Sam looked embarrassed.
Skyla smiled and said, "Confidence is a good thing, but blind confidence isn't."
At that moment, aside from Skyla and Sam, there were no other Trainers in the Gym.
Since earning Badges from the various Gym Leaders wasn't a large-scale tournament, challengers only needed to defeat the corresponding Gym Leaders and collect their Badges to qualify for the Masters Tournament. If the number of qualified Trainers exceeded the available spots, an additional competition would be held to determine the final entrants.
Sam said, "Whether I have the strength or not, you'll find out in the first battle."
Skyla nodded and glanced around the battlefield.
"There aren't any students training right now, so let's just have our match here."
The two stepped onto the battlefield and released their Pokémon.
Pokémon: Swanna
Type: Water/Flying
Ability: Keen Eye
Hidden Ability: Damp Body
Category: White Bird Pokémon
Strength: Elite High-Level
Pokémon: Gengar (Flash Variant)
Type: Ghost/Poison
Ability: Cursed Body
Hidden Ability: None
Strength: Beginner Champion Level
Potential: Champion
Skyla looked surprised when she saw Sam summon a Champion-level Gengar.
Then her expression turned serious.
"It seems you really do have some strength."
Sam smiled.
Gengar had been summoned so suddenly that it still seemed a little distracted. It glanced at Sam before remembering that a giant drumstick reward was waiting for it after the battle.
"When you're ready," Skyla said.
Sam didn't waste any time.
"Gengar, use Hypnosis!"
A cloud of mist spread from Gengar's body and drifted toward Swanna.
Skyla smiled.
Using Gengar against Swanna clearly showed that Sam had prepared in advance.
Swanna suddenly flapped its wings.
A powerful gust of wind appeared as Swanna used Mist to disperse the incoming haze.
The Hypnosis failed instantly.
Then Swanna launched a Water-type attack.
"Bubble Beam!"
Gengar wasn't about to back down.
A transparent mirror appeared in front of it.
"Reflect Type!"
The mirror blocked the incoming water attack.
At the same time, Gengar began gathering energy.
A dark sphere rapidly formed between its hands.
"Shadow Ball!"
Sam shouted.
The Shadow Ball shot toward Swanna.
"That's fast!" Misty exclaimed from the sidelines.
She had seen Gengar battle before, but this Shadow Ball was much faster than usual. It even seemed to contain faint sparks of electricity.
Swanna quickly soared into the air and avoided the attack.
Sam clearly remembered what Blaine had told him.
Although Swanna was a Flying-type Pokémon, it wasn't well suited for prolonged aerial combat.
He continuously ordered Gengar to fire Shadow Balls.
Although they missed, they forced Swanna to remain airborne without a chance to land.
Sure enough, after repeatedly dodging at high speed, Swanna's movements gradually became more strained.
Suddenly, a burst of light flashed from Gengar's body.
It was activating its Flash ability.
However, Gengar had no intention of directly striking Swanna with the light.
Instead, it used the flash to temporarily disrupt Swanna's vision and create an opening.
As expected, Swanna's movements slowed for a moment.
Gengar instantly seized the opportunity.
In the blink of an eye, it appeared beside Swanna.
"Shadow Punch!"
The attack landed squarely on Swanna.
Swanna cried out and fell from the sky.
Sam intended to press the advantage.
Gengar immediately rushed forward again.
"Hex!"
Hex allowed Gengar to amplify the effects of its previous attack, greatly increasing its damage.
Swanna had already been injured and was rapidly falling.
Under normal circumstances, there should have been no way for it to dodge.
Yet the next moment, Swanna's body suddenly twisted.
Then it launched an attack.
"Aerial Ace!"
Swanna dove downward, curved through the air, and slammed directly into Gengar.
Gengar was sent flying.
It crashed down beside Sam.
Gengar climbed back to its feet and growled angrily.
At that moment, bubbles were clinging to its body.
Sam finally understood.
Hex was virtually instantaneous. There was no way it should have missed a falling Swanna.
The only explanation was Swanna's hidden ability—Damp Body.
The bubbles attached to Gengar's body confirmed it.
The moisture had slowed Gengar's movements, creating the opening Swanna needed to counterattack.
"Uncle Gengar, are you okay?"
Gengar cried out twice.
Then it turned toward Swanna, ready to continue the battle.
---------------Author---------------
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