Chapter 148: Jing He VS Chomei, Round Two!
Chapter 148: Jing He VS Chomei, Round Two!
Challenge!
Hearing Gastly’s taunt, Chomei sneered.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
She hadn’t forgotten her defeat at Jing He’s hands last time.
This time, she wouldn’t use her secondary team of Pokemon.
The referee at the Inkwell Gym was also ready.
And there was a tall, white-robed elder with silver hair and a beard.
From the way Wade walked over to him and spoke, it seemed he was one of the so-called “Elders of the Dragon.”
However, the elder didn’t look stern at all; instead, he appeared kind and gentle, with a smile on his face.
After a brief chat with Wade, he snored and fell asleep!
Seeing this, Wade gave Jing He and Chomei a thumbs-up.
Jing He’s expression was peculiar.
The look in his eyes confirmed it—there was definitely some inside information.
“This Gym challenge is a one-on-one battle. The challenge ends when one of the Pokemon from either the challenger or the Gym Leader loses the ability to battle!”
The referee, dressed in the Inkwell Gym’s staff uniform, raised two flags.
“Now, please call out your Pokemon!”
Chomei flicked her cloak and threw a Poke Ball from her waist.
Jing He simply pointed.
“Go, Gastly!”
“Gast!”
Gastly grinned, extended its long, crimson tongue, and swallowed its glasses before floating onto the field.
Chomei’s Poke Ball opened with a flash, and a dragon-type Pokemon with a spiky body and wings appeared.
It was a Gyarados!
“Roar—!!”
With indigo scales, a crimson head, and sharp spikes, it stood on two legs, roaring and waving its powerful arms.
Although Gyarados is a Dragon-type Pokemon, it is classified as a Cave Pokemon.
Wild Gyarados are often aggressive, living in caves and enjoying taking over the burrows of other Pokemon. They spend most of their time lurking in caves, waiting for prey to pass by.
Seeing this fierce Gyarados, Jing He’s expression was odd.
While it wasn’t the infamous green Gyarados, it was indeed one of Chomei’s main Pokemon.
But
Gyarados is a true “shame of the dragon race”!
Even Ground-type Pokemon like Garchomp can fly, but Gyarados, despite having wings, cannot.
Not only that, it spends most of its time in caves, which is hardly in line with the powerful image of Dragon-type Pokemon.
Of course, joking aside, Gyarados’s “Intimidate” ability makes it incredibly dangerous.
“Let’s just go through the motions. If we can’t win, we’ll run. The Inkwell Gym’s badge isn’t very appealing, and the key is to avoid getting hurt,” Jing He whispered to Gastly.
Chomei’s Gyarados likely has the “Intimidate” ability. If it also has a Life Orb, its attacks will be devastating, and Gastly might not last more than a couple of hits.
“Gast~”
Gastly grinned and nodded, its eyes narrowing as it became more serious.
Swish—
The referee’s flags dropped.
“The battle begins!”
Jing He also took a deep breath, focusing intently.
Seeing his demeanor, Chomei was satisfied.
Now that’s more like it.
She cracked her whip and commanded sternly:
“Gyarados, Dragon Claw!”
“Roar—!!”
The terrifying Gyarados roared, its indigo claws glowing with a purplish Dragon-type energy as it lunged at Gastly.
In Jing He’s vision, the Pokedex entry for Chomei’s Gyarados appeared.
As expected, it had the “Intimidate” ability.
“Gastly, hide in the shadows.”
While Gyarados’s attack looked formidable, its speed was its greatest weakness.
This is why wild Gyarados prefer to wait in caves for prey rather than actively hunt.
To stand a chance against Gyarados, Gastly needed to leverage its speed.
“Gast~”
Gastly mockingly stuck out its tongue at Gyarados before diving into the shadows on the ground.
Chomei chuckled.
“Attack the shadows!”
Crack Crack Crack—
The ground broke open, rocks and debris flying.
Bang!!
A dull sound, like something breaking, echoed as black smoke rose from the ground.
Substitute?
When?
Chomei frowned, her voice stern.
“Dig!”
Using the damage from the previous “Dragon Claw,” Gyarados burrowed into the ground.
Plop Plop Plop—
Three dark blue flames landed on the empty ground, scattering sparks and missing their target.
“Gast?”
Gastly, emerging from behind where Gyarados had stood, looked confused.
This was the first time it had encountered a situation where its ambush was countered by the opponent burrowing underground.
“Gastly, Substitute!” Jing He’s voice rang out.
Gastly, though slightly surprised, didn’t hesitate. A near-identical shadow separated from its body.
“Roar!!”
Gyarados burst from the ground, its sharp teeth glowing with a dark aura.
Bite!
Bang—
The “Substitute” shattered!
On the sidelines, Wade watched the battle intently, thoroughly enjoying the match. He saw top-notch strategy and foresight from both Jing He and Chomei, making him want to challenge Jing He himself.
However, from the current situation:
Chomei had a clear advantage.
