Kanta walked closer to Tetsuya, shook his head helplessly, and said, "You are really strong… Sigh, this is my first defeat!"
Tetsuya looked at Kanta. 'Could it be that this guy had already fought everyone on the island without realizing it…?'
"…Have you fought all fifty or so people on the island?" Tetsuya asked with a hint of doubt.
Kanta chuckled and said, "Kahah~ Are you trying to exhaust me to death!? Of course, it's those who performed better in the last elimination rounds."
"That's almost the same then…"
"Yeah, the two of us must be the strongest on this island! Mm, w-why don't we stay together..." Kanta said, swallowing unconsciously, eyes shimmering, cheeks slightly flushed…
'…!!!!???'
Tetsuya could not help but feel a numb sensation throughout his body.
"…Right now I need to make a trip to the Shadow Team's base. Next time. With our level, what is there to worry about?" Tetsuya said.
Kanta looked shy and said, "You may not worry, but for someone like me, I really can't even sleep peacefully…"
'Uh...
Wallace?'
Tetsuya was actually at a loss for words. With that appearance, it really did require caution. Who knew if someone might want to take advantage in advance!?
"…I'm leaving, I really have something to do. See you next time."
After speaking, Tetsuya hurriedly ran off.
Kanta stayed behind, tidied his hair, and muttered to himself, "Am I not handsome enough…?"
---◓---
The mountainous area mostly had Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon. Tetsuya was quite familiar with this area, but this time there were far fewer Pokémon. The Geodude and Sandshrew that used to be everywhere had actually become rare. If he wanted to catch Pokémon, the ones remaining were all quite strong.
While walking, the ground suddenly shook violently. Two people ran out from a distant cave.
Shouting "Heeeeelp!"
Chasing behind them was an Onix.
"Sigh…" 'Two more people asking for trouble.' Once Onix passed, they would only be crushed into meat paste.
'Wait… what!?'
These two guys actually ran toward him, treating him as a life-saving straw?
"Haunter, you go!"
After Tetsuya spoke, Haunter rose from the shadow on the ground and hurled a series of Shadow Ball.
Whoooosh~
Onix, in pain, kept shaking its rock head.
At this moment, those two guys had already run to Tetsuya's side.
Before Tetsuya could even see what they looked like, they left behind a sentence, "We won't forget this kindness!" and quickly ran far away.
'…'
Running so fast, they probably wouldn't die even if they wanted to!
Onix's bulky body trying to hit Haunter was simply impossible. Haunter did not use many moves, just Shadow Ball alone made Onix unable to care for both head and tail.
Onix let out a roar!
Haunter used Hex on Onix and created distance from it.
However, things were not that simple…
The noise of the roar became stronger. From the original cave, five more Onix emerged one after another, big and small.
So it had called for help, even bringing its whole family!
Six Onix.
It was time to test Haunter. He needed Haunter to quickly accumulate experience and evolve as soon as possible.
Tetsuya first released all his Pokémon, organizing them on both sides of himself. In such a situation, ensuring his own safety came first.
With several Pokémon around him, it was as if Tetsuya had come to watch a show…
"Haunter, Dark Pulse!"
Give them a show of force first. Haunter released layers of black waves from within its body. The Onix that approached shook their heads and stopped advancing, but this was only temporary discomfort. They quickly endured the damage and continued forward.
Very quickly, the six Onix had already surrounded Haunter!
The leading Onix took the lead in using "Smack Down." A rock was hurled toward Haunter. The rocks from Smack Down were very dense and heavy. Flying and Levitating Pokémon would be knocked down by it.
"Shadow Ball."
After Tetsuya spoke, Haunter casually threw out a Shadow Ball, instantly shattering the rock. The momentum did not decrease and it struck that Onix on the head.
The Onix felt dizzy for a moment…
Haunter easily escaped the encirclement of the Onix.
The remaining five Onix all used Smack Down as well. Five rocks were hurled one after another toward Haunter.
"Use Psychic. That Onix is a ready-made shield."
Haunter understood. The massive Onix, under Haunter's powerful psychic power, was lifted as easily as carrying a child and placed in front of those rocks.
Clatter…
A series of rocks all hit the Onix!
The Onix controlled by Haunter was easily swung into a straight line and smashed toward the other five.
Caught off guard by the impact, the Onix were all knocked to the ground.
After shaking their bodies, they raised themselves again, but the controlled Onix had already lost its ability to battle.
Such big and clumsy Pokémon were the easiest to hypnotize…
Simple and convenient, and most importantly, it saved time and effort. Of course, even with a direct attack, Haunter could easily take down these five Onix, but knocking them all out at once like this with Hypnosis was impossible.
"Hypnosis."
Haunter extended both hands forward, its gaze deep, glowing with red light. Waves of hypnotic energy spread out.
The Onix had just raised themselves from the ground and were still in a dazed state. Suddenly enveloped by the hypnotic waves, they immediately felt their eyelids grow heavy, their minds imagining a utopian world~. Then their bodies began to tremble, swaying before crashing to the ground.
However, Haunter's attack had not stopped. The color of its eyes had not changed.
The Onix on the ground began to thrash wildly. The five sleeping Onix twisted and rolled around, their heads colliding. Then their bodies began to convulse until they lost all sensation and finally became still…
Haunter had already learned Nightmare!
With this, Haunter had learned all the moves it could obtain through "leveling up" and was one step closer to evolving into Gengar.
Tetsuya threw out six Poké Balls, capturing the six Onix.
---◓---
Tetsuya stayed in the mountainous area for another four days, seeking out formidable opponents. Each one was stronger than Onix.
On the first day, he caught a Graveler.
On the second day, he caught a Donphan.
On the third day, he caught a Sandslash.
On the fourth day, he caught a Sudowoodo.
Of course, in order to train Haunter first, it was always sent into battle. Fighting these powerful Pokémon was effective for battle exp. The other Pokémon could only spar internally.
After leaving the mountainous area, Tetsuya headed straight toward the Shadow Team's base. This time, he planned to exchange for more supplies at once to avoid making repeated trips. Crossing the forest every time was indeed troublesome.
It would take three days to pass through the forest. With this, another three months of the latter half of the year had passed.
Ten Pokémon.
One was exchanged for twenty Poké Balls, two were exchanged for Pokémon medicine, two were exchanged for milk for Ditto, and five were exchanged for food for Piloswine and Golett.
Back then, he had bought the highest-grade Spatial Backpack and filled an entire pack. For the remaining three months, one more trip would be enough.
Tetsuya's plan was very precise, but the members of the Shadow Team had begun "psychological tactics" again…