=≡Σ(((つ•̀ω•́)つ”
Hearing Blake’s command, Gastly let out a strange cry, pulled a face, and dodged Chewtle’s Bite attack while giggling.
Then he turned around and fled, darting wildly around the battlefield.
Chewtle, realizing he had been toyed with, immediately kicked his short little legs into motion and chased after him.
Unfortunately, a base Speed of eighty completely overwhelmed a base Speed of forty-four.
Without Trick Room in play, Chewtle really could not catch him.
“Damn it!
Chewtle, use Shell Smash!”
“Haze again!”
Before Chewtle could even finish Shell Smash, Gastly sprayed a mouthful of black smoke straight into his face.
The stat changes from Shell Smash were reset once again.
Not only that, Gastly even took the opportunity to lick Chewtle’s face.
Unfortunately, Lick did not trigger paralysis, but that did not stop Gastly from turning around and running away again.
By this point, the battle’s outcome had already been decided.
Chewtle lacked reliable ranged attacks, and the only one he had was a fairly unimpressive Water Gun.
While badly poisoned, he had no real way to fight back against Gastly’s shameless hit-and-run tactics!
In the end, Hathaway called the battle to a stop.
Without question, Blake and Gastly had won.
Blake walked over to Chewtle, took out a Pecha Berry, and held it near the mouth of the poor Pokémon, who looked as if he had been run ragged enough to throw up.
“Chew…
tle…”
Chewtle, so exhausted he was almost limp, struggled to swallow the Pecha Berry.
At the very least, the poison was dealt with now.
As for his stamina, they would need to make a trip to the Pokémon Center.
“That was a very good strategy!
You made full use of Gastly’s strengths—his speed and his varied status moves.
Your coordination was excellent.
You’re quite a capable Trainer, Blake.”
Hathaway smiled as she praised him.
“It was all right.
We’ve battled plenty of times, so we know each other well.
Besides, Nessa’s Chewtle still can’t use Liquidation, and his ranged attacks aren’t strong enough either.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have won so easily.”
Blake spoke modestly.
“Modesty is a good thing, but too much of it starts sounding fake.
Your command ability really is good, and you’re excellent at bringing out a Pokémon’s strengths while avoiding its weaknesses.
I believe you could achieve a great deal in the future.
That said, do you only have this one Pokémon?”
Hathaway waved a hand at Blake.
Her personality was as bold and open as the sea itself, and she had little patience for excessive modesty.
Good was good, bad was bad, and she never bothered hiding what she thought.
“That’s right.
This guy only has Gastly, Ms.
Hathaway!
You know about his family, don’t you?
Other than Ghost-type Pokémon, they almost never catch Pokémon of other types.”
Nessa, who had just used a Potion on Chewtle, walked over with Chewtle in her arms.
“It’s a family habit.
There aren’t many Ghost-type Pokémon near Hulbury, so I haven’t caught any others for now.
Besides, I like my current life.
I train because Gastly enjoys it.
As for me, I’d honestly rather take it easy.
Hahaha.”
Blake scratched his head and laughed.
He was telling the truth.
In his previous life, he had died from overworking himself.
In this life, with his family fortune waiting for him, was it really so wrong to enjoy himself a little?
“I see.
All right, then, i won’t force you.
Still, I did promise a gift, so I’ll give you one.
Whether you like it or not is another matter.”
Hathaway looked at Blake for a moment before finally nodding.
She did not say anything more, but she took a map from the small pouch at her waist and handed it to him.
“This is a map of nearby Rat Reef.
There’s a ship that ran aground there years ago.
I heard that some Pokémon have occupied it and turned it into their nest.
Among them, there seems to be a fairly rare Ghost-type Pokémon.
When you have time, you can go take a look.
Having only one Pokémon is too few for a trainer like you.”
As Hathaway spoke, she winked at Blake with a smile.
“A grounded ship at Rat Reef?
Thank you, Ms.
Hathaway.”
Blake accepted the map solemnly.
Although he had no intention of becoming an Elite Four member or Champion, now that he had come to this world, he naturally wanted to see and catch more Pokémon.
“Too much gratitude makes feelings grow distant.
Remember that!
All right, I still have things to take care of, so you two take your time and have fun.
Nessa, I’ll give you your gift once classes resume.
I’m leaving first.”
After saying that, Hathaway waved and left with swift, decisive strides, carrying herself with the force and confidence of someone who never wasted a step.