Using “Substitute” twice had taken a toll on Gastly’s stamina.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Wade’s eyes widened.
Gyarados was poisoned?
When?
A purple haze appeared on the body of Charizard.
Toxic!
"Kehe~"
Gengar let out a wicked laugh.
Chun's mind quickly replayed what had just happened.
He soon figured out the key point.
Toxic in the Substitute?!
But even so, Asada's judgment was correct.
Even if Charizard was poisoned, Gengar, despite using Substitute twice, still had more than half of its HP left.
And for Charizard to lose its fighting ability due to the poison, it would clearly take some time.
In practice, the "Substitute and Poison" tactic, though powerful and annoying, might not always have the opportunity to be used, especially when facing strong trainers and Pokemon.
"Charizard, one more time, Dragon Rush!"
Chun clearly understood that it was now a race against time.
"Roar!!"
Charizard roared, the pain from the poison further fueling its ferocity.
At the same time, both Chun and Asada noticed that Gengar's poison seemed to be excessively strong!
Not only was Charizard poisoned, but some of its scales were also being corroded by the toxin, a clear sign of its potency.
What they didn't know was that Gengar not only licked the "Toxic Orb" every day as if it were candy but also had a large stash of poisons from Poison-type Pokemon at home, which it often treated as snacks.
No wonder the poison was so strong.
As Charizard charged at Gengar, Jing He and Gengar's expressions were both extremely serious.
The outcome would be decided by this move.
"Hypnosis!"
"Kehe!"
Hey, you red-faced guy!
As soon as Jing He's words were spoken, Gengar, with perfect synchronization, opened its claws and let out a loud cry to attract Charizard's attention.
Circles appeared in its eyes.
At the same time, Charizard's eyes also showed patterns.
After taking a few steps, it stumbled and fell to the ground, fast asleep.
Though it wasn't the famous "Scary Face Hypnosis" of the Jing family, it was enough to put Charizard to sleep for a while.
Is it over?
"Charizard, Dream Talk!" Chun's deep voice rang out again.
"Roar—!!"
In its sleep, Charizard suddenly stood up, its mouth opening wide as a dark energy quickly gathered inside.
Dark Pulse!
Jing He's eyes widened.
Well, using Dream Talk, huh?
"Gengar, Protect!"
A green energy shield blocked the incoming Dark Pulse.
"Eat Dream!"
Gengar raised its claws, a strange white mist enveloped the sleeping Charizard, and then it curled its tongue, took a deep breath, and swallowed the mist entirely.
Its HP was restored.
"Charizard, Dream Talk again!"
"Gengar, finish it, Sludge Wave!"
This time, Charizard's luck was bad. Dream Talk resulted in Shadow Claw, which, although it would deal terrible damage to Gengar, was clearly not as fast as the Sludge Wave Gengar spewed out.
Bang!!
The shadow on Charizard's claws dissipated, and its body swayed before it fell to the ground heavily.
"Charizard is unable to battle! The winner is challenger Jing He!"
Chun stood there with a solemn face, habitually reviewing the battle.
'If I had used Taunt at the start, would it have been better?'
It was hard to say.
If Gengar had used Hypnosis or Toxic at the start, followed by Dream Eater, Sludge Wave, or even Destiny Bond, it would have been just as difficult.
The only flaw in this battle was not anticipating the poison hidden in the Substitute.
But, a normal person wouldn't think of that, right?
In the end, Chun concluded:
"I didn't lose; I just wasn't as dirty as the other side."
However, Chun and Asada generally followed a similar style.
It wasn't realistic to expect them to come up with tactics like Spikes or Substitute and Toxic.
Their Pokemon also didn't support such strategies.
"You won."
After consoling himself, Chun recalled Charizard and said calmly.
"Here is the Rising Badge and the TM for Dragon Pulse."
Chun walked to the center of the field and handed the items to Jing He.
Gengar happily took the badge, holding it up to examine it closely.
"Kehe"
Isn't it pretty?
"Cough."
Jing He cleared his throat and took the TM for Dragon Pulse.
But then, what use did he have for this TM?
He didn't have any Dragon-type Pokemon.
He might as well sell it.
Moreover, these Gym-specific TMs often came with special experience and insights, making them very expensive if a Pokemon were to learn them.
On the other side,
"Head Elder." Asada called out to the sleeping Dragon Head Elder.
Pop—
The sleep bubbles burst, and the Dragon Head Elder slowly opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze sweeping over the battle field.
"Head Elder, the Gym battle is over. Challenger Jing He has won." Asada said in a low voice.
"Hmm? Oh, oh."
The Dragon Head Elder nodded slightly and then smiled.
"Good, good."
His gaze lingered on Jing He and Gengar, and for a moment, his cloudy eyes cleared, as he smiled.
"The bond and trust between them are deeper than those between Chun and Charizard."
Hearing this, Asada was surprised but quickly found it reasonable.
His "Everglade Power" also gave the same feedback.
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(End of Chapter)
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