Staring at the countless ghost shadows manifested by the Gengar, Sabrina fell into a deep silence.
"Lady Sabrina, Master Koga," Feng Che began, choosing his words carefully. "I've noticed that there are no records of this Gengar ever leaving the eighth floor. Look at that stone pillar—the one with the basketball-sized stone sphere. The Gengar seems to prioritize its safety above all else."
He pointed to the orb, which flickered with a faint, rhythmic glow. "I suspect that stone sphere is an ancient control center, much like a Poké Ball. It's likely the source of the Gengar's leash."
Feng Che spoke as if he were merely guessing, though he was certain based on the Gengar's own thoughts.
"It makes sense," Sabrina agreed, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the orb. "Ancient texts mention 'Guardian Ghosts' bound to ruins by specific artifacts. If that sphere is the anchor, breaking it should break the curse."
Sabrina used her telekinesis to hurl a jagged rock at the stone pillar like a bullet. Instantly, the Gengar appeared in front of the sphere, catching the rock with its chubby hand and crushing it into fine sand.
"Confirmed. The sphere is the weakness," Feng Che concluded.
"Excellent observation, Feng Che," Koga said, his confidence returning. "My Arbok might not be able to one-shot a Millennium Gengar, but shattering a stone target? That's well within its power. Arbok, use Spit Up! Aim for the sphere with everything you've got!"
Koga's Arbok slithered in a sharp Z-pattern. Gengar countered by unleashing a barrage of Shadow Balls crackling with black electricity. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The shadows exploded across the floor, but Arbok was a blur of violet, weaving through the blasts with supernatural speed.
Feng Che noticed a purple mist rising from the snake's scales. At the same time, Koga pulled a small purple canister from his belt.
Death Makeup Art, the name flashed in Feng Che's mind. It was a supreme ninja technique passed down through the Koga clan and the Elite Four's Agatha. By manipulating the patterns on its hood, an Arbok could drastically shift its stats—boosting speed, attack, or defense to extreme levels based on over twenty different "masks."
Enraged that its Shadow Balls missed, the Gengar's shadow elongated under the light of Litten's flames. It plunged its hands into the darkness.
[Gengar: Hehehe... witness my ultimate move: Shadow Claw!]
Dozens of spectral claws erupted from the shadows of the three humans, binding them tightly.
"Its mastery is too high!" Koga grunted, struggling against the grip. "It's combining Shadow Stealth with Shadow Claw!"
Koga's Arbok was hoisted into the air by the spectral hands. Gengar lunged, its claws glowing with dark energy, and literally tore through the snake's midsection. A torrent of dark crimson blood sprayed across the Gengar.
The ghost stood there, letting the warm blood wash over its cold, purple skin. It closed its eyes, savoring the fleeting sensation of warmth in its frozen existence. Once the Arbok went limp, Gengar tossed the "corpse" aside with a look of bored contempt.
But as Gengar turned to finish the humans, it suddenly wobbled. Its vision blurred, and the world began to spin in triplicate. The Shadow Clones vanished as its concentration shattered.
[Gengar: What... what is this? My head... I can't see...]
"Hahaha!" Koga laughed, though he was still gasping for air. "I admire your bravery, Gengar, but you should never treat an Arbok's blood like bathwater. Every drop in my partner's veins is a concentrated, lethal neurotoxin. Even a Poison-type like you isn't immune to a dose that high!"
The "dead" Arbok's upper half suddenly lunged, its mouth unhinging to swallow its own severed lower half whole. It then sucked up the blood scattered on the floor. Within seconds, tiny muscle fibers began to knit together, and a new tail grew at a visible rate. It was thinner than before, but alive.
"My Arbok's Regenerative ability is peerless," Koga boasted. "As long as the head remains, it can rebuild its entire body from scratch."
Feng Che remembered this from the lore—Koga's Arbok once survived being sliced by Agatha's Gengar using this exact method.
However, the victory was short-lived. Gengar began to force the toxins out of its gaseous body, its eyes regaining their sharp, manic red.
Koga, stop monologuing! Feng Che complained internally. You lost to the protagonist in the games for this exact reason!
Luckily, Feng Che had a backup plan. While Koga was talking, Ditto (in Arbok form) had crept up behind the stone pillar. It swung its silver-coated tail—Iron Tail—and slammed it into the ancient Poké Ball.
CRACK.
A massive fissure appeared in the stone. Gengar froze, its eyes flickering as the control over its body wavered.
"Do it again! Iron Tail!"
Ditto swung once, twice, three times. With a final SHATTER, the stone sphere exploded into dust. The thousand-year-old leash snapped.
Koga's Arbok lunged with a Crunch, but it only struck a fading afterimage. Gengar had vanished into the shadows of a nearby pillar. It was free, but it stood there in a daze. After a millennium of servitude, it had no purpose, no goal.
"It's Level 70," Sabrina said softly. "We can't capture it if it doesn't want to be caught. But it's no longer our enemy."
"Agreed," Koga said, recalling his weakened Arbok. "Let's finish the mission. The Ninth Floor awaits."
Feng Che looked back, noticing Gengar had completely vanished. A Level 70 Epic Gengar... what a waste of a perfect bodyguard, he thought. But as he turned to follow the others, he heard a faint, mischievous Hehehe coming from his own shadow. It was gone in an instant.
The 9th Floor
The final floor was a tomb of ice and shadow. Black Dusk Crystals grew like stalactites from the ceiling. In the center, a massive, glowing Spirit Stone sat atop a pedestal, suppressing the rift to the Spirit World.
"These are Nether Crystals," Sabrina noted with a hint of greed. "Pure Ghost energy. Unfortunately, they require specialized containers to transport, or they'll vaporize. We'll have to leave them for the League to find."
She stepped toward the pedestal. "But our job is done. Once I remove the Spirit Stone, the gate opens in under ten minutes."
Sabrina used her telekinesis to lift the Spirit Stone into her private psychic dimension. The air in the room immediately began to vibrate.
"Move! If we're here when the gate opens, we'll be dragged into the Spirit World ourselves!"
Sabrina sent a telepathic broadcast to every Rocket member in town: "Mission complete. Evacuate immediately."
As they hurried down the tower, Feng Che looked back at the Ninth Floor. Oddly, the Nether Crystals were gone—vanished as if they had never existed.
Outside Lavender Town
Agatha leaned against a tree, watching the black miasma begin to billow out of the tower's peak.
"Thank you, Team Rocket," she chuckled, her face a mask of deep wrinkles. "You've just given me an immortal Ghost Army."
A massive vortex erupted over the Pokémon Tower. Thousands of Ghost-types poured out like a black fountain, blotting out the moon they had fought so hard to see.
Agatha tapped her cane. Several Gengar—all at the Elite Four level—emerged from her shadow. "Time to go to work."
On the evacuation helicopter, Sabrina exhaled a long breath and activated the holographic projector. Giovanni's face appeared, looking more pleased than Feng Che had ever seen him.
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