"It seems like Rosa has her work cut out for her," Lillie said, gazing at the quiet and rather shy-looking Mismagius.
"Lillie, are you and Dylan a couple?" Hilda asked curiously, as the two seemed very close. Plus, traveling all the way from Kanto to Unova together wasn't something normal friends would usually do.
"Huh? No, no..." Lillie was taken aback by the question, and her fair face immediately turned bright red. She shook her head vigorously, causing her golden ponytail to almost hit Hilda in the face.
"My brother is just my brother, not my boyfriend. I'm...I'm his step-sister, not his real sister...wait..." Lillie's speech became hurried and flustered, and she seemed unsure of what she was even saying.
"Alright, alright, I get it. Lillie, calm down. There's no need to be embarrassed..." Hilda said, trying to comfort the red-faced girl, worried that Lillie might overheat if she blushed any more.
"Ugh...I'm really not dating my brother," Lillie whimpered, covering her face with her hands. Oh no, my brother's reputation...
Meanwhile, on the battlefield...
"A pure Ghost-type Mismagius, huh?" Rosa tilted her head slightly. Being a pure Ghost-type Pokémon, it was only weak to Ghost and Dark-type moves.
"In that case, you're up! Bisharp!" Rosa quickly made her decision and boldly threw her first Poké Ball.
A flash of white light revealed a humanoid Pokémon landing on the ground and slowly straightening up, its cold gaze locking onto Mismagius.
The Pokémon resembled a stern warrior, with blades on its head, limbs, and abdomen gleaming coldly, exuding an aloof aura.
This was Bisharp, which had evolved from Pawniard!
'Beep~ Bisharp, Dark/Steel-type, the Sword Blade Pokémon.
Ability: Defiant.
Moves: Night Slash, Slash, Pursuit, Taunt, Swords Dance, Scary Face, Iron Head, Sucker Punch (Egg Move)…
Description: A terrifying Pokémon that can slice its prey into two with its blades after several Pawniard have weakened it.'
What a fierce-looking Pokémon!
Lillie, having recovered a little, looked at the Pokédex entry and thought, "This girl is really strong. She's just a rookie Trainer who started traveling this year."
"Using Bisharp against Mismagius? Not a bad choice," Dylan nodded. Bisharp's typing had its advantages, despite being four times weak to Fighting. It only had a few other weaknesses, including Ground and Fire.
However...that won't matter.
"Heh, my Bisharp is really strong!" Rosa said proudly. "A naturally wicked Ghost-type like Mismagius is no match for me!"
"Bisharp! Use Swords Dance!" Rosa commanded.
Bisharp raised its arms and stood straight like a sharp blade, radiating an imposing aura.
Swords Dance! It could significantly boost its Attack!
"Mean Look," Dylan said calmly, a faint smile on his face.
Mismagius's golden eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and a shadowy aura enveloped Bisharp's silhouette.
Under the effect of Mean Look, Bisharp could no longer be recalled.
"Mean Look? Really?" Rosa was surprised. What kind of strategy was this? Bisharp's attack power was incredibly high after using Swords Dance.
Moreover, Bisharp had Sucker Punch, a Dark-type priority move that was effective against Ghost-types!
Even if it was trapped by Mean Look, it didn't matter. As soon as Mismagius used an attacking move, Bisharp could strike first with Sucker Punch!
"Curse," Dylan continued, his tone as calm as ever.
"Bisharp, use Pursuit to stop it!" Rosa's face tightened. With Bisharp trapped on the battlefield, being hit by Curse would be disastrous.
She had to stop it! If she could defeat Mismagius, Mean Look would no longer have any effect.
Bisharp's arm blades shone with dark energy as it rushed toward Mismagius, but Mismagius moved away and ascended faster, dodging Bisharp's attempt to strike.
Seeing this, Rosa's expression darkened. The Curse was going to land for sure.
A sinister-looking nail appeared in front of Mismagius, emanating a foreboding aura.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
The Curse turned into a nail that slowly drove itself into Mismagius's body. Mismagius let out a pained yet delighted shriek, its golden eyes filled with pleasure.
The Curse!
Gray energy rapidly shot from Mismagius toward Bisharp, seeping into its body. The next moment, Bisharp bent over in pain, enduring the first wave of the Curse's effect.
"Bisharp!" Rosa shouted in alarm. This was bad! Being cursed now was not good at all.
"Pain Split."
But Dylan's offensive didn't stop there. Mismagius began to glow with white light.
"!!!" Rosa's pupils contracted. "No way, how could you do this?"
Just as the Curse's effects subsided, white light spread from Bisharp, flowing into Mismagius as Pain Split took hold.
Under Pain Split, Mismagius and Bisharp's health merged and was then divided evenly between them.
But clearly, this Pain Split was simply Mismagius leeching Bisharp's health.
Rosa gritted her teeth, but there was nothing she could do. Mismagius had the Levitate ability and was much faster than Bisharp.
If she didn't use Sucker Punch, Bisharp wouldn't be able to get close enough to attack Mismagius. So…
Is Mismagius going to attack now? Sucker Punch only worked if the opponent used an offensive move.
