"Calm down, Dragonite is fine."
Julian's voice echoed deep into Mega Metagross's mind. The bloodlust in its crimson eyes gradually subsided, and clarity began to return.
However, because of Julian's reminder, Mega Metagross' continuous offensive came to a halt, giving Spiritomb a chance to catch its breath.
But Spiritomb had forgotten one crucial detail—Alakazam was still in the fight. The moment Mega Metagross paused its attack, Alakazam's Psychic struck.
Spiritomb's opportunity to recover vanished instantly.
Though Psychic only restrained Spiritomb for less than half a second, it was enough time for Mega Metagross to execute Meteor Mash.
The move, shimmering with a rainbow glow, carved a deadly arc through the air, sending a chill down Spiritomb's core. As the powerful Steel-type energy collided with Spiritomb, it exploded with overwhelming force, accompanied by a tremendous impact.
The ground shook violently, and countless cracks split the earth with a deafening rumble. Jagged rocks protruded upward, only to be swallowed back into the expanding fissures.
Spiritomb let out a tragic scream as dark mist dissipated from its body in waves. It wasn't until the energy of the Meteor Mash had fully faded that Spiritomb's cries ceased.
Its level also dropped from 81 to 78, officially falling to the Elite tier.
Sensing its strength diminish further, the black mist around Spiritomb's head morphed into ghostly faces. Each face expressed a different emotion: rage, sorrow, joy, despair, pleading, and other emotions.
The ghostly faces transformed into shadows that surged toward Julian, Mega Metagross, and Alakazam.
Spiritomb: "Die. All of you, die."
This appeared to be Spiritomb's trump card. However, using this move caused its level to plummet further, from 78 to 75.
The shadows resembled the attack Spiritomb had used earlier to pierce Dragonite. If they connected, they wouldn't harm the body—they would target the soul.
Mega Metagross instinctively rushed toward Julian, but was stopped by him.
"Lucario, Mega Evolve!"
Julian called out Lucario and triggered its Mega Evolution immediately.
This is also the first time Julian has used dual Mega Evolution in a battle.
Upon Mega Evolving, Lucario's level surged from 67 to 71.
As the shadows closed in, Mega Lucario's Aura flared up, forming a barrier that intercepted them.
While fending off Spiritomb directly would have been challenging, these shadows posed no issue for Mega Lucario.
At the same time, both Mega Metagross and Alakazam erupted with powerful psychic energy.
Julian: "Kill it for me"
Once the shadows completely vanished, Julian locked eyes on Spiritomb with an unyielding gaze, ready to end the fight.
'If you can't be broken even after falling to Elite level, I'll take your last name'
Mega Metagross and Alakazam simultaneously unleashed Psyshock, while Mega Lucario hurled an Aura Sphere.
The combined Psychic attacks shredded most of the dark aura surrounding Spiritomb's keystone.
The Aura Sphere hit the Odd keystone directly, but despite the intensity of the attack, the keystone remained unscathed.
"Meteor Mash!"
Mega Metagross teleported in front of Spiritomb and brought down a Meteor Mash with earth-shattering force. The ground split open once again, yet the Odd keystone did not break.
"Keep going," Julian said coldly.
If one punch wasn't enough, then ten punches, a hundred punches—it would be crushed eventually.
Meteor Mash had a chance of increasing attack power with each use, meaning that the longer this went on, the stronger the punches became.
Spiritomb was completely out of options. Its dark mist had nearly dissipated, and its level had fallen all the way from pseudo-Champion to that of an Elite.
Yet, despite the relentless onslaught of Meteor Mashes from Mega Metagross, the Odd keystone didn't crack. Not even a speck of stone chipped off.
Spiritomb: "You cannot kill me."
As long as the Odd keystone remained intact, Spiritomb could resurrect indefinitely.
"Stop"
Julian walked over, staring at the Odd keystone in disbelief. He didn't expect it would be this hard to break.
By now, Spiritomb's dark mist had completely disappeared, leaving only its dormant Odd keystone behind. Without absorbing more souls, Spiritomb would remain in its deep slumber indefinitely.
And as long as the Odd keystone was unbroken, it would never truly die.
Even Mega Metagross couldn't shatter the Odd keystone, so none of his other Pokémon would stand a chance either.
Julian activated his Probing Eyes and examined the Odd keystone. To his surprise, the information displayed had changed.
[Odd Keystone: A soul crystal born of the natural energies of the world, infused with wandering souls, forming the unique Pokémon Spiritomb.]
[Note: In its current state, the Odd Keystone can be absorbed by Ghost-type Pokémon.]
The Probing Eyes no longer registered it as Spiritomb but as an item—and a highly valuable one at that.
"Can be absorbed by Ghost-types..."
Julian trusted the Probing Eyes completely. Without hesitation, he took out Haunter's Poké Ball.
Haunter emerged, ready to greet Julian with a Lick, but froze when it spotted the Odd keystone lying half a meter away.
"This stone is for—"
Julian expected Haunter to stop mid-action, but before he could finish his sentence, its tongue had already shot out, landing squarely on him, and the next second a familiar feeling of numbness came up.
"Meta~"
Mega Metagross gave Haunter a disapproving look.
This little troublemaker was always pushing boundaries. Didn't it know its trainer had a knack for attracting bad luck? Using Lick like that was practically a guaranteed paralysis.
"Eat this stone."
Julian said irritably after shaking off the paralysis with a berry.
Haunter seemed unfazed by his annoyance and gleefully swallowed the Odd keystone in one gulp. After finishing, it smacked its lips, looking disappointed.
Haunter: "Didn't taste like much."
Mega Metagross: "You're glowing."
The moment Haunter devoured the Odd keystone, a bright light enveloped its body—the unmistakable glow of evolution.
Julian's expression lit up with interest. Haunter evolving into Gengar typically required a trade.
However, it was also said that some Haunter could evolve naturally if they lived long enough or encountered unique circumstances.
As the light faded, a white Gengar stood before Julian, standing at about 1.7 meters tall. Its blood-red eyes, paired with its pure white body, gave it a strikingly cool appearance rather than an eerie one.
"Gengar—!"
The newly evolved Gengar let out a playful laugh as it inspected its transformed body. It hadn't even been a few days since evolving into Haunter, and now it was already a Gengar.
The once weightless Haunter was now a solid Gengar, tangible and grounded.
Gastly and Haunter, being gaseous Pokémon, practically had no weight, but Gengar's form weighed in at a solid 45.9 kilograms.
This was an old joke among trainers: if a Haunter ate a Clefable, it would turn into a Gengar.
After all, aside from their color, Clefable and Gengar shared a striking resemblance in body shape, height, and even overall proportions—it was a comparison that was hard to ignore.
*****
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