As Tetsuya's very first Pokémon in this life, Ditto was also the one he was strictest with. Although Ditto was lacking in battle, it had strengths that no other Pokémon had, and those strengths were a guarantee for his own survival.
Ditto had also fully accepted Tetsuya as its Trainer. Back then, he had bought an overlooked Ditto from the Black Market. Although he was strict, as long as it was within Tetsuya's means, he always gave Ditto the very best.
Although Ditto now had fewer opportunities to fight, it clearly understood that this was only because Tetsuya was raising Pokémon with greater potential for battle.
Now, Ditto had volunteered precisely to prove that it could accomplish what the other Pokémon could not!
Ditto had already witnessed Cloyster's power. Many years ago, its Return had instantly defeated Piloswine. Now that it had transformed into Gengar, it could conveniently avoid that terrifying Normal-type move.
Ever since Gengar had established the [Shadow Contract] with Tetsuya, it had rarely experienced fierce battles. This time, however, Ditto, Gengar's longtime partner, was essentially fighting alongside it.
It was as though this battle belonged to both of them!
"Shadow Ball."
Tetsuya launched the attack. This was Gengar's signature move, and Ditto used it without the slightest inferiority.
Ditto thrust both hands forward. Although it gathered Shadow Ball more slowly than Gengar, Ditto had a stronger physique, allowing the spindle-shaped Shadow Ball to be launched at an even greater speed.
Three Shadow Balls were fired in succession, all heading straight toward Cloyster.
"Protect."
Sheila gave the command unhurriedly. Cloyster withdrew into its shell, making its Protect even more impregnable. The Shadow Balls struck the Protect energy shield, creating nothing more than layer upon layer of energy fluctuations, without leaving the slightest sign of damage.
"Aurora Beam!"
Taking advantage of the brief pause after Ditto had fired three Shadow Balls, Sheila had Cloyster unleash the instant-cast Aurora Beam. Without any need to charge, streams of colorful light shot from Cloyster's horn.
Aurora Beam traveled at incredible speed. Very few Pokémon were capable of dodging it.
However, after fusing with Quick Powder and transforming into Gengar, Ditto's Speed was… well, ghostlike.
Even Aurora Beam could do nothing against it!
The battle fell into a deadlock.
Ditto had outstanding Speed, making it impossible for Cloyster's attacks to hit it. Meanwhile, Cloyster's defenses were impregnable, rendering Ditto's attacks largely ineffective as well.
However, Tetsuya did not stop Ditto's offensive. Instead, he made it even more relentless.
Shadow Balls rained down upon Cloyster as though they cost nothing.
Although the effect was limited, they were still having some effect. Unlike Cloyster, whose attacks could not hit at all, Ditto still held a certain advantage.
Sheila was beginning to grow anxious. She could only say that this Ditto was truly unusual. It could actually Transform into Gengar, and on a field like this, without any water, Cloyster could not even display half of its strengths.
At this point, Sheila had only one thing in mind: stamina.
Constant attacking consumed stamina and energy at an incredible rate. As long as Cloyster's defenses could endure until Ditto reached its limit, she would win. Clearly, the odds of victory were still in Sheila's favor, because both Ditto and Gengar were Pokémon that lacked stamina.
---◓---
The battle continued. Ditto and Cloyster traded moves back and forth. One dodged while the other defended, and this continued for half an hour.
However, what puzzled Sheila was that Ditto showed no signs of exhaustion whatsoever. It was still using its moves just as smoothly, and its footwork while dodging attacks remained as agile as ever.
Sheila nodded and said, "Tetsuya, I never expected a Ditto to be like this. After fighting continuously for so long… it hasn't even stopped to catch its breath! Sigh… that's truly remarkable. There's no need to continue this match. Although Cloyster's defense is high, after taking damage for so long, it will eventually be defeated. I lost."
At that moment, Cloyster opened its shell, its expression already looking somewhat unpleasant. Sheila understood her Pokémon's condition very clearly. That alone was something that ordinary Trainers could not achieve.
"It's only because this isn't a field suited for Cloyster. In that battle just now, it probably didn't even display half of its normal combat power. Even so, my Ditto had no way to deal with it."
Tetsuya said. Thus, the battle ended in a draw. The restrictions placed on Cloyster had simply been too great.
Although a Pokémon like Cloyster was very powerful, it depended too heavily on its environment. In water, it was a beast, but on land it could not move about freely. Although its defense was extraordinary, it was ultimately just a stationary target.
Even a Cloyster as powerful as Sheila's could not fully demonstrate its strengths on land. Back then, Tetsuya had witnessed this Cloyster's Waterfall firsthand. If they had been battling at the glacier falls, he would have already lost.
Under normal circumstances, Tetsuya would never catch a Pokémon that relied so heavily on its environment. Even among Water-type Pokémon, he would only catch those that could function both on land and in water.
Even a Pokémon like Gyarados, an overlord of the water, became like a stranded fish once it reached land, left at the mercy of others. That was why Water-type Pokémon such as Blastoise, Feraligatr, and Poliwrath, which could move normally on land, saw much greater use.
By now, both Matsuba and Sheila had seen Tetsuya's level for themselves.
The Eight official League Gyms represented the public face of the League's power. The level of those eight Gym Leaders represented the overall standard of Gym Leaders as a whole. Naturally, both Matsuba and Sheila ranked among the very best of that group.
Tetsuya's level was now already very close to Sheila's. Although his overall strength still lacked a little polish, he was only one step away from reaching the level of a Gym Leader.
As for Tetsuya himself, no one understood his own strength better than he did. There was no doubt that Mamoswine and Golurk already had the power to compete with Matsuba's and Sheila's ace Pokémon.
However, Tetsuya's other Pokémon were still lacking. Relying on those two Pokémon alone would ultimately have its limits. At present, he was preparing to focus on Koffing. Among the rest of his Pokémon, this "Poison King" had the greatest potential.
Once the [Badly Poisonous] variant of Skorupi had been successfully raised, the Poison-type team core from his previous life would be complete, and he would be able to challenge any Gym Leader.
There were still many difficulties in raising Koffing at the moment. It required a considerable amount of money, and the methods were cruel…
It absolutely could not be discovered by anyone!
Otherwise, the image he had built in front of people like Matsuba and Pryce would completely collapse. It seemed he would need to find an absolutely isolated location.