Rosa kept her eyes on Mismagius, holding back and waiting for it to launch an attack.
"No need to stare at Mismagius like that, Rosa. Your Bisharp will use Sucker Punch, right?" Dylan chuckled, addressing Rosa directly.
"..." Rosa was speechless, her mouth opening, but she didn't know how to respond.
"Don't worry. My Mismagius doesn't need to attack to defeat its opponent, so there's no point in waiting."
Rosa's face was full of question marks.
"Mismagius, use Taunt."
Mismagius let out a sharp, piercing laugh in the air, and mysterious waves began to emanate from it.
A Dark-type Taunt.
Visibly, Bisharp's previously cold gaze began to fill with anger, and its blade-like arms lifted, gleaming with a dark light.
"Wait! Bisharp, calm down!"
Rosa hurried to reassure Bisharp. Under the effect of Taunt, Pokémon could only use attack moves and not status-altering ones.
"Rosa is completely suppressed," Hilda, who was watching the battle, couldn't help but frown at the scene. "Is this Kanto Gym Leader really that strong?"
Rosa was no slouch, and her skills were formidable, but her ace, Bisharp, was being toyed with by Mismagius.
Not long after, the second wave of Curse hit, and Bisharp groaned in pain once again.
At this point, Bisharp was in bad shape, and Rosa knew she couldn't drag the battle on any longer.
"Bisharp, use Pursuit!"
Rosa gritted her teeth and ordered Bisharp to attack. If it didn't act soon, Bisharp would be done for.
Bisharp charged toward Mismagius, but it was no use. Bisharp couldn't catch up to Mismagius.
To make things worse, Mismagius even used Taunt again, spurring Bisharp to chase it more aggressively.
In the end, Bisharp eventually collapsed due to the Curse on its way to pursue Mismagius.
"Bisharp is unable to battle. Mismagius wins," Hilda announced the result and couldn't help but glance at Dylan's Mismagius.
Throughout the entire match, Bisharp hadn't even touched Mismagius, but Mismagius had cleanly defeated Bisharp.
And Mismagius hadn't even used a single offensive move! This…
"Well? Rosa, do you now appreciate the charm of Ghost-types?" Dylan said with a playful smile, looking at Rosa, whose face was tense.
Rosa's face darkened upon hearing this. This guy...he won and still had the nerve to taunt her! Charm? What charm could there possibly be in such an annoying battle style?
"Hmph! It's nothing special. I was just careless earlier."
Rosa stubbornly refused to admit defeat. These were just underhanded tricks; a truly strong Trainer wouldn't be afraid of them!
"Oh? So, Rosa, do you already have a strategy to deal with my Mismagius?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.
"Of course! Don't underestimate me!"
Rosa confidently puffed out her chest, her posture causing Lillie and Hilda to both glance away slightly, surprised by her boldness.
"Then I look forward to it," Dylan smiled, gesturing for her to continue.
"Go, Reuniclus!"
Rosa once again dramatically threw out her second Poké Ball. These annoying tactics? They were meaningless in front of her Reuniclus!
A flash of white light revealed a green Pokémon floating before Rosa.
Its body was light green, entirely encased in a jelly-like membrane, giving it a rather cute appearance.
This was Reuniclus, the final evolution of Solosis.
'Beep~ Reuniclus, Psychic-type, Amplification Pokémon.
Ability: Magic Guard.
Moves: Hammer Arm, Psychic, Pain Split, Reflect, Light Screen, Protect, Recover, Shadow Ball...
Description: Using its psychic power, it manipulates its liquid arms to smash rocks.'
So it had Magic Guard, huh? No wonder Rosa chose a Pokémon with a disadvantageous typing.
Lillie looked at Reuniclus's information and understood Rosa's plan.
"It must be because of its Magic Guard ability," Dylan nodded. He didn't need to look at any data to know what Rosa was thinking.
Magic Guard: The Pokémon is immune to all damage except direct attacks.
That meant Reuniclus was completely immune to secondary effects like Poison or Curse.
"That's right! It can perfectly counter your evil Curse!" Rosa said proudly, lifting her chin.
Without Curse and with Reuniclus being adept at special attacks, along with its floating ability, it wouldn't have trouble dealing with Mismagius. It was the perfect counter!
She was sure she would win this time!
Why was she calling Curse evil again?
Dylan found Rosa's attitude amusing. This girl really was quite cute.
"Alright then, let's see what you've got."
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the four Trainers, a mysterious consciousness was also watching them.
"These four seem to be among the candidates... Once the result is decided, I'll guide one of them to come closer to the tower for observation."
The mysterious entity pondered. It had no intention of casting a wide net; it was more interested in these three—two girls with exceptional willpower and potential, and the peculiar boy.
How strange... Why couldn't it perceive the boy's inner self? It was as if something was obscuring him from view.
No rush. If he could defeat that girl, it would invite him to the tower first. Observing from a distance wasn't as effective, but if he came close, it could gain a clearer understanding.
What the entity didn't know was that its lack of malice had spared it from being torn apart by Necrozma's psychic powers.
(End of Chapter)
Merry Christmas!!!