'…It's over. The sun is up.'
A dreadful thought surged through Tetsuya's mind.
Right now, Ninetales wanted nothing more than to tear him and Swinub to pieces.
A sorrowful fox's cry pierced the skies.
The sunlight suddenly grew intense, and Tetsuya instinctively shielded his eyes against the blinding glare.
Ninetales's Ability: Drought!
When it enters battle, the weather becomes sunny. Under sunny weather, many Pokémon moves and Abilities are affected.
Solar Beam and Solar Blade charge faster, and Synthesis restores more energy.
Pokémon with the Chlorophyll Ability become faster.
Pokémon with the Solar Power Ability have increased Special Attack, but gradually lose stamina.
Pokémon with the Leaf Guard Ability are protected from status conditions.
Pokémon with the Flower Gift Ability boost the Attack and Special Defense of themselves and their companion, and Cherrim changes form.
Pokémon with the Dry Skin Ability steadily lose stamina under Drought.
As for Ninetales, its Fire-type moves now became more powerful!
This put Swinub at a clear disadvantage.
With its mouth wide open, it unleashed a Flamethrower. As expected, it was even stronger, surging toward Swinub.
Blizzard.
Swinub's pride as a strong fighter was ignited. The scorching blaze clashed with the frigid snowstorm.
Neither side gave ground.
Energy poured out endlessly. At this point, neither Ninetales nor Swinub would back down. Even if it meant mutual destruction, they were ready to give it everything.
This was a passionate battle!
But Tetsuya was not someone who excelled at passionate battles…
'What should I be doing right now?'
Tetsuya watched the fierce clash between Ninetales and Swinub. He couldn't place all his hopes on Swinub alone anymore. Swinub could no longer guarantee victory over Ninetales.
'Haunter and Ditto…' He needed them to play their parts too.
"Ditto, Transform into Swinub and use Hail."
But Ditto simply wasn't strong enough. Even transformed into Swinub, it couldn't interfere in a clash between such high-level opponents. The best use of transforming into Swinub was to keep using Hail and shift the weather.
Right now, Ninetales was fully focused on its fight with Swinub. It had no energy to deal with Tetsuya's minor actions.
Another Swinub appeared in the courtyard, and cold wind mixed with hail began to blow violently. Only after Ditto sustained Hail for quite a while did the harsh sunlight get overwhelmed.
Swinub gave a shake, finally feeling the temperature it was used to. Empowered, it pushed even harder; the temperature dropped again, and Blizzard grew more intense. Ninetales's Flamethrower was gradually suppressed.
At this point, Ninetales could no longer feel the warmth of the sun. Waves of cold invaded its body.
Ditto maintained Hail, amplifying Swinub's momentum.
Another powerful Blizzard howled out, engulfing Ninetales again. Swinub had finally unleashed its trump card…
Its incredible power/control over ice and snow!
At the exact moment Blizzard swallowed Ninetales, all the icy wind and snow condensed under Swinub's control and converged on Ninetales, forming a vortex of frost.
From within the vortex came Ninetales's soul-piercing wails.
The ice pierced through Ninetales's fur, the chill seeped into its bones. When the vortex finally dispersed, Ninetales was covered head to toe in wounds and frost. With a heavy thud, it collapsed to the ground. It tried to rise but couldn't. Its body trembled uncontrollably, and tears welled up in its eyes.
Tetsuya took out a Poké Ball and threw it. With a Pokémon this powerful, how could he not try to catch it? Once it became his Pokémon, there would always be a chance for it to slowly come to accept him.
A flash of red light, and Ninetales was drawn into the Poké Ball.
In just one second, Ninetales broke free. Though still lying on the ground, its eyes had turned blood red, glaring at Tetsuya with murderous intent.
"Heh." 'If that's how it is, then don't blame me.'
"Haunter, Night Shade. Drain its vitality."
At Tetsuya's command, Haunter leapt from his shadow. A dark illusion shrouded the heavily injured Ninetales.
Even so, Tetsuya didn't dare relax for even a moment. He kept his eyes on the illusion, ready for any desperate counterattack from Ninetales.
Ninetales lay still in the shadowy haze, eyes staring into the distance.
Gradually, slowly, its eyelids grew heavier, its gaze emptier, until its eyes finally closed.
Maybe it had seen its Trainer…
Maybe it had given up its will to live. So Ninetales made no resistance at all.
Now they could only wait on Haunter.
---◓---
After a long night, Tetsuya, Swinub, and Ditto rested against the corridor wall.
It wasn't until sunlight warmed his face that Tetsuya opened his eyes. It was already noon.
Night Shade still cover Ninetales.
"Hmm? It's not over yet?"
Tetsuya was surprised. Ninetales's vitality was this hard to drain?
Ever since evolving into Haunter, its need for vitality had increased. And even after feeding all morning, it still wasn't enough. If it were still a Gastly, it probably would have been full long ago.
'Might as well let Haunter gorge itself this time.' With this, it likely wouldn't need to absorb vitality again for a whole month, saving Tetsuya a lot of trouble finding it food.
He didn't disturb Haunter. Instead, Tetsuya, Ditto, and Swinub sat down for a proper lunch. After such a battle, their energy had nearly run dry.
"You all worked hard. Eat as much as you like, don't hold back!"
Munching on compressed bread, Tetsuya pulled out Ditto's milk and Swinub's Pokéfood.
The amount of food was nearly double the usual for all of them, including Tetsuya.
After finishing, Tetsuya silently observed Haunter. The radius of Night Shade was beginning to shrink.
About an hour later, Ninetales's head started to emerge from the shadowy field. But now, its head was nothing more than shriveled fur draped over a skull.
Time ticked by…
Night Shade only covered Ninetales's tail now.
By around four in the afternoon, Night Shade finally vanished completely. What lay on the ground was a dried-up skeleton.
Haunter floated above Ninetales's remains, eyes tightly shut, completely still.
'It must be digesting the absorbed vitality.'
Tetsuya didn't dare disturb it. If something went wrong, the consequences would be irreversible.
So he continued to wait, with Swinub and Ditto guarding Haunter closely, just in case.
Tetsuya quietly watched Haunter, growing uneasy.
'Could it be that Ninetales's vitality was too powerful, making it difficult for Haunter to digest?'
Haunter remained perfectly still until night fell. Within its dark purple body, surging energy could be seen flickering and flowing.
Maybe because it was now nighttime -Haunter's optimal environment- the current sped up but also grew smaller.
It wasn't until all that energy had been completely absorbed that the moment finally came.
At exactly midnight…
Haunter's eyes suddenly opened!
•.
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+50 chapters: 🅿️🅰️✝️🆁 🅴🅾️🅽 / Romeloff